99-yo Woman Snags ‘World’s Oldest Wing-Walker’ Title – 3 Months After Another Gran Did It (LOOK).
Helga Duffy, 99, of Wiltshire became the world's oldest wing walker with a flight at a Gloucestershire airfield, beating the record set by 97-year-old Betty Bromage and raising money for an air ambulance charity.
Helga Duffy, 99, has become the world's oldest wing walker, BBC News reports. She completed the flight at RFC Rendcomb Airfield in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, strapped to the top of a small plane. The wing walk also raised money for the Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance.
Duffy now lives in a care home in Devizes, Wiltshire, and spent many years in Frome, Somerset. She said she wanted to try wing walking after seeing 97-year-old Betty Bromage do it on the news. Duffy described the feeling as "peculiar" and said of the flight: "I wasn't frightened because I was so excited."
Officials from Guinness World Records presented her with an official certificate at the airfield. Duffy was the eldest of seven children, and she said her father, who expected the best of his children, would have been proud of her.
Her nieces, Jackie Rose and Julie Preece, watched the flight. They described her as an "independent" and "forthright lady". Rose said her aunt had wanted to do something different for a long time and wanted to show that, even at 99, she is still the person she was years ago. The fundraising was also emotional for the nieces, because their mother made her final journey in an air ambulance.
Sam Conway of the air ambulance charity called Duffy a "legend". Duffy has raised more than £1,300 for the charity.
Bromage, whose record Duffy beat, offered congratulations and joked that she could not wait to turn 100 and do it again. Bromage has completed six wing walks and said it is "a bit frightening at first" because of the apprehension beforehand.
Note: The headline says another woman set the record three months earlier. The BBC page does not give a date or timeframe for Betty Bromage's record, so the brief leaves that out.
At a Glance
- Helga Duffy is 99 and lives in a care home in Devizes, Wiltshire.
- She completed the wing walk at RFC Rendcomb Airfield in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.
- Duffy has raised more than £1,300 for the Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance.
- She beat the record held by Betty Bromage, 97, who has completed six wing walks.
- Guinness World Records officials presented Duffy with her certificate at the airfield.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.