Skip to content

Spitfire flight is dream come true for woman, 91

Doreen Allen Doreen Allen, wearing a olive green flight suit, gives the thumbs up in a grey Spitfire planeDoreen Allen
Doreen Allen had wanted to fly in a Spitfire since the age of six

A 91-year-old woman has achieved her lifelong dream of flying in a Spitfire plane.

Doreen Allen, of Kettering, Northamptonshire, first "fell in love" with the "beautiful" aircraft as a child during World War Two when she witnessed a Spitfire in a dogfight "turning on a sixpence."

Ms Allen flew from Headcorn Aerodrome in Kent in the skies where the Battle of Britain was fought.

"I promised myself that one day, when I was 90, if I had the money, I would treat myself to a ride in a Spitfire. So I did," she said.

Doreen Allen Doreen Allen, in the passenger seat of a grey Spitfire, is wearing an olive green flight suit and waves at the cameraDoreen Allen
Ms Allen's children and grandchildren were "delighted" to see her achieve her dream

Ms Allen's first flight was postponed for health reasons, and the second because of the weather.

But on the third try, her dream became a reality.

Following the flight, she said: "It was everything I imagined it would be, and more.

"To even see a Spitfire makes me emotional, but to fly in one has been a lifelong dream. The best bit was the take-off; it's my favourite thing when I fly."

She has no plans to slow down her adventuring, and hopes to go up in a hot air balloon with her daughter-in-law.

Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

More like this