While most people may think adventure sports are for the young, a nonagenarian has proved otherwise. Leaving all in awe, a 95-year-old man in the United Kingdom did something quite mindboggling — taking a flight strapped atop a plane.
Yes, instead of boarding an aircraft, Ivor Button took to the skies strapped on a pole on top of a biplane. Now, the daring adventure of the great-grandfather has created a buzz online as he became the world’s oldest wing walker, a record previously held by late Thomas Lackey, who achieved the feat at the age of 93, in 2013.
Flying for one hour and 21 minutes across the Irish Sea, Button soared to the sky quite literally from Staverton Airport in Gloucestershire. “I’m of sound mind! I was not scared. I was more concerned about getting cold,” Button was quoted by The Independent.
Ivor Button beat the previous record set by late Tom Lackey, who was 93 when he performed the stunt in 2013. Widower Ivor said: ”I’m of sound mind!” pic.twitter.com/0EYS8aN7RB
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) April 11, 2022
When it comes to flights, Button is no stranger in the field as he worked as a design engineer and joined the ground crew at Staverton Airport during wartime. “It was the best job in the world and I was lucky to enjoy the odd flight from Staverton,” he told LadBible.
“There was a navigational training school there then and I asked the pilot if I could come on one of their practice runs. He said ‘hop in’ and I was put up in the gun turret, but there were no guns there of course,” the old man recalled dubbing it “a wonderful time”.
Talking to the Express, UK, the senior man said he got fascinated by flying at the young age of six in 1932 when his parents took him to Sir Alan Cobham’s Flying Circus, which gave many people their first taste of air travel. “They paid ten shillings for all of us to go up in an open cockpit aircraft. I couldn’t see over the cockpit but I loved it,” he said.
However, his brave act was beyond the adrenaline rush. The elderly man took on the mission to support a cause close to his heart and raise money for charity for a non-profit Ataxia UK. Ataxia is a condition that affects coordination, balance and speech according to NHS.
“I am raising money for Ataxia UK because some of family and a three year old I know suffer from this,” his Just Giving donation page read. Nearly, £1,400 has been raised so far according to tally on the donation page.
