Yes this is the sad bit. A few years ago (now 30 plus) I was peacefully minding my own business flying something totally boring when past my ears float 3 bears under parachutes. That moment changed my life. I just couldn't believe my eyes. It is a relief to this day when I get a similar reaction from other people. The culprit on this occasion was our late President and co-founder of WHKF Mr Ron Gunter. He gave me those three bears to carry on entertaining the unsuspecting when he felt he was too old to go on chasing them across the country side. I hope I have lived up to his expectations.

Why does anyone parachute bears ? It is a question so often asked and if you have to ask, you Don't understand, but it is something to do with the reaction of spectators. This can be anything from a simple smile to manic laughter and the screams of horror as "mummy" insists that little Johny's precious toy goes skyward.

When and where do we carry out these atrocities ? Any time, any where that we are wanted and not working. Unfortunately this usually means weekends during the summer as during the week one has to earn enough to support the hobby. We are usually booked in advance from April to October either with WHKF or independently but always try to assist at other events if possible. We have several teams all with their own equipment so we can cover more than one event on any date. Charges vary to suit the particular event, travel distance and extent of display required and we now have to cover insurance costs.

How do we do it. If the area is sufficiently large the preferred method is to launch a large kite with a pulley system below it. Soft cuddlies are then fitted with a parachute of suitable size and hooked onto a drop rig which is electrically winched up to a top pulley at about 150ft. above ground level where it is automatically released and floats back down. The owner then dashes across the field attempting to catch the descending fauna. The best we have done to date using a large 'chute on a windy day is about 1/2 mile. Please note we have not yet lost one. The owner then returns proudly with the fauna when we repossess the 'chute and present them with a certificate to note the occasion. The accompanying parents often feel that the exercise is so beneficial to their offspring that they are happy to part with a further 50p for another try.

We also hang glide or bungie-jump bears on days when we can get the required height and lift from a kite. If there are not many volunteers for these games we have now developed a bubble machine to be lifted under a kite and this will produce large quantities of bubbles which the youngsters seem to love chasing.

Another popular game is to fix a bag of sweets to the drop rig and a static line is attached to the bottom of the bag. When this is deployed the bag inverts and drops the sweets to the ground to the joy of the children below. It is a good idea to attach a small crude parachute, steamer or rotor to each sweet to stop them injuring the children who may get in the way. Unfortunately the elder children become aware of what is going on and frequently do not give the smaller ones a chance to get their share. Please note that this is not covered by The Ted Berets insurance as sweet can not be described as soft unless using marsh mallows.

Details of all these tricks will be found on linked pages as I get more time to add them. If you can't wait please contact me. I also love to hear about other peoples experiences of fauna bombing. Please note that all such activities are done in compliance with the strict regulations as laid down by the BMISS.