Nicki King, Head of Finance and Operations at Rockinghorse, recently took to the skies with her friend Sarah on a daring fundraising wing walk.
Nicki is never one to shy away from a challenge. She has previously abseiled down Peacehaven Cliffs and done a Skywalk on top of the i360 before being lowered back down to the safety of the ground. But nothing compared to her latest adventure.
On a sunny day at the end of August, Nicki, along with her friend and fellow adventurer Sarah Ramshaw, were strapped to the top of a plane at Headcorn Aerodrome in Kent for a wing walk, which raised more than £1,400 for Rockinghorse!
Although the pair are no strangers to high-adrenaline fundraising, this was their scariest challenge yet, climbing to 1,000ft, at speeds up to 120mph, facing the full blast of the wind.
Nicki said: “Taking part in the wing walk confirmed two things: I’m still terrified of heights, and Sarah is far more persuasive than she should be. Standing on the wing of the plane was one thing, but when it actually took off, I spent a good few minutes questioning my life choices.
“But knowing I was raising money for such an incredible charity, and seeing the amazing support from everyone who donated, made every terrifying, nerve-racking but exhilarating second worth it.”
Sarah added: “I was tied to a plane while every sensible part of my brain screamed, ‘absolutely not!’ I took a deep breath, strapped in and took to the skies for a charity we truly believe in and the brilliant work they do.
“It was awesome being so high, I was trying to look around and enjoy the views, but I was fighting the G-force constantly. I love adrenalin experiences and plan to repeat this again next year, with loops next time!”
Jules Billings, fundraising manager at Rockinghorse, said: “We are so impressed with Sarah and Nicki for taking on such an amazing challenge to support us. It’s not every day that we have anyone doing a wing-walk to raise money for us. We can’t wait to see what they choose for their next challenge!
“We rely on fundraisers like this in our local community who choose to take on amazing challenges to support children in our local community, so a huge thanks to them both for their bravery.”
If you’ve been impressed by this daring-do, you can still donate on the pair’s fundraising page here.
And if you fancy doing something out of your comfort zone for Rockinghorse, why not take a look at our events page here. Or alternatively, get in touch with Jules to chat through your fundraising ideas: jules@rockinghorse.org.uk
