What an amazing day out we had at this aviation career day at Flyme in Barnsley. This was a day organised by a parent on a local home ed Facebook group. At £40 per head, it was too expensive for a standard outing so this became our Christmas present from Grandma. It was worth every single penny!
The full title for the day was “Aviation careers practical taster day” and it started from the moment we walked into the Flyme building in Barnsley, just off junction 36 of the M1. The reception area was set up like an airport with check-in desks and a waiting area with mock views out the “windows”; there was even background noise of an airport coming over speakers. All the staff at Flyme currently work as pilots or flight attendants as their usual day jobs so they bring so much knowledge to the day.
We were split into groups where we enjoyed several different activities in rotation:
- We landed a plane at Manchester Airport in a simulator with the help of a real-life co-pilot
- We took on the role of a passenger check-in officer at the check-in desk
- We headed up security to make sure no dodgy people got on the flight
- We had a go at flying planes on flight simulators with headsets
- We became flight attendants and did the full safety briefing with actions
- We slid down an emergency inflatable slide from the plane and got into a life raft before inflating our life jackets
- The girls entered a plane full of smoke to put out the fire and to rescue a passenger
- Daddy had a go on a gyroscope but the rest of us declined that activity! NB: there is a minimum age limit of 14 to use this equipment. It wasn’t that the girls didn’t want a go!
We fitted so much into the day and absolutely loved all the activities we took part in. All the staff were fantastic and shared so many stories with us about what it’s like to work as a pilot or flight attendant. They told us all about the training they have to go through and how their shifts work.
As frequent travellers, we came away with a greater appreciation of everyone who works at the airlines. We will never look at a flight attendant in the same way again!
You can find out more about experiences offered by Flyme on their website – https://flyme.co.uk/
Here are some more photos of what we got up to:
Landing a plane into Manchester Airport with the help of an experienced pilot
Peggy in charge at the check-in desk and then Aggie sorting a naughty Daddy out in security
Piloting flights over New York, thankfully using a simulator as there were lots of crashes and flying into tall buildings!
Having a go at being flight attendants and trying to get all the actions correct. It’s harder than you think!
Inflating life jackets and surviving in a life raft
There’s a fire on board! But the Wint girls came to the rescue and dragged the passenger to safety!
