Friends skydive 10,000 feet for National Star
Jumping out of an aeroplane at 10,000 feet posed no problem for fearless friends who wanted to raise money to help National Star learners live fulfilling lives.
Six of Hannah McPhilimey’s friends and family were so impressed with the way she’d connected with us during a year-long internship that they decided to do fundraising tandem skydives.
Hannah’s boyfriend, Danny Way, dad Gary McPhilimey, uncle Paul McPhilimey, cousin Jake Forster, and friends Paul Heming and Maddy Robson, who all live in Bourton-on-the-Water, took on the challenge.
Danny, 21, said it was a fantastic experience with family and friends going along to support them on the day. They were each strapped to a trained skydiver for the jump.
‘Three of us went up at a time because we were strapped to our ‘tandems’ and the plane was tiny, it looked like it would struggle to get off the ground,’ Danny said.
‘I wasn’t that nervous. Jake had a bit of a sweaty brow and Maddy gets tingles in her feet when she’s going over a bridge so it was a big deal for her but we were all fine.
‘You go 10,000 feet up and the doors open. You shuffle to the edge of the plane and you’re hanging out, then you’re chucked out and down you go. It’s a surreal feeling, like floating.
‘My tandem let me control the parachute for a while and we did some spirals so that added a thrill. It was an amazing experience. I’d have gone straight back up.’
Danny, who is studying to become a PE teacher at Cardiff Metropolitan University, Hannah, who is studying event management at Sheffield Hallam University, her brother Ben and his girlfriend Zoe have already done a 10k run for National Star.
To date they’ve raised more than £3,150 from the skydive, with more coming in.
‘Hannah loved her placement at National Star and it gave us an idea of what the charity is about and how the money can help.
‘We’re really impressed to have that much money donated but National Star is a really good cause. It was definitely worth it. The skydive was an amazing experience. We all loved it.’
