Guest Blog: Erin Pritchard talks about the need for greater access to Adventure

Over the New Year period I took some time to go out and see some friends out in Dubai. As a late birthday present my best friend had arranged for me to go for a flying lesson as flying she knew was something that I really enjoyed. I had it done once before in Wales and I was told then that due to my small stature I would only be able to fly specific planes. I was so use to being unable to do other sports such as go carting or potholing due to my disability that this didn’t bother me as long as there was one plane out there I could at least fly. This was an amazing experience and very different to the one in Wales.

I had always wanted to go flying but thought that it would be impossible until I saw an advert in a Motability magazine saying that disabled people could take flying lesson through Aerobility. Although at first I did feel rather sceptic about the idea as usually when there is something aimed at a disabled person they usually mean somebody who uses a wheelchair. None the less this gave me an amazing opportunity which I grabbed with both hands. Motability had helped me to learn to drive so why couldn’t Aerobility help me to fly?

In Wales I got to see Snowdonia from above and away from everyone else. Being a dwarf and being around other people especially tourists can be very frustrating as people seem to be more interested in staring and commenting on your small body than the actual attractions within a certain place. Flying therefore was great and even better when I got to take the controls and fly the plane myself. 

Flying in Dubai was a very different though. For starters there was no need to worry whether or not the weather may be too bad to fly in. The other thing is I never got to fly the plane, but this didn’t matter as it felt great to be up in the skies and see Dubai from above as I had done with Snowdonia. I was able to look at the views without having to worry about anybody watching me. The views were amazing and I even got to see some sharks down below which I would rather see from up in plane than in the water. 

To me there is nothing better than being able to fly a plane as it takes you away from everything on the ground, from your work and especially from the people who see your disability as a source of amusement. It felt great and now all I need to do is save up enough money to get a pilot’s licence, although that probably means living on beans for a few years.