Seventy-year-old Army veteran participates in “Dream Flight.”
Fabrizio Gowdy
Seventy-year-old Army veteran Robin Hasting enjoyed crisp blue skies and perfect flying weather as he took to the skies this past Friday in a World War II-era biplane.
“If this don’t get your juices going you’re dead—it’s like a heart transplant without the hassle,” said Hasting as he waited his turn to fly.
The flight was organized by Dream Flights, a nonprofit that honors veterans with special 15-minute flights in restored vintage aircraft. In its 15 years in operation, Dream Flights has logged nearly 8,000 veteran flights.
“You can see the joy in their faces, [it] brings back memories of them feeling honored,” said Kristen Knapp with the Florida Health Care Association, which partnered with Dream Flights to make the flights happen. “They’re experiencing a quality of life that brings them back to their younger years.”
Hasting was one of five veterans who took off from Tallahassee International Airport Friday, flying over Doak Campbell Stadium and the State Capitol.
Hasting was preceded by fellow Army veteran Sylvester Jackson. The two shook hands from their wheelchairs and spoke briefly immediately following Jackson’s flight.
“You’re going to like it,” Jackson told Hasting, beaming. “It’ll remind you of the old times.”
Originally from Southern California, Hasting’s earliest memory is flying with his father, who served as an aviator in World War II. He eventually followed his father’s footsteps into military service, spending four years in infantry and four years as a computer programmer.
During his time in the service, Hasting jumped from aircraft 137 times. After leaving the Army, he obtained his pilot’s license and logged 130 hours of flight time, but he has not flown in 30 years due to financial constraints.
“I could get the hang of flying again pretty quickly,” quipped Hasting before takeoff, also joking that perhaps he’d record jump number 138 during the course of his flight.
Hasting has called Quincy home for the past 20 years and now lives at Riverchase Health and Rehabilitation Center. Hasting was wary of nursing homes after witnessing his grandmother endure poor conditions in such facilities, but his experience at Riverchase has been a pleasant surprise.
“My greatest fear when I was young was ending up in a nursing home when we got old. But it is not as dreadful of an experience as I had imagined—it’s a rather pleasant place to live,” said Hasting.
