Betty Bromage, a 97-year-old woman from Cheltenham, England, has set a new Guinness World Record by becoming the oldest woman to perform wing walking, a discipline in which participants remain strapped to the outside of an aircraft’s wing during flight.
Bromage performed his new feat on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, four years after he first set the record.
With this new performance, the British woman extended the record she had set herself and added her sixth flight on the wing of an airplane. Her first experience in this activity took place when she was 87 years old.
“I would get bored of life if I didn’t do it. I can’t drive, I don’t see very well and I get a little frustrated. So I want to do the things that I can do”, he explained to the BBC.
This year’s activity also had a charitable purpose. Betty Bromage took advantage of the flight to raise funds for the Cheltenham General Hospital, where she received medical care after suffering a stroke in August 2025.
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Betty Bromage donated her earnings to the hospital that saved her life.
The woman explained that the hospital staff treated her “very well” and noted that the episode affected some of her words, although she assured that the rest of her condition remains without relevant changes.
To break her own Guinness record, Betty had to remain in the air for five minutes, a period that included both takeoff and landing, as reported by ITV.
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Before the flight, the woman climbed approximately 15 feet, about 4.5 meters, onto the wing of an AeroSuperBatics biplane, where she was secured before takeoff.
Betty Bromage assured that she was not nervous before starting the journey. “I’m never nervous, I’m not a nervous person,” she stated during an interview with ITV. After completing the flight, she described the experience as “great,” although she noted that the trip had been a bit bumpy.
Images released during the day showed Bromage on the wing of the aircraft while the plane performed various maneuvers in the air, including a full roll.
Betty Bromage was secured to the wings of the plane so that no incident would occur.
The British woman also anticipated that she contemplates repeating the experience in the future. During an interview with Good Morning Britain, she pointed out that, if she is still alive in a couple of years, they could try it again.
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When speaking about her decision to participate in these types of activities, Betty Bromage explained that she had never initially thought she would end up doing them. As she recounted, it was at the age of 87 that she discovered wing walking and decided to try it.
“People say: ‘Oh, I couldn’t do that, I couldn’t do that’, but I never thought I would. I was 87 years old when I suddenly thought: ‘Well, maybe I could, I’ve seen it and heard about it, let’s give it a try’”, she said.
And he added: “You shouldn’t use the word ‘I can’t’, it’s not the right one. It is said ‘I will do it if I can’, but the word ‘I can’t’ is not in my vocabulary, as I have said before
Betty Bromage stated that she never set limits for herself to accomplish this feat.
Bromage is not the only elderly person who has recently set a record related to this discipline.
Harry Heasman, a World War II veteran, set the Guinness World Record in May 2026 as the oldest man to perform wing walking, after completing a flight at the age of 98.
In his case, Heasman used the activity to raise funds for Lennox Children’s Cancer Fund, in memory of his wife and son. According to Guinness World Records, he later described the flight as one of the most important experiences of his life.
