One purpose of the flight is to raise awareness of the Flying Scholarships for the Disabled Program.

This is now an Anglo-American operation and in the UK Flying Scholarships for the Disabled (FSD) is a charity dedicated to helping disabled people to discover their true potential through the mental and physical stimulation of learning to fly a light aircraft. The challenges they face and overcome will enable them to find new confidence and self esteem in rising above their own personal life difficulties and help them view the future with greater self assurance.

Each scholarship student completes a 6-week residential course of training, which includes ground school and up to 40 hours of dual and solo flying. This is provided at no cost to the student and currently flight training takes place at flight schools in the USA and South Africa.

In the USA, FSD is working with a Los Angeles based team to set up a US based FSD 501(c)3 tax-exempt public charity - FSD USA website 

TO MAKE DONATIONS - online donations can be made via FSD secure donations webpage. Donations can be made in $US, £GB or Euro. Or in the USA send an email to FSD USA, mentioning 'donations' to take advantage of their tax- exempt IRS 501(c)3 status.

Or you can sponsor the 'Four Corner' Flight Around America - send an email to pilot Steve Wood. All sponsorship donations will go in full to Flying Scholarships for the Disabled.

Steve Wood's good friend, Polly Vacher - the record setting round-the-world aviator, has already flown two round the world flights in support of FSD, including -

RECORD BREAKING FLIGHT - 6th May 2003 to 27th April 2004
First woman to fly solo over the North Pole in a single engine aircraft
First woman to fly solo in Antarctica in a single engine aircraft
First person to fly solo around the world landing on all seven continents
60,000 nautical miles, 357 days.

 Departing on 6 May 2003 with Hurricane & Spitfire escort

Polly has set her aim on raising £2m (almost $4m) to endow scholarships for disabled flyers. She has another, very special flight, planned for 2007 - WATCH THIS SPACE!!