A SCOTS mum is flying high after her boyfriend proposed to her – while she was 500feet off the ground in a microlight aircraft.
In an unusual twist on the usual proposal-by-aircraft, Harry McDonald proposed to his partner Mary Lusk by unveiling a giant sign in a field saying “Mary… Will You Marry Me? xxx” as she flew overhead.
Mary initially thought the flight was just a present from her children, but she was shocked when the aircraft passed over a field near their homes in Ormiston, East Lothian and she saw Harry on the ground next to the sign.
She was so emotional on seeing the sign the microlight’s pilot signaled to Harry she said ‘yes’ by holding his thumb up as he circled overhead.
Mary, a 51-year-old nanny, has been seeing Harry, a 53-year-old painter and decorator, for around three years but the proposal on 1 December was unexpected, she said.
She said: “The flight was a present from my kids from last Christmas but I didn’t get a chance to do it until then.
“It was amazing, you’re totally in the air, it went higher than I thought.”
After taking off on the half-hour flight from East Fortune airfield, pilot of the two-seater aircraft Gordon Douglas turned the tiny QuickR plane towards the small town of Ormiston, explaining her friends had made a special request for a flyover.
She said: “We saw there was a big sign on the ground. Then when we got closer I realised what it was.
“I was totally blown away, I had no idea it would happen.”
The mother-of-three continued: “I had tears in my eyes, it was pretty emotional.
“The pilot stuck his thumb up so Harry knew I had said yes.”
After landing in the microlight, owned by East of Scotland Microlights, Mary drove to the nearby town of Pencaitland, where Harry got down on both knees and presented her with a ring.
She said her family and friends have been delighted by the proposal: “It was a nice shock.
“We’ve really enjoyed the reaction we’ve got.”
Mary added she was glad she conquered her fear of heights to board the microlight: “It took a while to get the courage to do it.
“I was afraid of flying in years past – I would never go over the Forth Road Bridge.”
Explaining his unorthodox choice of proposal, Harry said: “Mary’s son had done a flight before.
“I had a brainwave and thought it might be a good way to pop the question.”
A local art shop made the five by four metre sign for him at a discounted rate.
The pair have lived near each other in Ormiston for years.
Pilot Gordon Douglas, who has 30 years’ experience flying microlights, said he had never seen a proposal in such a manner.
The pair plan to get married in Musselburgh, East Lothian next year following an engagement party this weekend.
