Flying Scholarships for Disabled People (FSDP) is a UK charity based at

RAF Fairford Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, dedicated to helping disabled people to learn to fly a light aircraft. The stated purpose is to inspire disabled adults, building their confidence, self-esteem and aspirations through the sharing of life changing aviation experiences. The charity was founded in 1983 by Tim Prince and Paul Bowen of the

Royal International Air Tattoo The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world's largest military air show, held annually in July, usually at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England in support of The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust. The show typically attracts a to ...

in the memory of Group Captain Sir

Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared ...

, the disabled wartime fighter ace who lost both his legs in an accident in 1931. Over 400 disabled people have participated in the scholarship scheme, several are paraplegic, and others are disabled as a result, for example, of cerebral palsy, loss of limbs, rheumatoid arthritis, MS, ME, spina bifida and poliomyelitis. Supported by donations and sponsorship, the charity typically provides about 12 scholarships a year. Many of the Scholars get to fly Solo, and some go on to take full licences.

Patronage

Up until his death in 1999, the Patron of the charity was His Royal Highness

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...

of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Following the death of his father, his son His Royal Highness

Prince Faisal bin Al Hussein Prince Faisal bin Hussein ( ar, فيصل بن حسين; born 11 October 1963) is a son of King Hussein and Princess Muna, and the younger brother of King Abdullah II. Periodically he has served as regent during his brother's absences abroad. Edu ...

, succeeded him and is the current patron of the charity. Air Chief Marshall Sir Stephen Dalton joined the charity as a Vice Patron in 2012. Author, broadcaster, pilot and musician

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...

, best known as a member of

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

, was appointed Vice Patron of the charity in 2012. Tim Prince OBE, joint founder of the

"the world’s largest military air show", and the FSDP charity, is a Vice Patron of the charity. Polly Vacher MBE, is an aviator specialising in long-distance solo flights, having obtained her private pilot license in Australia in 1994. She was awarded her MBE in 2002 for her services to charity, and was appointed a Vice Patron to the charity in 2015.

Scholar Stories

Since achieving his scholarship in 2007 Andy Lewis MBE has become part of the Great Britain World Class Performance Program competing for Great Britain all over the world. He is the British Elite Champion for Paraduathlon and British Champion for Triathlon. He was awarded the Sports person of the year in the Pride of the Forest awards and disabled sports performer of the year in the Bristol Sports awards. He is a GB Paratriathlete and competes as a through-knee amputee and achieved a gold medal at the 2016

Rio Paralympic Games ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

. In December 2016 he was awarded an MBE for services to triathlon.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Website
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- The charity was established in Bader's memory Flight training