Malta Air Rally

The 2010 RAF Wyton Exped to Malta via the North Cape of Norway

Pilots from the Pathfinder Flying Club at RAF Wyton will be embarking on a flying expedition on Saturday 19 June to raise money for Help for Heroes. Five pilots and 2 light aircraft will fly from the heart of Cambridgeshire, across the Channel, over the Norwegian fjords and into the Arctic Circle to reach the North Cape itself.

N4599W, a 4-seater Rockwell Commander, with me and Mike Gregory at the helm, will then attempt to set 3 FAI World Records in a light aircraft, from Nordkapp to Warsaw, Warsaw to Dubrovnik, and Dubrovnik to Valletta. With fair winds, we'll make a triumphant arrival at the 4-day International Air Rally of Malta on 26 June - timed to the second and measured to the inch. From there, we'll make their way back home up Italy and through the Alps. By the time we return on 2 July, we'll have flown 5500 nautical miles and landed in up to 23 countries - an aeronautical challenge indeed.

Meanwhile, G-FTIL, a 4-seater Robin DR400, piloted by Andy Stevens, Vid Tekriwal and Guy Thatcher, will head South-East from Norway to explore Eastern Europe. Their route will take them through the likes of Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic, before skirting back through Bavaria to France, then across the Channel and home.

Our sponsor, Jeppesen, has generously supported us with provision of charts and other aeronautical data, which has greatly eased the planning burden and cost of such a far-ranging itinerary.

Our chosen charity Help for Heroes provides direct and practical support to those men and women of the British Armed Forces who are wounded. In today's high tempo of operations, their help has never been more needed. Please help. Through our expedition and fundraising we hope to Make A Difference - we are MAD Pilots. If you'd like to donate to Help for Heroes in complete security, please visit

http://www.justgiving.com/MAD-Pilots

... and of course, if you are a UK tax payer, please tick the box to Gift Aid your donation.

We hope to raise £2,500 - a pound for every nautical mile of the World Record route. So please dig deep and give generously for this very worthy cause!