Flying the Tyne in aid of good cause

About 60 microlights took to the skies from Eshott Airfield for a flight in aid of North East charity Streetwise.
The largest fleet of aircraft ever to fly along the River Tyne in aid of the Streetwise charity was sponsored by intu. Mandy Coppin (left at front), CEO of Streetwise, and Chelsea Clark (right at front), intu Eldon Square's Assistant Marketing Manager, are among those pictured. Picture by Tony Hall.The largest fleet of aircraft ever to fly along the River Tyne in aid of the Streetwise charity was sponsored by intu. Mandy Coppin (left at front), CEO of Streetwise, and Chelsea Clark (right at front), intu Eldon Square's Assistant Marketing Manager, are among those pictured. Picture by Tony Hall.
The largest fleet of aircraft ever to fly along the River Tyne in aid of the Streetwise charity was sponsored by intu. Mandy Coppin (left at front), CEO of Streetwise, and Chelsea Clark (right at front), intu Eldon Square's Assistant Marketing Manager, are among those pictured. Picture by Tony Hall.

They flew the length of the River Tyne before returning to the airfield near Morpeth last Saturday.

It followed on from the first Fly the Tyne in 2016, which saw 42 aircraft take part, that was organised by Streetwise.

Planes at Eshott Airfield for Fly The Tyne 2018. Picture by Anne Hopper.Planes at Eshott Airfield for Fly The Tyne 2018. Picture by Anne Hopper.
Planes at Eshott Airfield for Fly The Tyne 2018. Picture by Anne Hopper.
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This year’s event was organised to help the charity by a Fly the Tyne Partnership of pilots and they each had one passenger.

Ten of the spaces were available via a bidding process, with the top ten pledges being allocated a seat.

As well as members of the public, the pilots and other passengers made a donation. Thousands of pounds have been raised, with the final total still to be determined.

Streetwise provides free and confidential advice, counselling, sexual health and support services for young people aged between 11 and 25 across the North East.

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CEO Mandy Coppin said: “Fly the Tyne was created two years ago to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the charity and a group of the participating pilots enjoyed it so much that they formed a partnership to organise their own event.

“It was a great day and it would have been a spectacular sight for the people who saw the microlights in Northumberland and Tyneside.

“It was also a really good way to highlight the work that Streetwise is doing in support of many young people.”