Helicopter firm goes bananas for charity

Student Seb Powderham dons the gorilla suit for the flight

Advance Helicopters, based at Shoreham Airport, agreed to allow a ‘gorilla’ to carry a very important cargo on a fundraising trip.

Owners Spencer Phillips and James Morrey, both from Upper Beeding, wanted to do their bit for Go Ape’s charity of the year, The Teenage Cancer Trust.

The challenge was to transport a 3ft inflatable banana across the country by as many different modes of transport as possible.

Student Seb Powderham dons the gorilla suite for the flight

One of their students, Seb Powderham, asked Advance Helicopters to get involved. He dressed in a gorilla suit to carry the banana for the flight last Saturday.

Mr Phillips said: “We try to get involved in a couple of charity events each year, so we were obviously happy to do what we could to help.

Mr Morrey added: “And it’s not every day you get to fly alongside a 6ft gorilla.

“We were just really pleased that the weather held out for us in order for Seb to take part and pass the banana baton on.”

The company is no stranger to doing its bit for charity, having in the past taken part in Movember and last Christmas, both Mr Phillips and Mr Morrey spent the day dressed as Father Christmas in support of Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice.

So when Mr Powderham asked for help because his mum was involved with the charity, the company was more than happy to what it could.