Guys, i thought some of you might like this.
My Grandma turned 100 years old on the 12th October.
Part of her present was organised by my uncle (by marriage), who is retired himself now, but got quite highly ranked in the RAF / MOD.
Many years ago he was stationed at RAF Waddington, and he managed to pull a few strings to get my grandma out in a Cessna 172 for a 40 minute flight over Lincoln.
Last time she went in a plane was 10 years ago for her 90th :rollin, a Canadian Airlines Boeing 757 where she went on her own to visit her family out there.
She could choose one person to go up with her, and i was the lucky one (lets just say, some of my family members got upset because they wasnt chosen :Hammer)
I couldnt believe it, but 5 minutes into the flight, and the pilot goes "Ok Florence.....you take control of the plane now".....and without hesitation, she grabbed the controls and started to move the plane about!!!
It got a little bumpy at that point! :rollin
However, i got some awesome pictures of Lincoln whilst i was up there......please enjoy!
(http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j72/dan_norton/Grandmas%20100th%20birthday%20flight/DSC01723.jpg)
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Plus, i could see my house.....in the distance.....we live in the houses right next to ASDA.
(http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j72/dan_norton/Grandmas%20100th%20birthday%20flight/DSC01741.jpg)
Below is a video of Grandma actually flying the plane! :rollin:rollin:Thumbsup!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCfQ09ssoBw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCfQ09ssoBw)
Mate, that\'s totally awesome! And big up to you for sitting in the back seat of a plane being flown by a 100-year-old without reaching for the parachutes lol!
What\'s her secret of her vitality? That\'s just incredible at that age. If it\'s cod liver oil or something horrid I may just resign myself to not living that long hahaha
Thats awesome, well done to all involved and birthday wishes to your Grandma.:Party:Party
Great story, just makes you smile doesn\'t it.
That\'s cool mate, nice pics aswell :)
Cool! Congrats to your grandma.
She doesn\'t look a day over 80 :D
what an awesome story, should be on the BBC!
Thanks everyone for the warm comments.
Nik; haha, the ride got a little bumpy when she took over.....but there was no hesitation from her at all, she couldnt wait to get to the controls haha!
I dont know why she has lived so long, just a regular old lady going about her business.
Mind you, she was from a family over 7, and 4 of her sisters all lived to 90,91,92 and 89.
So it seems the Norton women should be ok later on and get a real good innings.
Kenji; she got told that just the other day, it made her day, haha.
Blitz; you\'re right....it should have been on the news, might send the pics and a story to look north or something.
Well she\'s a Libran just like me, so I hope I have just as much fun as she has had.
There must be something in her genes, she looks fab!! A really lovely story that I am sure will be passed down for generations to come, something for you all to follow.:Party:Party:Party:Party:Party:Party:Party:Party:Party
What a great way to celebrate a century. Given that she was born just at the birth of flight it\'s a fitting way to celebrate her century.
Quote from: Will66;722854What a great way to celebrate a century. Given that she was born just at the birth of flight it\'s a fitting way to celebrate her century.
Very true.
I asked her if she could remember the first plane she ever saw, and she could
It was 1925, and a guy landed a Tigermoth type (wasnt a Tigermoth, but looked similar) plane on the west Common.
There was a crowd of 5000 people all watching this "amazing machine" land.
She was 15 at the time :rollin
My Grandfather was born in 1910 and passed away in 2007, he was a massive enthusiast for all things aeronautical and said it was incredible to think that he\'d just missed the first ever flight but had seen everything from transatlantic crossings, supersonic flight and man on the moon.
If time travel were possible and you could take someone from 1600 to 1800 they\'d think the clothes were weird and that the French were getting uppetty. However if you took someone from 1800 to 2000 they\'d go insane. Flight, spaceflight, electricity, cars, trains and computers would blow their mind!
Quote from: Will66;722862My Grandfather was born in 1910 and passed away in 2007, he was a massive enthusiast for all things aeronautical and said it was incredible to think that he\'d just missed the first ever flight but had seen everything from transatlantic crossings, supersonic flight and man on the moon.
If time travel were possible and you could take someone from 1600 to 1800 they\'d think the clothes were weird and that the French were getting uppetty. However if you took someone from 1800 to 2000 they\'d go insane. Flight, spaceflight, electricity, cars, trains and computers would blow their mind!
If you told someone in 1910 when our grandparents were born, that in 50 odd years time we would send men to the moon, you would have been institutionalised :Giggle
The last two hundred years has been phenomenal in technology.
Not just technology advancements, but my Grandma without her really looking into it, has seen 90% of International and Domestic football history.....the complete reign of Queen Elizabeth....and the complete evolvement from horses and carts, to modern day cars.
Its mad when you think about it.
Quote from: Will66;722862If time travel were possible and you could take someone from 1600 to 1800 they\'d think the clothes were weird and that the French were getting uppetty.
I think they would still say today that the french were getting uppetty! lol
You\'ve got a plucky gran there, and as Mark says....certainly one for the BBC!
She is exactly 60 years older than me! :) I too started flying on my birthday...although in non powered planes!!
The Story of this is going to be in our local paper on tuesday.....i\'ll post the link on the day.
Just fantastic story, just shows there is no limit on age for what you want to do
Unbelievable, some lady...you must be very proud.
Here she is in the Lincolnshire Echo folks!
http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/news/100-year-old-Florence-celebrates-birthday-flying-lesson/article-2822412-detail/article.html (http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/news/100-year-old-Florence-celebrates-birthday-flying-lesson/article-2822412-detail/article.html)
BBC Look North are doing a bit on her tomorrow evening....have a look for it !
Excellent stuff, Dan. I don\'t think we can get Look North down here on the Sunny sarf coast though. Will "Mr Daniel Norton, 31", be featuring in the footage anywhere lol?
No....lol..........im gutted, they are doing the piece tomorrow morning, and im bloddy stuck in Belfast right now for two days!
sounds just like my nan, for her 80th she went in a tiger moth doing barrel rolls etc etc lol
Quote from: karl_tate;724860sounds just like my nan, for her 80th she went in a tiger moth doing barrel rolls etc etc lol
Haha.....thats what i asked the pilot of the Cessna to do, he responded with "im very experienced, but we will die if i do that" :D:eek::chat
Just a quick update......both Calendar and Look North came to do stories on her!
She loved every minute of it.
Heres the Calendar link.....
http://www.itv.com/yorkshire/flying-at-10051361/ (http://www.itv.com/yorkshire/flying-at-10051361/)
Do you think my dad looks a bit like Kenny Rogers?
"gabbling away", eh Dan? Hahaha, he does look like he could use a bootlace tie and big hat to go with the shirt lol :rollin
Your Gran\'s amazing, she talks so clearly and obviously has pin-sharp wits still. Said it before, but if I can be half as together as that when I reach 80 let alone 100 I\'ll be well happy :god
Quote from: Nik da Greek;724938"gabbling away", eh Dan? Hahaha, he does look like he could use a bootlace tie and big hat to go with the shirt lol :rollin
Your Gran\'s amazing, she talks so clearly and obviously has pin-sharp wits still. Said it before, but if I can be half as together as that when I reach 80 let alone 100 I\'ll be well happy :god
My dad doesnt perform well infront of an audience :rollin.....he would a brilliant public speaker, as it would be very comical watching him get flustered and start making words and stuff up :rollin
Yeah, fortunately she still has all her wits about her.....you can have a laugh with her and she gets "modern" humour.