COMPANY PROFILE BY SANDRA DICK
- His day job is shifting muck, while his 'hobby' is flying at breakneck speed at 100 MPH -
Skip hire boss turned stunt ace Mark is a world record breaker
Remember the days when old bangers used to feature those little stickers on the bumper that declared: “My other car’s a Porsche?”
If he ever felt like it, skip hire business boss Mark Hanson could go one better with a sticker on the back of his favourite digger. He could reveal his other mode of transport is a German manufactured Extra 300L lightweight carbon-fibre based aircraft, complete with powerful 8 litre engine.
Or, in other words, the kind of tricky little plane used by Red Bull pilots, one that spins, flips, barrel rolls and performs eyeball popping mid-air stunts which leave stomachs heaving, and those of a nervous disposition looking away.
It’s a bit of leap from the wheel of his digger at Quicker Demolition & Skips in Burnley, where he employs seven staff and has built up the business from a single wagon and a few skips to four trucks and over 300 skips.
Up in the clouds Mark performs gut-wrenching manoeuvres. On the ground, he’s a hands-on boss, overseeing mainly demolition site waste, a healthy number of domestic uplifts, and is also recycling around 95% of his waste.
It might not be the biggest or wealthiest company in the world, but according to Mark, what’s more important is
running his business at a level that gives him the chance to enjoy what he really wants to do. And that’s flying.
“It’s hard to make a living and I don’t make a fortune. But I make enough to have a decent life and look after the lads,” he shrugged. “I’m happy working five days a week, and flying at weekends.”
Which is why the 43-year-old dad of five spends his spare time performing daredevil tricks above the farm in Padiham, Lancashire where he lives, and practicing for air shows, competitions and more recently, world records.
39 TAKE OFFS AND LANDINGS AN HOUR
That last challenge took place at Kirkbride Airfield in Cumbria in late summer, when he shattered the world record for the most take offs and landings in an hour. He managed 39 – harder than it sounds.
“You take off, as soon as you’re airborne you turn left, 90 degrees, then climb to 1000ft,” he explained. “Then you pull the throttle back and dive.”
The G forces climbing to 1000 feet in seconds, and then diving back to the ground, have been likened to sitting on ‘The Big One’ roller coaster at Blackpool non-stop for an hour. Then there’s the screaming towards the earth at 100 mph, while keeping cool.
nHe's up, up and away in his beautiful machine - Mark's speed machine is mean, lean, and capable of ultra high speeds 12 SHM February, 2017
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