November 11 marked a special day in the lives of Wanganui couple Phil and Esther Lightband as friends and family gathered to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary.
Not only was the day itself a special one, but also the guests with whom the Lightbands chose to share their day could be described as an historic who's who of New Zealand agricultural aviation.
The event was hosted by Richmond and Heather Harding, who provided their newly-completed aviation museum/hangar as a venue.
Despite the presence of several ag-aviation legends, Mr Lightband's experience stands unique.
With a passion for flight ever since he first took to the sky in 1933 as a 7-year-old, he became probably the youngest individual to fly solo and obtain a private pilot's licence in New Zealand. After soloing (illegally) at 14, he exaggerated his age in official documents to obtain his pilot's licence at 15. With "proof" of his age recorded "officially" on his licence as 17, the 15-year-old Lightband also persuaded a lovely young woman by the name of Esther Hart of his worth as a suitor. That began their lifelong commitment to each other.
As soon as he turned "18", Mr Lightband joined the RNZAF and qualified to fly fighters; initially P-40s, then Corsairs but before heading overseas, he and Esther were married.
Whether the choice of date - November 11, (Armistice Day) 1944 - was prophetic or merely serendipitous, the couple attribute their 70-year marriage to their ability to compromise and to reach the occasional "armistice" themselves.
One of the special guests was Reg Wellington, Mr Lightband's best man.
The Lightbands' dedication to flying did not end when the war ended. The couple continued to share the trials and dangers of the pioneering era of agricultural aviation in New Zealand.
Having survived as a fighter pilot in the Pacific, Mr Lightband's good luck continued throughout a distinguished aviation career which started when Tiger Moths were the ag-aircraft of choice. Not only the pilots have to endure in those early days, but also their wives, who never knew whether their husbands would survive to become old men.
From being a pioneer in the agricultural aviation industry, Mr Lightband went on to become an aviation pioneer, becoming the first New Zealander to achieve a single-pilot instrument rating.
At an occasion attended by men and women who had all lost friends or loved ones in aviation accidents, and who all knew the stresses imposed on relationships by aviation, the Lightbands' 70th anniversary celebration was all the more remarkable.
More remarkable, still, was the fact that, just a few months shy of his 90th birthday, Mr Lightband had only just stopped flying himself, having never "bent" an aircraft in 74 years of flying. Two incredible achievements: Married for 70 years and flying as pilot in command for 74 years.