Cherokee Challenge Flight Touches Down in Dubai

Local sponsors very generous in their support for charity challenge flight by light aircraft


DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Thursday, October 17th 2013 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE) Aviation adventurers Andy Hardy and Sam Kidd, private pilots from London, have landed in Dubai on their way from London to Sydney in a Piper Cherokee light aircraft.

The pair are undertaking the epic flight challenge to raise money for UK-based charity Oxfam. Oxfam works around the world to help people to help themselves and last year their emergency and development work reached 13 million people in 90 countries.

    The flight will cover a distance of 10,500 nautical miles great-circle distance, in an aircraft designed for much-shorter journeys. The total distance flown will be over 12,000 nautical miles
    The crew will fly over 22 countries, stopping in 23 cities
    The challenge crew’s goal is to raise £1/mile, equivalent to over $16,700

With thousands of followers on social media websites including Facebook and Twitter, the pair have generated extraordinary interest from aviation enthusiasts and the general public. The aircraft took-off from northern Europe two weeks ago, travelling from London via Denmark, Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, pausing briefly in Dubai during the Eid al-Adha holiday.

“We’ve been delighted by the generosity shown by sponsors in Dubai during our stay” says Hardy. “We’re proud to help Oxfam provide clean water for Syrian refugees in Jordan, and to help struggling families in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh through microfinance to start small cottage businesses to become more self-sufficient”.

ExecuJet Dubai are providing hangarage and routine maintenance service free-of-charge to support the challenge together with Diamond Jet Detailing, and Bodysmart Dubai.

Staff from Dell Middle East presented the pair with a donation worth over $10,000 at their Dubai Internet City regional headquarters. “We’re overwhelmed by the generosity of our sponsors and donors, and those who have been following us on Facebook and donated online via http://fundraising.oxfam.org.uk/event/cherokeechallenge2013”, said Hardy.

The pair are now preparing to depart for Australia via stops in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, and expect to arrive in Sydney during November. “We couldn’t have chosen anywhere better than Dubai in the Middle East for its professional aviation services, hospitality and generosity” says Hardy.

Download photographs here

See also www.g-atys.co.uk, www.facebook.com/CherokeeChallengeFlight, Twitter #CherokeeChallengeFlight and Robert Harding World Imagery photo blog http://rhworldimagery.wordpress.com/category/aviation-adventure/

Contacts

Cherokee Challenge Flight

Andy Hardy

Phone: +44-7785-226261

andy@hardy.com









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