Altrincham Resident Flies Over Switzerland And Sydney Harbour as Part of Seize The Day Experience as Dream of Being Pilot is Achieved

A resident at an Altrincham home was able to achieve her “dream” of being a pilot thanks to a Seize the Day experience

Dorothy ‘Dot’ Boardman has been living at MHA Handsworth for just over 18 months and during a conversation with activity coordinator Charlotte Fowke, Dot mentioned to her that it was always a dream of hers to become a pilot, however due to financial constraints, it was something she couldn’t achieve.

Charlotte then arranged for her and Dot to visit The Deck 747, a flight simulator experience, where Dot was able to sit in an authentic British Airways Boeing 747 from which the simulator experience was set up.

Another interesting occurrence was the simulator experience is situated in the Barton Aerodrome Centre, where Dot would go to visit her boyfriend when she was 18, who would take her up in the air in some of the lighter aircrafts

The Seize the Day initiative encourages residents to re-experience activities or events from the past or to do something they would like to do for the first time.

Dot’s journey started from Switzerland before making her way down to Australia around the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Speaking after the trip Charlotte said: “ It was amazing to see how Dot’s face lit up when we saw the plane and it was really special to be able to make her dream of being a pilot come true.

“When chatting with Dot I found out that she had worked at Manchester Airport about 70 years ago as a meet and greet for around 20 years.

“Dot has always had an interest in planes and being a pilot was her dream, due to the cost of training and the fact that at the time it was not something women did, it had continued to be a dream.

“Dot went on to marry her late husband who also worked at the airport flying light aircrafts around the UK.

“Dot’s last flight was around 15 years ago, in her 80’s when she flew to India for a holiday.

“On this holiday Dot had a fall and was unable to fly home on a regular passenger plane therefore was brought home on a stretcher on a military aircraft.

“We spent some time with our guide for the morning, Tom, as he gave some history on the aircraft we would be carrying out the flight on.

“During our simulation we took off from Manchester Airport and carried a short circle around the surrounding areas. Dot had full control and was guided by her co-pilot Tom.

“We then took off from Switzerland where Dot had to navigate the valleys and mountains, during this part we changed to a night flight where Dat was shown how some of the screens worked in the aircraft.

“Tom explained that during a night flight these screens become the captain’s eyes and show the paths that have to be taken to avoid objects.

“We rounded off the session with a flight round Sydney Harbour in Australia where Dot was assisted to fly under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and carry out a 360-degree roll.

“Dot appeared in her element throughout the whole of the session and when we returned she commented about how much she had enjoyed the day and how amazing the experience was.”