East Fortune with Airads

A proposal of marriage and a desperate escape by two rough-looking characters, disguised as pilots, from Teeside airport.


Edinburgh Airads 13
Originally uploaded by DrMoores.

A long flight to Edinburgh and East Fortune airfield today to tow a marriage proposal for the lucky Anne Gilchrist, watched closely by a BBC Scotland film crew as her boyfriend proposed, with a little help from Captain Romantic and an Airads banner.

While Kent at 07:30 am was locked in ice and snow and we took off into a blizzard, Scotland basked in bright sunshine and you can see all the day's photos if you "click" on the image attached.

Back home to Maypole via Teeside for a refueling stop. Having parked next to all the other aircraft, filled-up and then wandered into the terminal with our bright yellow jackets, getting back out to the aircraft again, even as aircrew, wasn't that easy, as security viewed us with some suspicion and searched us thoroughly.

Claiming to have an aircraft parked outside next to the KLM "City Hopper" wasn't much use. However "Osama Bin Shilling" and I finally managed to persuade them to let us back airside and we finally escaped from Teeside without being placed under house arrest.

Back in Kent, it's freezing cold the ice on the airstrip is thawing into sticky mud. The Costa Del Scotland is much more pleasant a destination this weekend.

BBC Valentine's Special

Airads does a "Special" for the BBC in Norfolk to support a Valentine's Day feature. Look East reporter Alex Dunlop made for his wife Susie Fowler-Watt. The aircraft displaying the banner flew from Old Buckenham airfield in South Norfolk.



A quick landing with the banner in the background.



Read the full story on the BBC Norfolk Website

The Leicester Mercury

Today, Airads has been towing an advertisement for the Leicester Mercury, advertising a jobs fair in the area. A bitterly cold day with strong winds in the North of England, didn't prevent us being on time and on station as required at Leicester airport to pick up the banner



The Wind was so strong that the banner almost flew away on its own!

A nice view of G-OMAC disappearing towards Leicester.

Birthday Banner at Old Buckenham

Views of Norfolk

Back from Norfolk, where Airads dropped into a warm welcome at Tibbenham to pick up a “Happy Birthday Nick” banner to tow around Old Buckenham airfield, fifteen minutes away.

Both Tibbenham and Old Buckenham have distinguished histories as bomber bases in the Second World War. The latter is very much in use today with parachuting a flying club and of course home to its famous vintage warbird airshow in June. Tibbenham however, is now home to the Norfolk Gliding Club, small gliders looking lost amid large runways, when once it was home to the 445th Bomb Group, commanded by the Hollywood star, James Stewart, who was also exec officer at Old Buckenham.



One of Stewart’s contemporaries wrote: “Everybody loved Stewart. As commander, he could select the missions he’d go on. Whether it was Nuremberg or Berlin, one of the heavily-protected targets, he’d always take that mission,” he says. “He never ducked out, never took what they called a milk run. He always took the toughest mission, and all the pilots loved him. He was just an honest-to-goodness hero.”



Watch out for Airads advertising the Old Buckenham airshow on June 26th 2005.

Captain Cupid on Meridian Television News

Bob Shilling (described as "Captain Cupid") was featured on Meridian Evening News on 30th November.

The feature followed a marriage proposal, towed behind the Airads aircraft and described how Bob has now successfully proposed to over fifty women on behalf of their fiances.



Bob being filmed for the Meridian News story

Banners for Local Government

You might normally associate Simon Moores’ name with the leading edge of eGovernment but there’s another aspect of his public sector work that you might not be familiar with.

Regularly flying with Airads, Simon is also a working pilot and can frequently be seen over the UK towing banners with local government messages, two in the last month having been “Crimestoppers” over East Anglia and “One County – One Council – Vote A” for Durham County Council.



As a means of communicating public service messages to the general population, he believes aerial banners can be remarkably wide-reaching and cost-effective, particularly over large urban shopping centres at weekends and lunchtimes. Airads many local government customers include Warwickshire, Breckland, Canterbury, Kent and Durham. “For local government, keen to promote online services or new initiatives, simply towing a banner with the web address behind the aircraft can capture more interest in sixty minutes than the most expensive local radio campaign.

It’s not quite the eGovernment I’m used to”, says Simon Moores, “but in many ways, it captures the attention of the general public with more impact and interest than most public service messages ever can.”

Don't Forget to Book Your Romantic Banner for Valentine's Day 2005

It's the ultimate romantic gesture and Airads will say it for you. Make your message or proposal one that she'll never forget. Call Airads now to book your Valentine's Day Banner, a very special expression of your feelings at six hundred feet at a Southern England location of your choice.



Please note central London restrictions. Book early to avoid disappointment!

Banner Towing Over a Crowded Beach

Somewhere on the English south coast...Any guesses?

Trislander over Lydd 

Aerial Photography on Request 

Airads carries a very special message over Tenterden in Kent. 

The London Erotica Show Chooses Airads to Advertise

Celebrating the 2004 Erotica Show at London's Olympia, Airads was busily engaged towing a show banner around London and the South of England, advertising the show.

Sunset over Whistable

A trawler making it's way back into Whitstable at sunset this afternoon. Having towed a banner for the London Erotica show for four hours around all the South-east's major shopping centres and towns, all the way up the Thames to Canary Wharf, we worked our way home via Ashford, Dover, Ramsgate, Margate and then Herne Bay and Whistable, landing just as the Sun went down.

Westgate on Sea