Moray woman Rosie Hales-Tooke (88) flies plane at RAF Lossiemouth on birthday
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A MORAY woman celebrated turning 88 in spectacular fashion at RAF Lossiemouth on Tuesday.
Rosie Hales-Tooke took flight in a AT-3 R100 plane, turning the clock to days gone by, when she was somewhat of a regular flier.
The 88-year-old, who has a live-every-day-like-it's-your-last attitude, had no apprehension when her daughter Lucy told her of her unusual birthday present.
"You have to do as much as you can while you have the energy to do it," Rosie said. "You just don't know how much time you have.
"I was reminiscing and saying what a pity it was that I didn't fly as much any more.
"I wondered if I could still take off and land a plane and now I've had the chance to see.
"It was brilliant – I just loved. It was incredible up there looking down on the green fields, trees and mountains.
"It's so lovely and peaceful and you can see for miles and miles. Everything looks so tiny.
"The whole day was absolutely magic and really lovely. Everybody was so super from start to finish."
The flight lasted almost an hour and Rosie was in control of the plane for the vast majority of the time.
She originally got in a plane's cockpit while dating a man who owned a flying club in London, more than 50 years ago.
She has flown since, but not very often. Rosie said that there have been significant changes in flying since she first took to the air.
"I couldn't remember a lot because it is totally different from 50 years ago when I was flying regularly," she said.
"There is so much digital stuff in the plane and it practically flies itself. It's a lot easier now, I think.
"I had the controls taking off but didn't manage to land the flight as some jets were coming in.
"Getting out of the plane was difficult, though, as an old lady who has had a hip operation!"
Stuart Anselm, instructor at Moray Flying Club, was Rosie's co-pilot. He added: "Rosie was able to do a lot of the handling.
"As an existing pilot, it wasn't unusual to her so she was at the controls a lot of the time. She did most of the flying."
Inspired by her experience, Rosie encouraged others to give flying a go and is now thinking of getting back into the swing of it more often.
She added: "I'm actually vaguely thinking about trying to get my license back and start flying again.
"But at 88 you don't know how much time you have."
