'You don't turn fast': Fewer hard banks, these days, for Second World War veteran, pilot turning 100

His vision isn't what it used to be and it's a little harder for him to hear, but Harold Kearl still lives alone and cooks his own meals.

That's impressive for someone who will reach 100 years old on Dec. 10.

"Well, I can do what I did, but much slower and with good judgment and you don't turn fast," he said.

"And you don't misuse your energy, because you know that you have limited power, so you're doing things within your means."

His oldest son, Eldon, lives across the street and the two visit regularly.

"He is the living model of how to live successfully to old age and be involved in his community, his church, and he keeps up on current events," Eldon said.

Up until four years ago, Harold was shovelling Eldon's and his neighbour’s sidewalks after a snowfall.

"He shovelled my walk when I was working," Eldon said.

"But I said, 'Dad, you don't need to be out shovelling walks.' It's embarrassing when he's 95. Now that he's 99, he slowed down."

Harold grew up in Cardston, Alta.

In 1940, he decided to follow in his older brother's footsteps and become a Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, flying day- and night-time bombing missions over Germany.

He remembers one night flying over the North Sea with his crew.

"We're supposed to fly 15 minutes in cumulonimbus clouds – lots of things can happen," he said.

"The first thing that happened, the artificial horizon, which we had to keep our wings level, stopped working. All we had to go by was needle ball and airspeed, which I learned when I took beginning flying."

He says he talked out loud to himself to build his confidence and successfully made it back to base safely.

During the war, he flew a number of aircraft and enjoyed the Halifax and Lancaster bombers.

He remembers taking a friend up in a Lancaster near the end of the war.

"I'm going over the Rhine on a pleasure trip," he said.

"We won't carry bombs, we'll be flying low and as we fly over the North Sea or the English Channel, you will get a little bit of spray from the water below. Well, I says, we're just washing the window a little bit."

After the war, Harold kept flying in Europe, taking supplies to cities and towns in Germany for the Allies.

"Flying DC-3s, a two-engine aircraft, was the highlight of my air career," he said.

"Because I had planned that in my mind, that I needed to fly in Transport Command, because they had stations in Hamburg, in Brussels, in Berlin, in Vienna and we flew in those cities in northwest Europe carrying mail, light freight and some important people."

After the war, he kept flying and became an instructor at the Calgary Flying Club.

He worked as a salesman in construction and the oil patch, then eventually moved on to real estate.

Eldon says the family is hosting an open house on Dec. 10 to celebrate Harold’s 100th birthday.

Eldon says he's inspired by his dad and all he's achieved.

"He's been a very conscientious father," Eldon said.

"He looks after himself and he looks after his family."