There are many ways to finally dispose of cremated mortal remains, including scattering them from an aircraft . . .

• Pilot Jim McTaggart with his ashes dispersal system.

A few short, sudden bursts of what looks like white smoke puff from the rear of the appropriately named SA300 Starduster Too. They curl and float for a moment, then gradually disperse, gone forever.

It isn't smoke though. The white wispy dust that emerged beneath his silver two-seater are the ashes of some departed soul, and this unusual ceremony is the aerial alternative to gathering even more dust in an urn on the mantelpiece. If Capt McTaggart is offering the opportunity to "come fly with me", the chances are you're already dead.

So far, around 20 Scots have floated off into the ether above either the Forth or some much loved beauty spot courtesy of his unique airborne compressed air device, cleverly conceived and test driven using his own father Joe's "cremains" to ensure that ashes actually spurt outwards and don't simply gush straight back into the plane causing all manner of mayhem. That – and, indeed, much worse – is what has happened to many who tried to combine the elegance of flight with throwing up to three pounds of ash and bone particles from an open window.

The luckier ones headed home wearing their late relative in their hair – the result of rather unfortunate blowback. More tragic are the family relatives on board a plane in Southern Colorado which plunged to the ground killing all on board when, crash investigators concluded, the ashes poured back inside, filling the cabin and fatally distracting the pilot.

Expelling grandma from the rear end of a biplane over the Forth bridges accompanied by the air compression unit's disconcerting "parp" sound may not be to every grieving relative's taste.

For them, unravelling the issue of what actually to do with the final cremated remains of our loved ones is an increasingly perplexing dilemma.

Cremation accounts for 75 per cent of funerals in the UK every year – which means approximately 450,000 families across the country are left wondering where on earth to put the box containing the remains of their loved one.

At least the family of the late writer and broadcaster Ludovic Kennedy didn't have that problem. It emerged recently that he had decreed that his ashes be scattered at the Water of Leith, in an area near to where he played as a child.

With carefully planned foresight, the former Panorama presenter had it written into his will that his remains should end up on a specific stretch of river near the garden of his nephew Richard Calvocoressi's home in Warriston Crescent.

He spent most of his life in England but Kennedy's heart – and now, presumably, the rest of him – clearly belonged to the area around the West End where he grew up.

Many families, agrees Good Funeral Guide author Charles Cowling, are often left wondering what to do with a pot of ash and bone particles or desperately trying to fulfil their loved ones' wishes.

Take the first man to conquer Everest, Edmund Hillary. His ashes were to be divided between the sea off the coast near his home in Auckland, New Zealand and the summit of Everest. But last month Buddhist lamas decided that sprinkling the remains on top of the world might bring bad luck and create a precedent for similar ceremonies. Instead his family have to make do with his ashes being kept at a monastery in Nepal.

Scattering ashes at a much loved beauty spot is fraught, points out Cowling. "The phosphate in ashes can upset the ecology. It's a poor way to commemorate someone, to turn them into a bio-hazard."

Even the most grounded among us have difficulty getting to grips with the matter.

"I know a very sensible chap, an atheist and scientist, who doesn't want to scatter his wife's ashes outside where it's cold and wet. Some people might have the ashes turned into a piece of jewellery or a paperweight.

"Others see it as a chance to be unusual, they turn the ashes into a rocket or have them put in the cartridges of a shotgun and go clay pigeon shooting," he said.

Few have probably followed Rolling Stones' Keith Richards, who claimed he snorted some of his father's ashes in a heady mix of cocaine. Or actress Patsy Kensit, who took her mother's ash-filled urn to bed with her for years.

For spectacle it would be hard to beat Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, who was blasted into space aboard a Pegasus XL rocket in 1997 with the notion that he'd spend a chunk of eternity in orbit. The capsule disintegrated into the atmosphere seven years later.

Writer Hunter S Thompson's send off was even more flamboyant – blown from a cannon paid for by actor Johnny Depp who portrayed him in the film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, to the strains of Spirit in the Sky.

All a bit over-dramatic for Edinburgh families following one of the 3000 annual cremations at Mortonhall. They have the options of having the ashes buried within the cemetery's garden of remembrance; receiving them, usually via their undertaker, or renting a niche at the Columbarium, with their casket's location marked by a plaque.

Ashes are stored at the crematorium until families feel ready to accept them, some for significantly longer than others. Most probably end up at a beauty spot or significant place linked to the dearly departed.

"There are no rules as to where ashes can be scattered, but if it is on private land, the landowner's permission should be sought," a spokeswoman says.

"Mortonhall Crematorium has released ashes to be scattered at golf courses, football grounds, parks. The lifeboat at Dunbar takes ashes out and if the person has been a mariner you can arrange for the Navy to disperse the ashes. There are no public health issues around cremated human remains as it is calcium residue which is absorbed into the soil." Some also end up at Tynecastle or Easter Road. A spokesman for Hearts says: "We get numerous requests every season and we always say 'yes, no problem'. It's then up to the family to arrange a time to suit, they come along and it's a dignified service among themselves. It's not on the pitch for health reasons. Instead there's a special area behind the goals at the Gorgie Road end."

A spokesman for Hibs says: "The club is happy to help when people approach us with requests of this kind. But we are keen to stress that they do need to approach us. The ashes are scattered in a particular place – in an area off the playing surface, behind the goals. When the pitch requires to be relaid, as we are doing at the moment, these areas are carefully dug up, stored, and relaid when the new surface goes down."

But, of course, there's always the option of spending 650 to be fired from Archerfield-based Capt McTaggart's biplane. "It's actually quite moving," the pilot adds. "The ashes form little clouds that float away. It's a very dignified experience."

Capt McTaggart, 60, who also performs at galas and air shows in his plane as a stunt pilot, hit on the idea after experiencing personal loss. "My mother's ashes were scattered at a garden of remembrance in Glasgow. I remember thinking she was going to be poured on to the ground by some guy in a boiler suit. In fact it's all done with much more dignity than that. But it made me think of other ways to scatter ashes."

When his father Joe died in 2002, his ashes were put to use helping perfect the equipment. "He wouldn't have minded – he was always supportive of my exploits," he adds. "He would also have thought it was all a bit half-daft. I used half of his ashes as test material."

And the other half? "Oh, they're lying at the back of the hangar," he adds.

For more about Capt McTaggart's service, go to www.scattering-ashes.co.uk

For funeral and cremation advice, go to www.goodfuneral guide.co.uk. For details of Edinburgh cremation facilities, go to www.edinburgh.gov.uk