David Darton, an 88-year-old plane enthusiast, took to the sky in a small plane as part of one of Premium Care Group’s Magic Moment schemes.

Living with dementia, David moved into the Weald Hall Care 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 were eager to let him experience the magic of being in the air once more.

As part of the home’s World War II day, David was transported to the airfield in a WWII vehicle and flew in a Cessna C172N – a four-seat, single-engine aircraft.

Danielle Barham, care home manager at the home said: “I can honestly and truly say I love my job and I’m so proud to work for Premium Care Group. 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.”

David added: “The experience given to me by the staff 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 brought back memories of when I served in Malaya. I used to drive the same jeep.”