Don’t miss Santa when he flies by helicopter over North Devon tomorrow!

Santa will be swapping his traditional sleigh for a big yellow one tomorrow morning (Friday, December 19) when he flies over North Devon in what has become a popular Christmas tradition.

The annual Christmas Santa Fly-By organised by the Historic Helicopters charity will fly over much of North Devon and Somerset, landing at Little Bridge House children’s hospice in Fremington to deliver presents and at North Devon District Hospital to drop off presents for the children’s ward.

Above: Santa prepares to get his big yellow sleigh ready for the big flight across North Devon and Somerset on Friday morning. Credit: Historic Helicopters

Aboard an iconic bright yellow Sea King helicopter, Santa will take off from the charity’s base at Chard in Somerset, passing over numerous North Devon communities and landing at Little Bridge House at approximately 10.35am.

Then it is on to North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple at around 10.38am before following the estuary to RMB Chivenor and the coast to Woolacombe, Ilfracombe, Lynton and back into Somerset.

*** See the full Santa fly by route and times below ***

It is the last day of school term before Christmas and the crew will be aiming to fly over some 60-plus primary schools on their route, with excited youngsters primed ready to wave to Santa as he passes.

Above: The team will arrive bearing gifts for children at Children’s Hospice South West and North Devon District Hospital. Credit: Historic Helicopters

Chris Page MBE, a volunteer at the charity and one of the rear crew for the aircraft’s flight tomorrow, said it was all systems go with no foreseeable issues with the weather on Friday.

It is the sixth year the charity has carried out the Santa Fly By but when Sea Kings were based at Chivenor as part of 22 Squadron Search and Rescue, it was an annual event an eagerly awaited by people of all ages in North Devon.

The charity was set up in 2013 to preserve, restore and run a fleet of vintage military helicopters and Chris explained why they felt it was important to continue the Christmas fly past tradition.

He said: “When you have children who unfortunately won’t be able to be home at Christmas and are really poorly, just being able to bring a little smile to their faces is something that anyone would want to do.

“We are passionate about aviation and this is a tradition that has been going on for many years and we want to keep that going.

“The gifts we take are generously donated by Andrew Whitehouse, the owner, but also Ministry of Defence employees and employees at Leonardo Helicopters – we are very grateful to all of them for their support.”

As many people as possible are urged to turn out to wave at Santa and the crew as they pass overhead tomorrow.

The event and maintaining the charity would not be possible without public donations and anyone who would like to support it can do so at https://www.historichelicopters.com/donate

Route and times for Santa’s Sea King fly past in North Devon and Somerset