About this time last year I wrote about my bucket list. All the things I want to do before I either get too old, too poor or die. Some of them were easier than others to fulfill but I felt that they were realistic.
1: Do a Job I love.
2: Get paid to take pictures or for a picture I’ve taken.
3: Drive a racing car.
4: Fly a helicopter.
5: Lose 3 stone in weight and get fit.
6: Get Married and Have a family of my own.
7: Buy a house with a garden and have a big kitchen table.
8: Get my missing tooth replaced.
9: Drive from West to East America in a Muscle car.
10: Drink beer at Oktoberfest in Munich.
11: Learn to play a Piano with some degree of skill.
12: Write My Will.
13: Play the tables in Vegas.
14: Write a book / Script and see it in print.
15: Go to Thorpe Park with other people that want to go and have fun on the rides.
16: Fast for 48 hours and give the money I would have spent to charity.
17: Visit the North Pole or Antartica.
18: Fire a gun.
19: Spend the day dressed as Doctor Who.
20: Go on a Whisky tasting.
21: Visit Japan.
22: Spend a day cuddling a Wombat.
23: Hire a Caterham Super 7 for the weekend.
24: Spend a week in a cottage at Portmerion, ideally getting their in item 23.
I’m sure that I could add to the list but so far I’m happy with the goals I set out and last weekend I managed to cross off number 4, fly a helicopter.
The whole experience was better than I imagined and more difficult. The stick was very sensitive to my touch, with every little movement creating massive and sometimes scary results. I was lucky to have a great tutor by the name of Phil who put me at ease and frankly did most of the work. However, I did take control for a short time. I didn’t think it was going to go ahead as the weather conditions were poor with heavy showers. However, we did go up and we did fly through some rain that was just amazing.
The flight school was at Thurston Helicopters which is based at Headcorn Aerodrome in Kent. I flew over Leeds Castle and the beautiful English countryside.
One of the extras we paid for was a video recording of me looking scared, trying not to crash and generally making a fool of myself. If you fancy watching 22 minutes of this I’ve attached it below.
Anyway, that something crossed off my bucket list.
4: Fly a helicopter.
What shall I do next?
M