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03
Nov 2021
Meet the Starbeck thrill-seeker, 86, who loves to fly Spitfires
Starbeck thrill-seeker Roy Slim, 86, says flying 4,000 feet in the sky in World War Two Spitfires makes him feel young again.
The fearless octogenarian fulfilled a lifetime ambition to fly one of the planes for the first time well into his 80s and hopes to go again in early 2022. Spitfires were used by the RAF throughout the war, most famously in the Battle of Britain against the Luftwaffe.
Mr Slim has lived in Harrogate for over 60 years after working as a radio engineer at RAF Dishforth in the 1950s. However, his love of the Spitfire was forged as a boy, as he was brought up a stone's throw from where they were built at Castle Bromwich in the Midlands.
He said:
When he flew the Spitfire, he had full control of the plane and even performed barrel rolls. He followed the same route pilots took during the war down the English Channel and over the white cliffs of Dover.
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Mr Slim said he has a deep respect for the brave men who flew the planes during the war.
He said the experience is "tremendous".
Mr Slim turned 86 today and has no intention of slowing down. As well as Spitfires, he's learned to fly helicopters, Tiger Moths and performed skydives — all after he turned 80.
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