Press & Journal

Journalist Rosemary Lowne originally contacted Phil to say she was writing a piece on senior citizens keeping active and wanted to know if Feshie would participate. 

Phil attempted to get out of it by offering the interview to Bill Longstaff but he was not keen to put himself back out there just yet, so Phil stepped up as the Club’s 4^th oldest member ~ only Bill, Alister and Ray are ahead of him.

Rosemary wanted video as well as pictures, but the photographer wasn’t keen on flying.  We did offer several times, but he wanted to keep his feet on the ground! 

 

Rosemary wrote the following article in the Press & Journal, "All aged in their 70s and 80s, the plucky pensioners hope to banish society’s subconscious stigma that you’re too old to do certain things in life.

By sharing their stories, they hope to show others that it’s never too late."

"Going above and beyond is something Phil Hawkins knows all about.

Never one to keep his feet on the ground, the 73-year-old can usually be found gliding alongside golden eagles and buzzards in the skies above the Cairngorms.

As a proud member of the Cairngorm Gliding Club, Phil is quite literally flying through later life with no plans to stay grounded."

See the article online for the full article, but here's a wee snipet. "A glider is just like an aircraft without an engine and it flies by sliding down a slope.

“It’s like free-wheeling a bike down a hill.

“As long as you can keep going down that slope and you can maintain speed and you’re flying, you can go wherever you like as long as you’ve got the height.

“It’s great to fly along the mountain ridges and wave to the hillwalkers.