Mother of 42nd Street CEO Celebrates Her 90th Birthday with a Wing Walk Fundraiser for the Charity
Meet Frankie Stuart: former air traffic controller, private pilot, lifelong plane enthusiast and mum to 42nd Street's Chief Executive, Simone Spray.
When Frankie Stuart turns 90 this September, she won't just be blowing out candles on a cake. She'll be standing on top of a biplane, up to 2000 feet in the air, over an airfield in Cirencester.
Where our CEO her daughter, Simone Spray, will be cheering on from the ground!
"My Mum has always been a force of nature and such an inspiration to me," says Simone. "She's proud of being a bit different and for not having chosen the usual routes for a woman of her generation. She has been talking about wing walking for years, so I'm delighted she's finally getting to do it — and even more delighted that she's chosen to support young people across Greater Manchester through 42nd Street at the same time. I can't quite believe she's turning 90, she is as effervescent, hilarious and pioneering as ever. Thanks for being you, Mum."
It's fair to say adventure is in Frankie’s nature and her love of aviation, spanning over 70 years, started as a teenager, when she joined the Girls Venture Corps and learned to fly before she'd even learned to drive. She went on to work at the famous Croydon Airport - London's main airport before Heathrow - first as an air traffic control assistant and later as one of the first women in the country to work as an air traffic controller.
"I've always been interested in aeroplanes," Frankie says. "So, I got a job there in the Control Tower. And then later I learnt to fly. My life has been very much aeroplanes."
Learning to fly at 20 "didn't cost me too much" as Frankie got a scholarship and while she took a break to raise her family, years later, once her children were older, she went back to regain her Private Pilot Licence and returned to air traffic control at Wellesbourne Airfield, a role she kept up until she was 85.
This isn't Frankie's first milestone-birthday adventure either. She marked her 70th with a parachute jump and for her 80th she gathered the whole family for a day of gliding at a local airfield.
So, for her 90th, a wing walk felt fitting and when complimented on her courage she brushes it off with a matter-of-fact warmth that runs through everything she says:
"I just thought it would be a fun thing to do," Frankie explains. "And when I thought about it, it could raise money for Simone and her colleagues at 42nd Street and get more people talking about it, it seemed like just a great idea.
Fun and living life to the full are really important to Frankie and typically, she's not phased about the scale of what she's taking on. "I've just got to stand there and enjoy it," she says, of an experience that involves climbing onto the top of a moving biplane flown up to ~2,000 feet. "There will come a time I can't do things, but at the moment I can, and I will and I do."
Frankie could have raised money for any cause but chose two that are close to home: VASA, a charity providing transport for people travelling to medical appointments, where she volunteers on the phones and 42nd Street, the charity her daughter leads.
Frankie has seen first-hand what a difference the work of the incredible team at 42nd Street makes to young people, but also the pressures on charities and how critical public support and fundraising is to keep them going.
"I think the fact that you all dedicate your lives to it is just fantastic," she says. "It's so necessary, isn't it? It's so necessary."
It's the same instinct that keeps her volunteering with VASA. "The people I speak to are so grateful - some of them haven't spoken to anybody all day, and they need to get somewhere and just can't manage it otherwise. It's full of people doing good, which is lovely."
Family is something Frankie is most proud of in life and staying connected to people has always been important to her: "Family were very important to me," she says. "I've always kept in touch with all the family, even though they're quite far-flung - and I always remember to send cards, too."
While Frankie describes herself as ‘outgoing, chatty and bossy’ she admits she isn't usually one for the spotlight. "I never really wanted it to sort of be public," she says. "But because I work for VASA, and because of Simone, I just thought it was an appropriate time."
Her granddaughter Flo describes her as "curious, determined and passionate" and when we asked what she'd say to a young person who wanted to try something new but didn't feel confident enough, Frankie's answer was, characteristically, two simple but powerful words:
"Why not?"
Support Frankie's wing walk
Frankie is taking on her biggest adventure yet to raise money for 42nd Street - and every donation helps us continue supporting young people's mental health and emotional wellbeing across Greater Manchester.
Donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/90yearsstrong?utm
Wing walk: 1st September 11.30am | Redcombe Airfield in Cirencester
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