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The Wing Walkers
On the Wings of a Dove
"The first time I flew upside down, I just could not stop giggling all the time!" How many people would be laughing if they were flying upside down, well in excess of 100mph, and more importantly doing it while standing on the
wing of the aircraft?
Interviewed by David Rose-Massom
One of the display highlights for this year’s inaugural Portsmouth Air Festival will, without doubt, be the Breitling Wingwalkers. Solent Life spoke to Sahara, Chief Wingwalker and one of their most experienced flyers, together with Martyn Carrington, Flying Director of AeroSuperBatics the company that operate the Breitling sponsored display team.
Martyn told us of the history of Wingwalking following the Great War. “In 1918 an American flier called Ormer Locklear came up with a stunt that was guaranteed to wow the crowds: he would climb out of the aeroplane and walk along the wing and even climb from one aeroplane onto to another.
Apparently Locklear first clambered out of the cockpit to fix a technical problem while training during the war. A normal person would have landed and then sorted out the problem.” He explained. “Pretty soon you couldn’t operate a flying circus that didn’t have a wing walking act and Locklear was soon joined by numerous other daredevils including the wonderfully named Ethal Dare, the world’s first female wingwalker who like Locklear would walk from plane to plane.”
The Breitling team now have a team of professional wingwalkers, with great nicknames such as Bird, Lottie, Lollipop, Stealth and of course Sahara; who is really Sarah Tanner and has been performing the dangerous stunts, and giggling, for six years.
“I suppose it was natural for me to do something like this as I have always had a love of dancing and of flying.” She told Solent Life. “When I first auditioned to join the team I was nervous for a number of reasons; I wanted to perform well as with any audition but then as soon as I took off from the ground all I wanted to do was wave to the crowds; I needed an audience while I was up there.
“Even though I have the fitness of a dancer it is still very physically demanding.” Sahara continued. “Not only are you strapped in but you are battling against 100mph winds and although it is great fun flying low over the crowds you are continually working against the air pressure. I may have been flying for six years now but I still get that thrill up there, you can never get bored with your job – it’s always a challenge.
“Of course we all trust the pilots; they are all highly experienced flyers and there is a really good bond between us. It is the lead aircraft that is dictating the movements and routines but it is an extra challenge of the formation aircraft and wingwalker, to follow and mirror the manoeuvres of the leader.”
Martyn returned to the history and the fate of that original barnstorming hero. “Not surprisingly there were a few mishaps in those early and risky days.” He said. “Ormer himself came a cropper while working on a film. These wing walk pioneers were operating without a safety net: no parachutes, no safety wires tethering them to the aircraft. A slip of the foot and it was the high dive for our brave showman or showgirl. In 1938 the authorities in America decided that parachutes had to be worn though by that time the Second World War was on its way and the show was about to close anyway.”
Flying changed after the war and there were new goals like breaking the sound barrier, space exploration and the development of quiet, fast and comfortable airliners so that we could all go on foreign holidays relatively cheaply. In other words we’d got used to flying and some of the magic had gone out of it. “Those barnstorming days of the ’20s and 30s and the characters who manned the flying circuses haven’t been forgotten by those with a deep love of flying and a passion for its history. A few wing walking teams operated in America in the 1970s but it wasn’t until frustrated barnstormer Vic Norman founded his famous AeroSuperBatics wing walking team in the early 1980s that the sight of dare devils performing handstands and flying upside down on the wing was seen in Europe.
“Yes, the wingwalkers are safely tethered to their Boeing Stearman biplanes, but the glamour, spectacle, sounds and atmosphere are just the same as it was when young, brave Ormer Locklear went for a dramatic 10ft stroll along the wing of his warplane in 1918.”
What of the new event in Portsmouth and its venue along the Solent? “It promises to be an absolutely wonderful event.” Martyn said. “It is always a fantastic opportunity to display at new venues and we have often flown over Portsmouth on the way to other airshows and always thought it would make a superb venue; now it seems as if our dream has come true.
“It is always easier to perform along a coastline, it is a nice live feature that gives the pilots a very good visual reference but also offers a great natural theatre for us as performers and of course a great vantage point for the crowds below watching us. But, we do have to watch out for yacht masts of course.
“One other strong point is that with the raised ground of waterfronts such as by Southsea Castle it puts the crowd on more of an eye level with the aircraft making it even more of a visual spectacle. That also makes it a photographer’s paradise as it will appear in the images as if they had been flying alongside of us. It will be a fascinating and fabulous event in Portsmouth this year and a great addition to our performance calendar.”
Chief Wingwalker Sahara is now in her sixth season and since becoming a wingwalker, has enjoyed taking on an operations role in the office as well. She helps to co-ordinate and run the team, as well as training new recruits in the art of wingwalking. Alongside her additional responsibilities she still thrives on the adrenaline rush of looping and rolling through the sky at 150 miles per hour and climbing around the aircraft in flight. One of her favourite manoeuvres is flying inverted down the crowd line and also loves the exhilarating freedom of sitting on the leading edge of the top wing.
There is however one part of the display she does not enjoy. “Rain; I hate the rain.”
She said. “When you are travelling between 100 and 150 miles an hour into the rain it really, really hurts! It is like being hit by dozens of pin sharp needles!”
www.aerosuperbatics.com
www.breitling.com
PORTSMOUTH AIR FESTIVAL 18th August
For the latest news go to:
www.portsmouthairfestival.co.uk
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