Funeral Flypast - Cardiff Wed 10 Sep

[cobaltfrog]

Dear fellow PPruners

I have been asked by the family of a very prominant ex Naval Officer to see if anyone happens to be passing N Cardiff on Wednesday of next week at 1630 for a flypast. The funeral is for a gentleman well connected to the forces who raised millions of pounds through KGFS. He himself was an ex aviator who retired to take on the mantle of running KGFS in Wales and S England.

Rather than a free for all, PLEASE could I ask if you could PM me for more detail and if you can help I can then co-ordinate. I am very much willing to approach Air or Fleet for the relevant clearances should that be necessary.

Thank you for your help
CF

[Al R]

Good luck.. hope it all works out for you on the day.

[cobaltfrog]

AL R, thank you for your thoughts, it will be appreciated thank you

[cobaltfrog]

Guys

Would really appreciate some help here. The Flypast would be at 1650L in the Cardiff area, I can supply details as requested.

Is there no-one around that could flyby???

Cheers
CF

[airborne_artist]

Check yr PMs, CF.

[dallas]

cobalt

An individual operator won't contact you directly as, even for just a 'simple' flypast he/she will need some sort of official sanction - not least to avoid complaints from non-funeral goers!

I suggest your best chance would be to narrow down the sort of aircraft you'd like to flypast, then contact a base that has them. With a bit of background on who the guy is they might consider a request on an opportunity basis - that is to say they might be able to bend a jet through at the right time and place, from another task. Unfortunately they days of dedicated flypasts are over due to budgetary concerns (unless you're the Queen, of course), but generally speaking, and with weather an unpredictable factor, if a base has anything nearby they'll try to accommodate.

With time pressing, I suggest a phonecall to a suitable base, ask to speak to the Public Relations Officer and offer to back-up the request with a fax, detailing who the guy is who died. Just one word of caution - if he was a submariner he's perhaps less likely to have a link to aviation than, say, a Swordfish pilot and that might affect the bases motivation level.

[Icare9]

Apologies for intruding but am I correct in assuming that the abbreviation KGFS is King George's Fund for Sailors?
If so, with these connections, President: Admiral of the Fleet, HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh KG, KT;
Chairman: Surgeon Vice Admiral I L Jenkins CB CVO FRCS and
Director General: Commodore Barry Bryant RN, are you sure something cannot be done, even "unofficially". If this gentleman has dedicated his retirement to this worthy charity, I'm surprised nothing more helpful has been posted, especially as it is taking place tomorrow.... Perhaps a "grandson" could fly by on way to a nearby disco? I know this country is rapidly NOT becoming a place fit for heroes, but surely this request should be honoured?