Lichfield Mercury reporter Lucy Stokes has always aimed high – and from an early age wanted to fly her own plane.

So for her latest assignment she decided it was high time to take to the skies on a flying lesson.

Lucy said: “On the morning of my lesson I was filled with a mixture of excitement and sheer terror and was half hoping that it would rain so I could get out of it.”

But after telling herself ‘you only live once’ she decided it was time to fulfil her dream, with the help of instructor Dave Wood and a two-seater Cessna 152.

After a series of safety checks, Dave explained the workings of the plane and a few minutes later the pair were speeding down the runway.

Lucy said: “I looked out of the window to see that we had taken off and we were actually flying through the air.

“It was amazing to think that such a small contraption could stay up in the air.”

Once the plane was steady and at the right altitude, Lucy was able to take over the controls and was soon steering it through the skies.

Lucy said: “I circled around Lichfield trying to spot my house then headed back to the airfield.

“As we approached the runway I was expecting Dave to take over the controls but instead he let me land the plane.

“I steered it towards the runway pointing the nose downwards then pulled up the front as we were about to touch the ground and I have to admit it was quite a smooth landing.

“In fact my first go at flying a plane was a lot less daunting than my first go at driving a car but then there’s less obstacles and other vehicles to hit you are up in the air.”

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