December 9, 2015 11.59 am This story is over 99 months old

Lincoln care home surprises long-term resident with flight of a lifetime

The sky’s the limit: Kind staff at Gables Manor residential home in Lincoln surprised a long-term resident with the trip of a lifetime when they arranged a private flight in a twin-propeller aeroplane.
Chrissy King, 59, has been a resident at the home, which is run for people with learning difficulties and mental health issues by the charity Making Space, since 1999.

Kind staff at Gables Manor residential home in Lincoln surprised a long-term resident with the trip of a lifetime when they arranged a private flight in a twin-propeller aeroplane.

Chrissy King, 59, has been a resident at the home, which is run for people with learning difficulties and mental health issues by the charity Making Space, since 1999.

During a review with her social worker, Chrissy shared that she’d never been up in an aeroplane and that it was a long-held ambition.

Registered nurse Lindsay Yeo said: “We have regular reviews with our residents, and Chrissy’s admission that she wanted to fly was completely out of the blue.

“We asked if she meant she wanted to go on holiday, and she said no – she just wanted to experience being up in the air.”

So Lindsay and the team set about making Chrissy’s dream of flying come true, and after a few calls and a little detective work, Lindsay was put in touch with pilot Charles Wheeldon.

The local farmer, who flies in his spare time, was only too happy to help, much to Chrissy’s delight.

Chrissy King loved her first flight across the skies of Lincolnshire.

Chrissy King loved her first flight across the skies of Lincolnshire.

She said: “Charles agreed to fly Lindsay and me around the Lincoln area, and I was so full of beans and jumping up and down with excitement.

“We had to wait a few days because of bad weather, but then one morning we got a call to say the conditions were perfect and we had to go to Wickenby Aerodrome straight away.

“Charles said I could sit in the front of the plane, which I was happy about as I could see all the different buttons and dials.

“When we’d taken off I had no idea at first because I was expecting it to be rough or to feel really different to being on the ground, but it wasn’t. It was so exciting to be able to see everything so far down below.

“We went over Scampton and Lincoln and saw the cathedral and the castle and the whole city – it was amazing.”

“We were only too happy to help Chrissy’s dream come true,” Lindsey added.

“It’s not something we do regularly, but seeing how happy it made Chrissy made the whole thing worthwhile and hopefully we’ll be able to arrange another flight for her before too long.”