Intrepid flight from Wales to Costa del Sol in self-built plane

FIVE days, 1,850 miles covered, 23 hours flying, 19 Airfields visited, four countries, 280 litres of fuel.

Those are the stats for two men who have flown from South Wales to Malaga on an intrepid voyage in a self-built light aircraft to mark the 27th anniversary of the D-day landings.

Not only that, but Andy Hodder and Andy Roberts have raised more than £3000 for the Help for Heroes charity for forces veterans.

Andy said they took in the flight, the route of which crossed Normandy to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. His grandfather took part in the landings in June 1944
Due to the very strong winds on the south coast of England they had to delay their flight by 24 hours before setting off for Lydd airport in Kent.

From there they hopped over the channel and landed at Le Touquet to clear customs and then had an over–night stop in Abbeville.

They then overflew all of the Normandy beaches and on to Pegasus Bridge and the memorials before continuing South to Blois.
This was the highlight of their trip which gave the two an opportunity to pay their respects to those who fell.
After heading for the border they crossed into Spain near Barcelona, then on to Castellon. Day five saw them head down the coast to Vera (Almeria) where they stopped. They then made the final leg of their flight to reach Malaga.

Andy Hodder said: “A huge thanks to all of you from both of us for an astounding £3000 raised for Help for Heroes.”

He added that they were pleased to have completed the task – but it had left them very tired, so they needed a couple of days rest before Andy Roberts caught a flight home. And Andy Hodder explored the Malaga countryside from the air.