Non-league football fan rents plane to fly 400 miles to see beloved team play in Cornwall
A devoted non-league football fan is renting a plane to fly to his beloved club's first away fixture of the season - 400 miles away in Cornwall! Pilot David Bower, a York City supporter, is flying down to watch his side play Truro City in the National League on Saturday.
The flight will take him around two and half hours rather than the eight or nine hours by bus. David, 62, saw his first York game in 1973, and he wasn't going to miss this match despite the huge distance involved. He could have stayed and watched the game at home as it's being screened live on DAZN.
He said: 'I was hoping that it would be Truro for our first away game- even before the fixtures came out. And when they did I couldn't believe it. It's the perfect fixture for me. It's August - usually really good weather and perfect to fly down to Cornwall.
'I'm flying down with my brother Richard and we are both very excited. I've been a York fan since 1973. My first game was against Blackburn Rovers. I never thought when I was a kid I would be flying a plane to an away match in Cornwall.'
David, who has been a private pilot since 1996, has paid a "substantial sum" to hire the four seater Piper Warrior plane for two days. "It is expensive but it's worth it,' he said.
'How often do you get chance to fly to Cornwall to watch your club play?' He will leave from Sherburn in Elmet a small airfield between Leeds and York.
David said: "We will leave around 9am on the Saturday morning. It should take us around two and a half hours possibly two and three quarter hours.
'There are two small airfields quite close to Truro's ground but I've decided to land at Newquay which is a bit further away but their runway is a lot longer.
'We have't quite worked out how to get from Newquay to Truro yet but we will definitely get there! The last part of our journey to the match will be by bus or taxi. Then we will return north on the Sunday. It should be a great weekend - let's hope we win!'
York have been allocated 600 tickets for the fixture and expect to sell most of them. The official supporters buses are leaving the Memorial Gardens in York City Centre at 6am - a staggering 11 and a half hours before kick off. And seats aren't cheap - they are £80 for adults and £75 for Under 16s.
York started the Enterprise National League season with a 2-2 home draw against Sutton United. It's Truro's first ever season at this level and they started with a 2-0 defeat at Wealdstone.
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