Sheffielder
Maria-Barbara Noack is a busy, busy woman.
Not
content with working as a nurse and teacher, she's also an exhibited
artist and trainee helicopter pilot. What's more, she's always looking
for ways to combine her activities.
We
caught up with her and found out more...
|
Maria-Barbara
at the controls |
"I
first got the idea of learning to fly a helicopter when I was studying
healthcare management. People talk about 'the helicopter view' -
which means looking at the bigger picture instead of getting bogged
down in detail.
Coincidentally,
the helicopter school at Sheffield Airport had just launched...
so I decided to go for it.
My
colleagues think I'm crazy when they find out how much money it's
cost me so far. But my kids are grown-up, and there's no-one else
at home whose permission I have to ask. So why not?"
|
Maintenance
can be arduous in typical Sheffield weather... |
How
have your lessons compared with your expectations so far?
"Well,
it's far harder than driving a car - and I took around 32 lessons
to pass my driving test. Plus in a helicopter, of course, you can't
just say 'let me pull over and check out what I'm doing wrong'!
You
have to use your hands, your feet, your eyes - you have to watch
the horizon and check you're not bumping into balloons or gliders...
it's total concentration all the time. So I only really started
to enjoy flying after about 30 lessons, when I felt I'd got into
a routine.
When
we were above Rother Valley, and I was able to look at Bolsover
Castle and all the area around it - that was a sign that I'd learned
to relax a little bit."
Find
out more about Maria-Barbara's artworks - and her interest in the
Yorkshire Air Ambulance service...
听
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