A Suffolk man who found his passion for flying following retirement has now flown hundreds of hours - with a very special passenger by his side.

Seventy-six-year-old Robin Smith learnt to fly just four and a half years ago but has since clocked up more than 500 hours of flying, 250 of which he has been joined by his seven-year-old beagle, Steffi.

Mr Smith, who was educated in Ipswich and a member of the 118 Squadron of the Air Training Corps, served in the army as an aircraft engineer, for 15 years, ending as a warrant officer.

%image(15103239, type="article-full", alt="Robin has clocked over 500 hours of flying while Steffi has amassed around 250 hours.")

He said: “I eventually, with two of my sons, set up a haulage company. I retired at 70 just after my wife had passed away, moved house, did it up and then one day came downstairs and thought ‘what am I going to do today?’ so I thought I’ll go and learn to fly!"

After learning to fly at Crowfield Airfield, Mr Smith, who flies his Maule aircraft out of Elmsett Airfield, near Hadleigh, has even got involved in aerobatics, but for the more serene flights, he has been able to welcome aboard his beagle, Steffi.

He said: “She loves to fly, she’s always ready to go off somewhere!

“She’s a fantastic little character, she’s got her safety cage in the back, there’s lots of pillows and cushions in there. My aircraft is very quiet and being in that safety cage deadens a lot of the sound anyway.

%image(15103240, type="article-full", alt=""She loves to fly" Steffi enjoys napping on Robin's flights.")

%image(15103241, type="article-full", alt="Steffi has her very own air crew ID.")

“She knows if I go off somewhere for lunch she’ll get a sausage so she’s always ready to get on board."

In 2018 Mr Smith also took part in a special fundraising flight.

He said: "I hadn’t been very flying long, but because my wife had heart failure I did a charity flight for the British Heart Foundation.

“We flew all round England and Scotland, stopping off at as many military bases past and present as we could. We raised about £5,500, so that was quite an experience."

He has recently purchased an ex-military Auster 6 aircraft, built in 1946, and plans to showcase it in the future.

He said: “It’s got so much history attached to it, and at the moment I am learning to fly that, so that’s me for probably the next few months.

“Then what I intend to do, because of the history she has, I will probably take it to fly-ins and open days at airfields."

%image(15103243, type="article-full", alt="Robin has recently purchased an Auster 6 ex-military plane that he intends to showcase.")

%image(15103244, type="article-full", alt="Robin spent 15 years in the military as an aircraft engineer.")