100-year-old former RAF pilot gets behind the controls of a Spitfire to mark centenary celebrations of Biggin Hill Airport that played key role in Battle of Britain
Ray Roberts was joined in the skies by fellow centenarians who flew in a Learjet 75
A HERO former RAF pilot has taken to the skies behind the controls of a Spitfire - at the age of 100.
Ray Roberts had to use a walking aid on the runway to take his place in the twin-seat aircraft to make centenary celebrations of a Kent airport that played a pivotal role in the Battle of Britain.
The 100-year-old was joined in the skies by fellow centenarians Lily Osborne and Trudy Baxter, who flew in a Learjet 75.
The trio were VIPs at Biggin Hill Airport in Kent which arranged the flights to herald a year of celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the ex-RAF base.
Hero Ray joined the RAF in 1940 and trained as a fighter pilot.
But he was injured later that year when his parachute failed to fully open after he bailed out of a Spitfire.
The horror landed him a place in the Caterpillar Club - a group of people who had bailed out of a stricken aircraft and survived to tell the tale - but forced him to quit as a RAF fighter pilot.
A year later, he joined the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) and spent the rest of the Second World War delivering aircraft to service units direct from the factory.
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Ray's daughter, Lyndi Roberts, said: "He is just amazed to be given the opportunity. He has been going through his old logbooks.
"Since he found out he was going to be flown in a Spitfire, he kept saying he cannot wait to get up and see the Earth, looking down. He said it takes him back."
Best known for its role in the Battle of Britain, Biggin Hill served as one of the vital command bases for the Hurricanes and Spitfires of RAF Fighter Command protecting the South East.
It later accepted civil flights alongside its role as a rapid reaction station.
When RAF operations ended there, Biggin Hill gradually grew as an international gateway airport for business, corporate and general aviation.
Biggin Hill managing director Will Curtis told guests that the Second World War was won in part at the airport.
He said: "We are aware that Biggin Hill sat at the very tipping point of the Second World War.
"I am naturally proud of that legacy and we will do our very best to ensure that it is properly preserved for future generations. I am also acutely aware that today Biggin Hill plays an important part in London's future."
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