Tracing wing walking’s roots at Al Ain Air Championship

Describing the history of his team’s unique craft, Martyn Carrington, pilot with the Breitling Wingwalkers, said once peace was negotiated and pilots returned to Britain, many found themselves searching for work.

Brietling Wingwalkers team performs on the opening day of the Al Ain International Air Championship. Ravindranath K / The National

AL AIN // The art of wing walking dates to the end of the First World War.

Describing the history of his team’s unique craft, Martyn Carrington, pilot with the Breitling Wingwalkers, said once peace was negotiated and pilots returned home, many found themselves searching for work.

“They had to find a way for making a living,” he said.

As a result, many pilots started charging the public for leisurely rides in their aircraft, he said.

“The problem was, there were quite a few out-of-work pilots doing that, therefore the competition was really great, so what they decided to do was jazz things up a little bit,” he said.

“They would then get their engineers, their girlfriends, or their wives to start doing something interesting on the aeroplane like climbing out to the ends of the wings.”

About a century later, the four-person team from the UK is performing this weekend at the Al Ain Air Championship.

Their pair of 1930s biplanes will be performing a routine of barrels and rolls with two acrobats atop their wings – part of their act as the self-described “world’s only formation wing walking team”.

One of these athletes is Sarah Tanner, who will be performing with colleague Stephanie Pansier.

They will be attached to the top of the planes, while Mr Carrington and his wing-mate David Barrell soar through the skies at altitudes of 50 to 1,000 feet.

“Very cheesy to say but it’s very windy,” Ms Tanner said. “It’s a real extreme environment, so we’re trying to perform for the crowd while travelling in the neighbourhood of 100 miles per hour, so it’s quite the challenge to perform a handstand at that speed.”

“It’s exhilarating for us to see people on the ground waving up as well as the experience of wing walking itself, particularly looping and rolling, it’s just awesome, like the best roller coaster ride.”

The team’s exclusive title mean they are the only team with wingwalkers performing acrobatic manoeuvres while multiple planes fly in formation.

“We claim that title because there’s no one else doing it,” Mr Carrington said.

“The content of our show, we try to portray it as a family show.

“Everybody has their favourite part, cause they may aspire to be a pilot or be a wingwalker,” he said.

As for performing in Al Ain, Ms Tanner said: “It’s amazing flying over the desert in such warm conditions.”

“It is a privilege to be invited here to Al Ain and compete with our international flying counterparts.”