MADAM, It was a lovely summer's day, June 6th, 2013, exactly 69 years after D Day, as I walked around the perimeter of North Weald Airfield. Warm and sunny, with skylarks singing and rising high into the cloudless blue sky I looked to see a Vampire. And there she was - the D H Vampire T11, WZ507 waiting on the runway for me. This was my 65th birthday treat, a flight in this two-seater training aircraft, believed to be the only airworthy one in the world. As a boy I had seen them flying and more recently at Airshows.

After being strapped in we took off and headed for the coast. It was a wonderful flight and we could see for miles. As we flew over the sea we rolled and looped the loop – great fun. I was able to take the controls a couple of times during straight, level normal flight. I had been an Air Cadet but prevented from flying with the RAF because of an eye defect.With me on this flight was an RAF Family Badge which belonged to my mother. She had been given it by her brother, Bill Style, before he was Killed in Action in July, 1941 in Egypt.

WZ507 was built in 1952 and served with various RAF training units until she retired. In 1980 she was the first ex-military jet to be put on the UK Civilian Register. She is now privately owned by the Vampire Preservation Group, which was formed in 2005 and is dedicated to keeping this unique aircraft flying. For a modest subscription they send out newsletters to members and offer flights, these are quite expensive, but an amazing experience.

For more details visit http://www.vampirepreservation.org.uk">www.vampirepreservation.org.uk or contact the secretary at VPG, 3 Leith Avenue, Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire, ML9 3LY, Scotland.The group always needs supporters as it costs a lot to keep the WZ507 maintained in an airworthy condition.

Pete Barley, Walford