Sky Watch (NI) are holding a Tractor Run on Saturday 25th March 2017 to raise funds for training and equipment for their Search Unit. The gates open at 1200 and all are welcome to attend. The tractors will be setting of at 2pm and the run will last for approximately one hour returning to Lilburn’s Farm.
Entry is £10 per tractor and passengers are £5
Entry includes a £2 token to use at the catering van and one ticket for the raffle.
Entrance forms are completed on arrival.
Our thanks once again to the organisers of the Balmoral Show for our superb stand and to our new and experienced volunteers, who kindly gave up their free time and work time to meet the public.
It was a very busy three days with hundreds of leaflets distributed and numerous kind donations. Lots of people stopped to enquire about our work and discover their temperature on our thermal camera. Our new schools programme proved popular with visiting schools too.
We would also like to thank Johnston Gilpin, Lisburn for the use of their Gator, a superb off road cart which allowed us to transport our heavy equipment around the site for UAV flights and quick redeployment of staff.
Over the summer we ran a number of competitions at events and festivals with a range of prizes from toy gliders to a flight in our Foxbat.
Below is a list of our prize winners:
The Lost Sheep prizes were won by
J Potter of Ballyclare and J. Erskine.
The Firesize Quiz was won by Majorie Craig of Donemana.
The Yellow Box Challenge for 2014 was won by Sandra Patterson and Collete Jones, both of Kilmore Ladies’ Group in Lurgan. The winners receive a flight in a light aircraft.
If you are interested in the Yellow Box Challenge for a group or organisation you belong to, please contact us.
Skywatch NI attended the Newcastle Festival of Flight for the first time this year and enjoyed a superb day of sunshine, hundreds of visitors and stunning views of rare and expertly piloted aircraft.
With a stand in Donard Park and a dedicated group of volunteers, pilots and ground crew in attendance, the event was a fantastic family day. Volunteers provided free arm bands for children, to return them as quickly as possible to their parents in the event of separation along the waterfront, while others manned the very popular souvenir and drinks stand.
The aerostat was also flown from the neighbouring playing fields providing a clear panoramic view of the town to visiting dignitaries, including the Mayor and a veteran aircraft gunner of World War II.
We would like to thank the members of Moira Methodist Church and their friends for a very generous collection and warm reception on an icy Saturday morning.
We were treated to a great breakfast followed by a cheque presentation with over 50 gentlemen attending the men’s breakfast. Paul Trimble then provided an insight into the work of Sky Watch in Northern Ireland before a short demonstration of our tracked vehicle and an opportunity to view the quad-copter and one of our drones with accompanying mobile ground station.
You can find out more about the work of Moira Methodist Church on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/moira.methodist
Did you pick up a colouring competition leaflet at the Portrush Airshow or another event we recently attended?
Send us your entries and you could win a SkyWatch Goodie Bag (large glider, pen and keyring)!
Entries are just £1 each. All proceeds go to Sky Watch Civil Air Patrol (NI) to assist with local searches.
Don’t forget to send your entries in by the 20th September!
Download your entry form and full details here: Childrens_Competition_2013
Thanks to everyone at the Ulster Aviation Society for their kind donation of stand space for their 2013 Open Day. It was a huge success for both the society and SkyWatch.
Our own Paul Trimble was marshalling the helicopters visiting on the day and putting on a fly past which was great to see.
We also took the opportunity to test fly our custom built remote camera system on board the helium balloon. Visitors could see themselves on the ground from around 60ft in the air.
When fully deployed the balloon can reach 200ft and with a new camera will give us a detailed zoom and infrared capability, perfect for night searches and a fast view over a wide area, a valuable asset in rural and urban areas.
The camera will cost around £6000 so every donation and sale on the stand brings us a step closer to that goal.
We were also joined by some new volunteers, including Tom from Switzerland, who is studying Aeronautical Engineering at Queens University.
More volunteers also signed up to give us a hand next week at the Portrush Air Show. We have plenty more space for more volunteers if you would like to help out on Saturday or Sunday so please get in touch if you have an hour or two to spare.
Survitec Group Ltd, specialist product and service provider for marine, aviation and civil protection industries are proud to support Sky Watch NI who assists local emergency response agencies with remote rescues.
Sky Watch; an airborne observation charity which has been operating UK wide for the past 10 years, carry out aerial observation work searching for vulnerable, missing people while also assisting the NI Fire & Rescue Service, attending fires where fire fighters, wildlife and the environment need protection.
As a charity Sky Watch have invested considerable time, money and effort into preparing an aircraft and training staff to perform this valuable activity and Survitec Group are proud to support them by providing aircrew flight suits and aviation lifejackets for all the crew.
Moya Johnson, Managing Director of the local Survitec Group factory in Dunmurry commented “We are so pleased to support such a worthwhile charity. The dedication of all the pilots involved is tremendous and by giving a few of our award winning products to the team we hope we can make all their journeys as easy and comfortable as possible.”