At 102 years old, Peter Chance has lived a life filled with adventure and community service, spending 30 years in the Royal Canadian Navy and more than 40 years of his life in various roles with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
But despite being a staunch sailor, his experiences learning to fly Tiger Moths in England during the Second World War - in between fighting German submarines in the Battle of the Atlantic and surviving the sinking of his ship off the coast of Iceland - stuck with him.
On Feb. 13, he was able to fulfil a long-held dream to return to the skies, thanks to his friend Paul Seguna and the Victoria Flying Club.
害羞草研究所淚t was absolutely the most exciting time I have had in my so-called vintage at 102,害羞草研究所� said Chance. 害羞草研究所�(When he heard the flight was going to happen) I said 害羞草研究所榟ell, let害羞草研究所檚 go!害羞草研究所� It was one of the best things to ever happen to me. The whole thing was just sheer excitement beyond measure.害羞草研究所�
The flight took Chance, Seguna and flight instructor Darren Rich 害羞草研究所� all veterans 害羞草研究所� along the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, up as far as Nanaimo and over the Gulf Islands. Chance recalls it was a perfect flying weather, with clear skies and excellent visibility. But the stunning west coast views from the skies were only part of the experience, and certainly not the highlight of the trip.
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For Chance, the highlight was being able to take the controls and fly the Cessna 172 for nearly an hour, including some maneuvers under the watchful eye of Rich.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 been a long time since I flew a plane, but it all started coming back to me with the controls at my feet and hands,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚t was the icing on the cake for me, just marvellous.害羞草研究所�
Seguna, a friend of Chance and one of his so-called aides-de-camp, said the idea for the flight came about during one of his regular lunches at an aviation-themed restaurant at Victoria International Airport. At one point as they were driving around the area, Chance made an off-hand comment that he would love to get back in a plane again, and Seguna took note.
He reached out to Rich to see if it would be possible to organize a flight. Rich checked with the club害羞草研究所檚 general manager, Michael Schlievert, who was all too happy to arrange for the club to provide a plane and fuel for the flight.
害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檝e been a club here since 1946 and we have been leaning toward flight training. And it害羞草研究所檚 easy when you do that to see the club participation side of things slide away,害羞草研究所� said Schlievert. 害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檝e been on a turn here to make us more of a club with Saturday morning coffee and, this really fit with that 害羞草研究所� we are friends of aviation, we have a history with it, he has a history with it, so we just jumped on it.害羞草研究所�
Seguna said there were some challenges getting schedules to align with good flying weather, but the work paid off and he is proud to have had a part in making it happen.
害羞草研究所淭he satisfaction of giving Peter an experience that was so important to him and that he got so much enjoyment out of, made it so worth it,害羞草研究所� said Seguna. 害羞草研究所淗e was right on board with it from the get-go, an he was in good shape to be able to do it.害羞草研究所�
While Chance is forever grateful for efforts of Seguna and the members of the flying club for making his dream a reality, he is already looking forward to his next big adventure.
害羞草研究所淚 have a scooter down in the basement here, and when it gets a little warmer, I害羞草研究所檓 going to go out and terrorize the neighbourhood,害羞草研究所� Chance said with a chuckle.
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justin.samanski-langille@goldstreamgazette.com
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