‘I FLEW like a bird,’ says Rosie McMillan.

‘It was exhilarating.’

The 71-year-old, who lives at Henwood, was strapped to the top wing of a 1940s bi-plane as it soared high above the fields of Gloucestershire.

The daring feat was a wing walk, where Rosie and the plane she was fixed to climbed, turned and flew through the air at speeds of up to 150mph.

‘My husband, Martin, had massive open heart surgery 18 months ago in the cardiology department at Derriford,’ said Rosie.

‘I wanted to raise some funds for them to say thank-you.

‘I don’t like heights, and I feel that if you are asking people for money, you should do something challenging.’

With no physical preparation for the wingwalk other than a prerequesite to be under a certain weight and height, Rosie says the build up was all in the very last few moments before the flight.

‘You get to meet the pilot beforehand. He said if I gave him the double thumbs down signal he would bring me back down again.

‘He gave me the option of a low, slow, sedate sort of flight.

‘But I said no, just go for it – and he really did. There were lots of steep banks and turns, and he even did a half loop the loop.

‘I was flying like a bird. You can hold onto the thing you’re strapped to, or onto the wires, but I didn’t hold onto anything, I just waved. It was exhilarating.’

As she descended from her 15-minute flight and returned to the airfield with trembling legs, Rosie was greeted by her friends and husband with champagne and a big bouquet of flowers.

Rosie’s wing walk has raised around £2500 for the cardiology department at Derriford, and she says she wants to thank all her sponsors, including those who have stopped her in the street to give her money.