An octogenarian has taken to the skies to celebrate her birthday by flying a Boeing 737 800. GFS member Valerie Payne from Tiverton, marked her 80th birthday on Monday, 22 July 2019, with a trip to a flight simulator in Chudleigh. She said, "Who said that an 80th birthday couldn't be exciting? Do treat yourself to something you have on your bucket list as I did. Exciting or what? The flight simulator was the thrill of a lifetime, I loved it. I arrived a quarter of an hour early for the briefing and was then taken to the flight deck. We decided to fly to Geneva. I was sitting to the right of the captain who explained the instruments in front of me that I would need to use to keep the aircraft on course and also at the right altitude. After explaining these to me, he handed over control ready for take-off. I took off successfully, climbed to the required height, banked over and headed for Mont Blanc and flew over it, flew along a lake, and then through the fountain that is just on the approach to Geneva, before landing very smoothly with no bouncing. Actually, Valerie is no stranger to excitement as she has experienced the thrill of entertaining hundreds of people at the GFS conventions in Blackpool over many years, singing the songs of George Formby.

valerie flies high!