Close shave for Galway frequent flyers

A Mile-High shave was held 5,280 feet in the air over Galway last Saturday to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society.

The event, which is part of the Today FM Shave or Dye campaign 2014 was organised by the Galway Flying Club, based at Galway Airport, involved club member JP Randles getting his head shaved by John McGuire, of Fat Tony’s Barber Shop, in Cessna 172 light aircraft a mile over Galway city.

The day started well with the event being mentioned on Jimmy Norman’s morning show on Galway Bay FM and also on the Ray Darcy Show on Today FM. The weather was far from ideal but with the skill of pilot Jarlath Conneely and a break in the weather they took off from Galway airport and headed west over the city all the while climbing to the target altitude.

They craft levelled out over Spiddal and John and JP setup for the shave. John completed the shave in no time and did a great job considering it was his first time in a light aircraft.

With the shave complete, Jarlath headed back to the airport and history had been made – the first head shave to be performed in a light aircraft had been successfully done over Galway.

The organisers want to thank the staff at Covidien Galway and to the Galway Flying Club members for their support.

So far the event has raised €600 and donations can still be made by visiting mycharity.ie and searching for The Mile High Shave.