88-Year-Old Aviation Fan Takes To The Sky In Care Home Surprise

88-year-old aviation fan takes to the sky in care home surprise

A care home resident in Essex has been granted a Magic Moment as part of the home’s World War II-themed family event.

David Darton, an 88-year-old plane enthusiast and resident of the Weald Hall Care Home in Epping, took to the sky in a small plane as part of the home’s Magic Moment scheme.

The flight took place on Saturday 1st July and was part of Weald Hall’s World War II day, where visitors, friends and families of the home were present to enjoy some educational fun.

David was dropped off at the airfield in a WWII vehicle as part of the event and flew in a Cessna C172N – a four-seat, single-engine aircraft.

The Magic Moment scheme was started by the home’s lifestyle team and aims to enrich the lives of residents with meaningful activities or one-of-a-kind events and experiences.

Danielle Barham, care home manager at Weald Hall Care Home said:
“I can honestly and truly say I love my job and I’m so proud to work at Weald Hall. Our lifestyle team does the most amazing things for our residents. They ensure our residents have an exciting and engaging lifestyle programme that includes activities, events and surprises.

“We are so pleased we could make David’s wish come true and look forward to being able to do the same for our other residents.”

David added: “The experience given to me by the staff at Weald Hall was excellent and I really enjoyed it. It was a brilliant day. Going in the WWII jeep added to the realism of the experience and brought back memories of when I served in Malaya. I used to drive the same jeep.

“It was a really enjoyable and great day, I’m happy I got to have this experience.”