Helen Tempest, the world's most experienced wingwalker, will be performing at the Yorkshire Airshow this weekend. She talks to Women's Editor Christen Pears.

THE bright yellow bi-plane swoops low over the crowd, trailing plumes of white smoke in its wake. Helen Tempest stands on the top wing and unstraps herself from the safety rig. Battling against wind speeds of 100mph, she slowly edges her way along the wing and then drops into the cockpit. The spectators roar with delight.

"When I'm up there, I feel as alive as I'm ever going to. It's such a thrill and, of course, it's pure theatre. Thousands of people are watching you and waving, cheering you on. It's the ultimate buzz," says Helen.

At the age of 15, Helen was the youngest wingwalker in history and she would have done it sooner had she been given the chance.

"My father was pilot at airshows so from a young age, my brother and I used to go along and watch him flying. One of the acts he did was a wingwalking display and, as an eight-year-old, I thought that was incredibly glamorous. The girls on the wing were always full of energy, they looked fantastic and I always knew that was what I wanted to do.

"I nagged my father endlessly and when I was 15, he finally allowed me to try it. It lived up to all my expectations and I was hooked from then on."

Wingwalking started after the First World War, mainly in America but also, on a smaller scale, in Britain. Pilots who had flown in the war were able to buy surplus aircraft very cheaply and earned a living by charging people to fly in them.

To advertise their service, they used to fly low over towns and cities, letting people know they were in town, but, after a while, the novelty began to wear off and they needed a new, more effective form of advertising.

"They needed something to really grab people's attention," explains Helen. "Some began to ask their girlfriends to stand on the wings to make it a bit more spectacular. Unfortunately, they weren't as careful as we are now, a couple of people fell off and wingwalking was banned in 1933."

Helen is now 36 and for the last 15 years she has been flying with the Utterly Butterly wingwalking team. They're the only professional wingwalkers in Europe and the group was founded by pilot Vic Norman. An ardent admirer of those early wingwalkers, in each show he aims to recreate the magic of the barnstorming displays of the 1920s.

As well as Vic and Helen, who is also operations director, the Utterly Butterlys consist of two other pilots and wingwalkers. Flying 1940s Boeing Stearman bi-planes, they have performed at air shows up and down the country and were the first team since 1933 to be given permission to actually walk, unsupported, along the lower wing.

For most of the display, Helen is strapped to a pole in the centre of the top wing as the aircraft loops and rolls at 150 miles an hour, performing a series of spectacular manoeuvres, including the Mirror Formation.

Both aircraft dive at a speed of 140mph and then one pulls up and rolls into an inverted position, with the wingwalker hanging from her straps. The other plane is positioned underneath, forming a mirror image.

Helen loves the adrenaline rush she experiences during displays and is constantly pushing the boundaries of her routine. For the Queen's jubilee, she formed a human flag by planting one foot at the top of the pole and one at the bottom, and flapping in the wind like a flag.

"I was very nervous for that one even though we'd been practising in the hangar all winter. It was the most incredible and outrageous thing I've ever done.

"I have a healthy respect for the safety aspect but because I've been doing it so long, I've got used to it. I don't usually get nervous but I still get very excited. It's such an incredible feeling and I'm so lucky to be able to do it as a job."

Helen and the Utterly Butterly team will be flying at this year's Yorkshire Air Show, which will be held at Elvington Airfield, near York over the Bank Holiday weekend.

"We've been flying at the Yorkshire Air Show for many years and every time we come back it seems to be bigger and better than before. This year's certainly looks like the biggest yet so we'll definitely be going that little bit further to make sure we're show stoppers," says Helen.

This year's show will also include aerial ballet, a Battle of Britain Memorial flypast and a display by the Falcons parachute team.

* For more information about the show, visit www.elvington.org.uk or call the ticket hotline on (01759) 305851.