Fleetwood Town Community Trust’s Positive Pathways held their first Armed Forces Veterans Introduction to Drone Flying at Fleetwood Marsh Nature Reserve on Sunday.
Many of the Veterans in attendance had spent the morning eating a wonderful free breakfast from LATEO bar in Blackpool, which is on the first Sunday of every month for those interested.
The afternoon began with a safety brief, which was then followed by information about the drones being used before taking flight in the nature reserve.
After a short demonstration by our Positive Pathways Co-ordinator Rick Clement, it was finally time for the group to have a go and it was fantastic to see the smiles as each person took their turn.
12 Veterans took part although some just came to watch. We had a mixture of ages, but they all grinned like school children whilst flying the drone.
After the initial drone flights had taken place, Rick was able to bring out the FPV (First Person View) drone, which can reach 90 miles-per-hour! This was, without doubt, the favourite for the group. They all did amazingly well, and we only suffered one damaged propellor when one of the Veterans decided to see if he could cut a hedge down.
Once again although this event was flying drones it was important and amazing to see bonds between the Veterans growing.
Rick had this to say on the event: “I feel a Veterans family is really growing in the area and with more and more regular get together and events such as this it can only get better.
“When people join these groups, they feel comfortable to open up and any problems or issues a Veteran may have can be helped with the right advice and assistance - we really are a family, a brother, and sisterhood.”
The Trust will be running this again soon. If you would like to attend or have any other questions, please contact me on 07949523089 or rick.clement@fleetwoodtownfc.com.
A big thank you to all who attended and supported the event. It’s your attendance that makes it all worthwhile.