SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS in his left eye prevented Ken Taylor from being in the RAF’s air crew in the midst of the Second World War.

But his sky-high ambition to experience the adrenaline of flight hasn’t held him back.

To mark his 90th birthday, Ken ascended 2,500ft in a glider on what was his 738th flight since he qualified to be a glider pilot at the age of 74.

The 30-minute flight from Essex and Suffolk Gliding Club, in Wormingford, certainly didn’t stop short of action, with loopthe- loops executed by Ken’s safety pilot Paul Robinson.

Grandad-of-two Ken, of Tollesbury, was watched from the ground by eldest son Andrew before the glider came zooming back down the earth with views of Harwich and Felixstowe to cherish too.

Ken, who was born in Clapham, south London, joined the RAF in 1943 when he was still a teenager.

But he said: “I wasn’t accepted for air crew duty because of my eyesight.”

Nevertheless, he qualified as a compass analyst and became part of 571 Squadron, marking the start of a four-year career with the air force.

Ken retired aged 67 in 1992 having been a technical worker for various firms.

It was seven years after that when the flying fever came back to him.

Ken, who divorced his wife several years ago, but is also dad to twins Richard and Clare, said: “I was visiting my daughter and son-in-law and went on a trial glider flight.

“I came back here and had a flight and decided to join.”

“I wanted to fly anything I was allowed to fly. I thought a glider seemed a better way in.

“It is more exciting too – you haven’t got an engine to rely on, you have got the lift.”

Three years later Ken was flying solo and did a solo flight to mark his 80th birthday – after notching up 300 solos.

By the time he was 82, he had undertaken aerobatics courses – so while these days he prefers to fly with a safety pilot – Ken has all the know-how when it comes to sky-high stunts.

Gliders typically reach zero to 60mph in 2.5 seconds – faster than a Ferrari – when they power along the ground before taking to the air.

Ken admitted: “The first time you are a bit nervous, but after the sixth time, you are getting used to it.”

Reflecting on his birthday flight, before tucking into cake, he added: “Everyone has been terribly kind.”