UK woman, 99, straps herself to plane's wing to set new Guinness World Record

A British woman completed a wing walk at 99 and received a Guinness World Records certificate. Her flight raised funds for an air ambulance charity with deep significance for her family.UK woman, 99, straps herself to plane's wing to set new Guinness World Record (Photos: @guinnessworldrecords/Instagram)At 99, Helga Duffy has taken adventure to new heights, quite literally. The British woman has set a Guinness World Record as the world's oldest wing walker after completing a daring flight strapped to the top of a small aircraft, proving that age has done little to dampen her appetite for new experiences.Wing walking involves a person being secured to the outside of an aircraft, usually on its wings, while it flies through the air. It is an extreme aerial activity that requires specialist safety equipment and careful precautions, making Duffy's achievement at an age when many people prefer to take things slowly all the more remarkable.According to a report by the BBC, Duffy completed her record-breaking flight at RFC Rendcomb Airfield in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. Now living in a care home in Devizes, Wiltshire, she had spent many years in Frome, Somerset, before taking on the challenge. The flight also helped raise money for Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance.Duffy's inspiration came from watching news coverage of Betty Bromage, who had set the previous record at 97. Seeing Bromage take on the challenge prompted Duffy to try it herself. Watch the video here:Recalling the experience, Duffy told the BBC that she was not frightened because she was so excited. She described the sensation of wing walking as “peculiar”, though the experience did not appear to dampen her enthusiasm. Duffy, the eldest of seven children, also reflected on what the achievement might have meant to her late father. She believed he would have been proud of her for taking on something so unusual, recalling that he had always expected the best from his children.Following the flight, Guinness World Records officials presented her with an official certificate at the airfield. Her nieces, Jackie Rose and Julie Preece, were there to watch the milestone moment and described her as an independent and forthright woman who had long wanted to do something different.Rose told the BBC that Duffy wanted to show that, even at 99, she was still the same person she had been years earlier. The occasion was especially emotional for the family because their mother had made her final journey in an air ambulance, making Duffy's fundraising effort particularly meaningful.Sam Conway of Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance praised Duffy as a “legend”, noting that she had raised more than £1,300 for the charity. Conway added that Duffy appeared to have had the time of her life.Bromage, whose record Duffy surpassed, also congratulated her successor. However, the 97-year-old was not quite ready to give up the title for good. Having completed six wing walks herself, she joked that she planned to try again when she turned 100 and reclaim the record.For Duffy, the flight was more than a record-breaking feat. It was an opportunity to embrace an experience she had long wanted to try, support a cause close to her family's heart and show that the desire for adventure need not come with an age limit.- Ends