Skies the limit for Tommy

MANY a professional sportsman has whiled away a few spare hours on the golf course down through the years but Tommy Bowe’s recent stint on the fairways amounted to more of a flying visit.

Well used to leaving vapour trails on the pitch, Bowe has been doing something similar in the skies and his pursuit of a pilot’s licence began after a spin in a two-seater Ikarus with Ospreys teammate and keen aviator Ian Gough.

“We landed on the fairway of a golf course and there was a guy playing up the opposite direction,” said Bowe. “We turned around, parked in the car park, went in and had a chat with the people in there, played five holes and then took off again.”

Bowe was hooked but he isn’t the only Irish international to indulge a passion for aeronautics as Jamie Heaslip took advantage of his current injury layoff to take his first lesson last weekend.

“I see Jamie’s into it as well now,” Bowe laughed. “He’s just copying me again. He does this all the time.”

They aren’t the first Irish rugby players to take to the skies — both Richard Wallace and Victor Costello have commercial pilot’s licences — but it is probably fair to say that Declan Kidney would prefer them to keep their feet on the ground.

Players in various sports routinely agree to clauses in their contracts which prevent them from pursuing dangerous activities such as skiing or bungee-jumping but flying seems to have escaped the attention of the legal eagles.

“No, I don’t think it is specified,” said Bowe of his club and international contracts.

“It just says that we are not meant to partake in dangerous sports. I presume if I am going to be going jumping out of the plane or sky diving it might be different. The chances of crashing in these small light aircraft are minimal.”