Many Senior South Africans have never experienced the joy and nerves of ‘take-off’, or looked out of a plane window in awe before. But, events like The Elders Flight are changing that!
Brakpan, South Africa (10 May, 2023)— The Elder’s Flight has kept its promise to give senior South Africans their chance to fly for the first time.
Since 2018, pilot Felix Gosher has been part of making hundreds of dreams come true for elderly people who have never had the chance to fly before.
Felix was inspired to give more people the chance to fly while working as a pilot for the UN. The joy he felt from seeing how thrilled children were to see his plane land in their remote Sudanese villages stayed with him. Soon, he looked into starting a project to help children fly.
But, that wasn’t all. Felix was asked if the event could focus on senior citizens too, and he loved the idea.
5 years later, the Elders Flight is still going strong and bringing joy.
For 2023’s Elders Flight, all the flight dreams took off at the Brakpan Aero Club toward the end of April as one of the most awesome gestures of the year.
Retired veterans were also included with their old wings, like Lt (Ret) Piet Visser and generations of his family who got to reunite with the aircraft he flew 70 years before.
As former Chief of the South African Airforce, LtGen Fabian “Zakes” Msimang shared:
“For me it’s a great honour to be here amongst aviation, where they bring together people from the disadvantaged communities who have not flown before. I think that’s a beautiful gesture and I salute them.”
To find out more about the Elders Flight, soar over here.
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