A female war veteran has become Britain’s oldest skydiver after she jumped out of the plane to celebrate her 102nd birthday and went ahead to disclose that she is keen on doing the act again.
Manette Baillie, from Suffolk, jumped out of a plane at 7,000 feet above Beccles Airfield in East Anglia on Tuesday to mark her birthday and raise money for charities, the Daily Mail of UK reported.
On what inspired her to take the plunge, the old woman said: “The idea of going skydiving came about after I want racing around silverstone for my 100th birthday and then I didn’t do anything for my 101st but when my 102nd came around, people were teasing me saying I must be doing something.”
“My father went skydiving when he was 83 years old and loved it and said he wanted to do it again. So I thought if he can do it at 83, why can’t I do it at 102.”
The woman admitted that she became a little bit nervous when the door of the plane was about to be opened, saying she thought she had gone too far with what she decided to do.
She told Daily Mail: “I wasn’t nervous when it came to jump. I’m not a nervous person. But when you are waiting for the door to open and that blast of cold air hits you, with your legs dangling outside, I told myself that I have I gone too far?
“And you drop at such a fast rate and you’re spinning around. I had to be careful when I was landing to make sure I didn’t land on my feet. But I would do it again.”
Before embarking on the “dangerous trip,” she was said to have done some exercises at home to prepare for the jump and was declared fit by a doctor who said she must be guarded by an experienced glider during the jump.
She said: “I had to make sure I could lift my legs and the danger was to hit the ground with my feet. I do exercise and I’m always walking around the garden. I’m pretty rocky on my legs and need a stick but I’ve got no complaints.”
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