Helmsdale Games flying high with astronaut David Games to be 2024 chieftain
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A PIONEERING austronaut is to be the chieftain for the 2024 Helmsdale and District Highland Games, it has been announced.
David Mackay, the chief pilot of Virgin Galactic, will preside over this year's games which will be held at Cooper Park on Saturday, August 17.
A Helmsdale native, Mr Mackay attended the local primary school and Golspie High School.
He has the distinction of being the first native born Scotsman to visit space.
A spokesperson for the Games said: "We are delighted to announce our 2024 chieftain is David Mackay.
"David has maintained a close connection with the village and school, even taking a small piece of rock from his homeland into space with him."
A former RAF pilot Mr Mackay set his heart on becoming an astronaut at the age of seven when he won the Ladybird Book of Space as a Sunday School prize.
Aged 12, he watched the Apollo moon landing on a black and white television at school.
He went on to have a rocket propelled career, joining Sir Richard Branson's commercial space tourism company Virgin Galactic in 2009.
In July 2021 Mr Mackay flew Sir Richard to the edge of space in a landmark mission aboard VSS Unity.
Sutherland County Committee chairman Councillor Richard Gale has previously described the pilot as an "inspiration".
He said: "To have a genuine test pilot and astronaut who originated from Helmsdale is an inspiration to any youngster in any part of Scotland and particularly to the children of his home village."
More information on the 2024 games is to be released soon.
