August 28, 2022 6.55 am This story is over 34 months old

Lincolnshire widow braves wing walk to raise over £4k for charity

In memory of her RAF pilot husband
Rupee Hayes conquering her fear of heights and raising over £4,000 in one fell swoop. | Photo: RAF Benevolent Fund

A Lincolnshire woman has braved a daring wing walk to raise money in memory of her husband who served in the RAF.

Rupee Hayes, from Newton near Sleaford, has so far raised more than £4,000 for the RAF Benevolent Fund, the RAF’s leading welfare charity.

You can donate to her Just Giving page here.

Rupee, 50, completed the feat – and conquered her fear of heights – in memory of her husband Flt Lt Jason Hayes, who flew Jaguars and died in a training accident in 2001.

This year would have been his 50th birthday.

Rupee with Wing Walk Company pilot Ollie Babbage on the day of the flight. | Photo: RAF Benevolent Fund

Speaking about why she was raising money for the RAF Benevolent Fund she said: “After being widowed the Jaguar force and RAF were totally amazing.

“The speed and sincerity of the help my father in-law, Flt Lt Lawrence Hayes, received from the Fund recently, post sepsis, helped put him back on his feet and relieved a huge amount of stress and worry from family members.”

She added: “It would have been Jase’s 50th birthday this year, he died on the July 25 2001 and when I looked at the dates for the wing walk the 24th was the slot assigned to me, it was meant to be.

“I didn’t want what would have been Jase’s 50th year to go by in a morbid fashion, I wanted to celebrate what a wonderful, gifted gentleman he was.

“I wanted to fill what would normally be a very sad time with positivity and a sense of pride, for everyone.”

She added: “Heights scare me and I wanted to do something that was far from easy – for charity. What would be the point of doing something too comfortable?

“I needed an aim and I had to lose a lot of weight, four stones, to be wing-worthy.”