Aviation fan takes to the sky in care home surprise

A CARE home resident in Essex has been granted a Magic Moment as part of the home’s World War II-themed family event.

David Darton, an 88-year-old plane enthusiast and resident of Weald Hall in Epping, took to the sky in a small plane as part of the home’s Magic Moment scheme.

Living with dementia, David moved into the home in 2021 for specialist care support. When he was still able to do so, David loved to build model planes as well as fly small planes, so the team at Weald Hall were eager to let him experience the magic of being in the air once more.

Situated next to the North Weald airfield, David along with many other residents relish in seeing aircraft taking off and landing every day, so there is lots of excitement for staff and residents alike.

The flight took place as part of Weald Hall’s World War II day, where visitors, friends and families of the home were present to enjoy some educational fun.

David was dropped off at the airfield in a WWII vehicle as part of the event and flew in a Cessna C172N – a fourseat, single-engine aircraft.

He said: “The experience given to me by the staff at Weald Hall was excellent and I really enjoyed it. It was a brilliant day.

“Going in the WWII Jeep added to the realism of the experience and

Advertiser’s announcement brought back memories of when I served in Malaya. I used to drive the same Jeep.

“It was a really enjoyable and great day. I’m happy I got to have this experience.”

The Magic Moment scheme was started by the home’s lifestyle team and aims to enrich the lives of residents with meaningful activities or one-of-a-kind events and experiences.

Home manager Danielle Barham added: “I can honestly and truly say I love my job and I’m so proud to work at Weald Hall. Our lifestyle team does the most amazing things for our residents. They ensure our residents have an exciting and engaging lifestyle programme that includes activities, events and surprises.

“We are so pleased we could make David’s wish come true and look forward to being able to do the same for our other residents.”