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Retford Times reporter Sally Clark – who we featured on her charity abseil – has gone a little higher this time…
She joined microlight pilot Martin Moseley on one of his regular sightseeing flights to Chatsworth.

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When given the opportunity to go up in a microlight I jumped at the chance.

But when I actually saw what I was going to be flying in, I started to regret my willingness to try anything once.

Looking less like the 747s I am used to, I was not entirely convinced this bright blue flying machine would get both me and instructor Martin Mosley off the ground.

None the less I had committed myself and could not return to the office saying I had lost my bottle.

Having gone through the basics with Martin, I donned the obligatory padded flight suit, balaclava and helmet and climbed into the passenger seat behind the pilot.

With the headset and microphone in place we set off down the grassy runway and within seconds were above ground.

The wind rushing past your face is a strange feeling – unlike anything else.

However, the views are instantly spectacular and I lost any nerves that had crept in.

Being a clear day, I could see beyond the power stations, taking in all the villages and the Derbyshire hills on the horizon.

We flew for a short while with Martin explaining what we could see, what he was doing and who we could hear on the radio frequency.

Now I was used to the microlight and how it felt to fly, Martin broke the news that we were going to land so I could take over the controls.

I was expecting a bumpy landing as we approached the runway a bit too fast for my liking.

But in the hands of the expert, the landing was surprisingly smooth.

The downside of this landing was that now I was in the driving seat and it was down to me to get us to Chatsworth.

Martin controlled the take off getting us off the ground and safely into the sky.

Aiming us in the right direction I took hold of the bar used to steer the plane.

We radioed into Gamston Airport just to let them know we were passing through their airspace.

Cruising at 2,300 feet, at an average speed of 60mph – and loving it.

There’s more…