On the tarmac of the London International Airport, the only spectacle that could match the sound of jet engines idling and loudspeakers blaring Mamma Mia by ABBA, was the sight of groups of 10-15 people pulling a small jet airliner across the runway.
And many of those people said they couldn’t be happier to be there.
The Elgin Middlesex United Way hosted its second annual Plane Pull event on Tuesday, a fundraiser where groups of people will come to the airport and pull one of two jet aircraft which, despite being small by airliner standards, respectively weighed 19 and 27 metric tonnes.
“Some of our United Way friends from across the country have done this … and we said ‘nobody’s doing this in London, let’s try this’,” said Elgin Middlesex United Way director of marketing and communications Chris McInnis when asked how the event came to be.
McInnis also explained that the money raised at the event will fund 35 United Way agencies across Elgin Middlesex in providing assistance such as food, toiletries, housing stability and youth mentorship.
“We’re basically just trying to build a better community any way we can,” he said.
Other organizations besides United Way were also there in hopes of making a difference. Western University’s commercial aviation program
A Girls in Aviation kiosk at the event. The Plane Pull offered opportunities for other organizations to reach out to people alongside the United Way fundraiser.
Photo by: Curtis Stokman
was one of several different kiosks set up along the edge of the runway, offering brochures and speaking to people about the program.
“We always like to come to events that involve the community and involve students,” said Sebastian Fredrich Yap, one of the people manning the kiosk.
Western’s kiosk sat underneath a tent emblazoned with a Girls in Aviation logo, and Yap believes what the kiosk was doing helps to promote an otherwise male-dominated industry to women.
“The more we can introduce young girls to aviation and show them that’s a legitimate career path for them, I think is beneficial long-term,” he said.
The primary showcase of the event, though, was the people hauling the aircraft through a combination of teamwork, effort, and very large ropes.
The London Community Foundation team trying to pull a 19-tonne jet aircraft. Many of the teams at the event were excited for the experience, even if it wasn’t like anything they’d done before.
Photo by: Curtis Stokman
“None of us have ever done anything like this before and it’s such an amazing opportunity,” said London Community Foundation director of philanthropy Jennifer Cahill.
Many teams tried different strategies to pull their plane. Lerners Law Firm team leader Andrew Johnson admitted that his team’s preparations amounted to “sitting at our desks”, while the RBC Bank Rollers said they stretched beforehand and selected their members carefully.
“We set up the best absolute team to do a great job here today,” said Steven Mattis, the Bank Rollers’ team leader.
Some teams were even comprised of high school students. Maiyar Altawil was a part of a team from Westminster Secondary School in London, and was cheered on by her friend Teniola Olaoye. They, like many other teams, found pulling a plane to be a unique experience.
“It was actually … easier than I expected,” said Altawil. “You actually have a whole team backing you up, and that’s what I feel like is just so beautiful and meaningful about this whole thing.”
In the end, after many teams had put their backs into hauling a passenger jet and gone to adjacent kiosks for pizza and ice cream, they agreed it was all for a worthy cause. Several also believed they would be back next year.
“[United Way] are really the backbone of the community,” said Cahill. “They bring all of the organizations together, whether they be for-profit or public or agencies themselves.”
