Sky's not the limit for heart surgery survivor

An Aldwick man will be showing how big his heart is by taking to the sky for an historic flight.

Open-heart surgery survivor Ken Aitken is flying around the coast of Britain to fulfil an ambition and help a charity.

Mr Aitken expects to take about two weeks to complete his journey of around 2,600 miles. It will start and finish at Goodwood Airfield.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: "I didn't think I would ever be able to do this '“ or even fly with a heart condition.

"It's both exciting and a bit daunting to be facing a flight like this. It will be a real achievement when I've finished.

"Very few people ever fly around the coast of Britain and I know this will be the furthest north an aircraft from Goodwood Flying School will have been flown."

The flying school is allowing him to use its Piper Archer PA28, G-OODW.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Aitken, 58, of Aldwick Felds, hopes to make a substantial sum for the British Heart Foundation from his flight. He will be accompanied in the air by his friend and colleague, Middleton resident Martin Eley.

They intend to leave Goodwood on July 11 and will make 13 stops along the way.

It will be the flight of a lifetime for Mr Aitken whose passion for aviation began as a child in the late 1950s and early 60s.

He flew with his father on two or three jaunts in a Tiger Moth. But his father died from a heart attack when he was just 52 and Mr Aitken was 19.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Flying remained just a fond memory for Mr Aitken until his wife, Aileen, bought him a half-hour pleasure flight for his 50th birthday.

The experience changed his life. He used a small legacy to arrange a trial lesson and was hooked on life above the clouds.

But the compulsory medical revealed an unknown genetic heart condition. A faulty aortic valve needed immediate surgery to stop his heart tissues deteriorating further. He was 51 '“ the same age as his father when he had his first heart attack.

"I was thoroughly shocked and my future seemed very bleak," stated Mr Aitken, a part-time teacher at Bognor Regis Community College.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Surgery to fit a replacement artificial valve followed and six months later he was back on his feet.

He could never gain a European pilot's licence because of his heart condition and resigned himself to remaining grounded.

But the introduction of the national licence cleared him for lift-off again. He became a student and earned his wings after 50 hours of flying training and countless hours of studying.

"I had realised what my father was never able to do '“ become a qualified pilot," he continued.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I am not a great believer in either fate or divine intervention, but the course of events seemed to contain far too many coincidences to be put down to chance alone.

"If I hadn't taken up flying, I would not have discovered my heart condition until much later when it may have been too late to operate.

"Now that I have completed over 200 hours of flying and I'm fighting fit, I feel I am ready for a further challenge. I would like to do something to express my gratitude and appreciation for the way things have turned out."

Anyone who would like to sponsor Mr Aitken call 01243 821010 or 07973 213888.

The round-Britain flight will take in the following stops:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

1 Seething Airfield, Norfolk; 2 Wickenby Aerodrome, Lincoln; 3 Fife Glenrothes, Scotland; 4 Inverness Airfield, Scotland; 5 Wick Airfield, Scotland; 6 Stornaway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland; 7 Oban Airfield, Scotland; 8 Campbeltown, Scotland; 9 Carlisle, Cumbria; 10 Caernarfon, North Wales; 11 Swansea, Wales; 12 Perranporth, Cornwall; 13 St Mary's, Isles of Scilly; 14 back to Goodwood.

What do you think? Click here to send a letter to [email protected] or leave a comment below.

Click here to go back to Chichester news

Click here to go back to Bognor Regis news

Click here to go back to Midhurst and Petworth news

To tell us where in the world you are reading this story click on the link below to add yourself to our readers' map.

MAP.

Related topics: