THE sky was the limit at a charity auction when the RAF offered the ultimate prize to anyone gunning for a chance to live out their fantasies of being a fighter pilot.
A turn at the controls of the flight simulator at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, near York, led to fierce bidding before two couples – Jane and Mike McGrath, and Ann and Kim Whaley, from Mirfield – teamed up to clinch the prize.
The auction was part of a fun
d-raising campaign for the Alzheimer's Society. Mrs McGrath said: "The boys stopped bidding at £200 and seemed content with the golf prize they had won.
"But I knew I was right to carry on. Mike would love to learn how to fly and Kim's dad was in the RAF. So with a joint birthday present in mind I kept going, determined to win the flight."
After claiming their prize at Linton she said: "Having watched the others first I thought it would be quite a challenge, but the instructor was very helpful and soon I was flying the simulator on my own.
"You don't realise the perception of the horizon and how tricky it is to fly in a valley. It was an amazing experience. Alzheimer's is a lesser known illness and you never know if it might affect your family. That is why we were very glad to support the auction."
Two of the fund-raising sisters, Anne Walker, who lives in York, and Lynn Cunningham, from Brighouse, are preparing for a five-day sponsored trek in Beijing.
Siblings Kathryn Spendilow, from Congleton and Judith Wright,from Halifax, are helping the campaign, which included the charity auction at the Great Wall of China restaurant in Brighouse. They decided to raise money because their mother is suffering from dementia
The RAF say the experience in the Tucano flight simulator at Linton-on-Ouse was something which money normally could not buy.
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