Gloucester pilots fly around world in simulator for charity

The relay team of pilots took off with their 737 Simulator from Sydney at 22:00 GMT on 4 November

A team of pilots will fly a simulator from Sydney around the world to raise money for an ambulance charity.

Gloucester-based Team Velocity will be joining 12 other teams from all over the world in a seven-day flight marathon to raise funds for Great Western Air Ambulance Charity.

The relay team of pilots, led by Duncan MacKellar, took off with their 737 Simulator on Saturday night.

Speaking before take-off, Mr MacKellar said he was very excited.

"We will head around the world via the Antarctic," he said. "Then we'll come up via Argentina and end up near Winnipeg.

"There will be 48 take-off and landings overall."

The event is designed to be "hyper realistic", and the teams will engage with Air Traffic Control at each of the airports they visit and face challenges including bad weather and other adverse conditions.

The pilots will be given free use of the simulator at Velocity Flight Training near Gloucester to enable them to raise as much money as possible.

'We are so grateful'

Funds raised will go towards keeping the Great Western Air Ambulance's (GWAAC) service operational across Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, North Somerset and parts of Wiltshire.

Emma Fawcett, supporter engagement coordinator at GWAAC, said: "The wonderful Team Velocity have already raised over £15,000 for GWAAC from their annual flight challenge and we are so grateful to them and all their followers for their generosity and support.

"We rely on the people we serve to help us raise the £4m we need each year to stay operational.

"The money raised will help us to provide critical care to those who need it the most - saving more lives in our community."

The event is being live-streamed on Twitch so anyone can watch and participate in the chat.