Dr Paul Glover, of Wanaka, a retired anaesthetist diagnosed with Usher syndrome, celebrated a once-in-a-lifetime flight with friends, family and Champagne yesterday.
Dr Glover was one of many to pay $4200 for a 30-minute flight through the Clutha Valley aboard the Aero L-39 Albatros, which was in town for Warbirds Over Wanaka at the weekend.
‘‘It’s one of the most reckless things I’ve ever done, and absolutely the most financially reckless,’’ he said.
‘‘It was an extraordinary feeling on the whole body, different to anything I had ever experienced.’’
An ambassador for Ushers NZ and president of Retina NZ, Dr Glover has had symptoms of retinal dystrophy (RP) since his teens, but that deterioration accelerated just before he retired at 63.
Dr Glover’s partner, Sandy Baigent, said the pair had attended Warbirds Over Wanaka on Sunday and saw Fighter Jets NZ advertising the ride of a lifetime.
‘‘He had tears in his eyes when I told him he had to do it.
‘‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
‘‘When you become so isolated and your life becomes so small with the loss of hearing and loss of eyesight there is not much that will make you completely go ‘wow’.
‘‘I think it is so exciting for him. He has spent his life saving other people.
‘‘Last Warbirds we walked up little Mt Iron with a picnic and watched it from there and we said we’re not missing out next time.’’
Pilot John ‘‘JC’’ Mathewson said the aircraft was built in the former Czechoslovakia as a jet trainer.
‘‘You would do fighter training in an aircraft like that before transitioning into a combat aeroplane.
‘‘People just love being in it. I’ve flown with a 16-year-old and an 80-year-old and they all love it.
Yesterday, he was flying at about 240 knots (444kmh), but the fighter jet had a top speed of 300 knots (555kmh).
