After a 65-year hiatus, 89-year-old Norman Follett had the opportunity to soar through the skies again thanks to a surprise birthday gift from his children.
Follett strapped himself into a sleek, two-person glider at the Cu Nim Airport outside Black Diamond, Alta. Thursday afternoon before being towed skyward behind a plane.
Gliders are powerless aircraft with no engines or propellers. After launching into the air via tow-plane, or high-powered winch, pilots then chase pockets of warm, rising air — or thermals — and can use them to keep their aircraft gliding for hours on end.
The experience, thousands of feet above the prairies, was especially meaningful for Follett.
The man went through glider training as a young man in England in the 1950s but his flying career ended abruptly.
During training, he survived two serious crash landings.
“When the guy tried to land it, he spun the left wing, stalled and we crashed,” Follett recalled. “So they took me up with a different instructor and he did the same thing.
“Boy, every muscle and sinew was strained from top to bottom.”
Follett was able to earn his solo pilot credentials following the crashes, but soon moved to Canada and dropped gliding altogether.
That is, until Follett’s daughter, Lynn Grant, surprised him with Thursday’s gliding session.
“He didn’t believe us,” Grant said. “He said, ‘Really?’ I said, ‘Yeah, yeah you’re going up on a glider.'”
Follett’s son Dave was there to watch his father’s return to the sky as well. He said even after 65 years, his father still talked often about his love of gliding.
“Every time the old photo album came out, we’d see the old pictures of the crashed glider,” he said.
Follett made the most of his trip to the clouds, snapping pictures and even taking control of the glider. He admitted he may need some more practice after all these years.
“We did a couple of turns there in the thermals, and I had to get used to that I’ll tell you,” he said, laughing.
Now the biggest question for Follett and his family is what he’ll do for his 90th birthday.