LIKE OLD TIMES: World War Two veteran
Fred Morgan takes the controls again in Takapuna.
Photo: Ben Watson
When 94-year-old Fred Morgan last flew, it was in a Spitfire over wartime London.
He got to know the city’s streets like the back of his hand while serving in the air force from 1941 to 1945.
He thought he’d never get to see it from the inside of a cockpit again until taking to the air in an almost-real flight simulation.
"I know it incredibly well during the war – from the ground and from the air," he says.
"It’s good to fly over London again. "
The then 24-year-old was learning to fly Spitfires in 1940 shortly after the Battle of Britain, but he was injured and nearly lost his life in a training flight when his plane hit a balloon and had to make a crash landing.
Though Mr Morgan’s injuries kept him away from combat it did not stop him doing regular flights over the London area.
He got to know the city so well he could predict taxi routes from the air.
An enduring attachment to the area motivated him to make the simulated flight at Takapuna’s Flight Experience, despite not taking the controls of a plane for more than 60 years.
Only this time the aircraft was a 737 jet rather than a Spitfire.
"I’ve never flown anything with more than two engines. Hopefully I can do it without crashing," he said just before ‘takeoff’.
© 2009 Fairfax New Zealand Limited
May 7, 2009
NEW ZEALAND: WWII vet looks down on London again but not from a Spitfire
.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand / North Shore Times / May 7, 2009
By Hayden Donnell - North Shore Times
LIKE OLD TIMES: World War Two veteran
Fred Morgan takes the controls again in Takapuna.
Photo: Ben Watson
When 94-year-old Fred Morgan last flew, it was in a Spitfire over wartime London.
He got to know the city’s streets like the back of his hand while serving in the air force from 1941 to 1945.
He thought he’d never get to see it from the inside of a cockpit again until taking to the air in an almost-real flight simulation.
"I know it incredibly well during the war – from the ground and from the air," he says.
"It’s good to fly over London again. "
The then 24-year-old was learning to fly Spitfires in 1940 shortly after the Battle of Britain, but he was injured and nearly lost his life in a training flight when his plane hit a balloon and had to make a crash landing.
Though Mr Morgan’s injuries kept him away from combat it did not stop him doing regular flights over the London area.
He got to know the city so well he could predict taxi routes from the air.
An enduring attachment to the area motivated him to make the simulated flight at Takapuna’s Flight Experience, despite not taking the controls of a plane for more than 60 years.
Only this time the aircraft was a 737 jet rather than a Spitfire.
"I’ve never flown anything with more than two engines. Hopefully I can do it without crashing," he said just before ‘takeoff’.
© 2009 Fairfax New Zealand Limited
LIKE OLD TIMES: World War Two veteran
Fred Morgan takes the controls again in Takapuna.
Photo: Ben Watson
When 94-year-old Fred Morgan last flew, it was in a Spitfire over wartime London.
He got to know the city’s streets like the back of his hand while serving in the air force from 1941 to 1945.
He thought he’d never get to see it from the inside of a cockpit again until taking to the air in an almost-real flight simulation.
"I know it incredibly well during the war – from the ground and from the air," he says.
"It’s good to fly over London again. "
The then 24-year-old was learning to fly Spitfires in 1940 shortly after the Battle of Britain, but he was injured and nearly lost his life in a training flight when his plane hit a balloon and had to make a crash landing.
Though Mr Morgan’s injuries kept him away from combat it did not stop him doing regular flights over the London area.
He got to know the city so well he could predict taxi routes from the air.
An enduring attachment to the area motivated him to make the simulated flight at Takapuna’s Flight Experience, despite not taking the controls of a plane for more than 60 years.
Only this time the aircraft was a 737 jet rather than a Spitfire.
"I’ve never flown anything with more than two engines. Hopefully I can do it without crashing," he said just before ‘takeoff’.
© 2009 Fairfax New Zealand Limited
