Kathryn - anything is possible and I would strongly recommend seeking legal advice/assistance to clarify how the law views your ownership of the property inc flying freehold and then the unregistered/claimed land
For me your starting point would be checking to see what, if any, old deeds/documents you have that might shed some light on the flying freehold specifically as that would be your starting point/focus.
I suspect you will have nothing as whilst the property was first registered back in 1974 (see A Property Register) you bought in 2007 and doubtless relied on the registered information and the seller handed nothing 'extra' over at the time.
The reason I mention this first is that if you can show that the original deeds included the flying freehold, and an error was made, then that would be the basis of amending the title as it stands. In the absence of such evidence though you are likely to have to 'claim' ownership of the flying freehold based on your 18+ years of ownership/occupation
The second aspect is then the unregistered land beneath the flying freehold and to the rear of the property. That is likely to be a separate legal issue as others have access to it and use that access for their own properties. Such actions will very likely negate any legal claim you have to owning that land. And as a result claiming a right of way over the land might be all you can consider although 18+ years is too short a timescale and you may have to wait until 20 years have passed to make such an application
Our guidance on claiming ownership and/or rights of way/access are contained in our PGs 5 and 52 but it is the legal complexities you need to unravel before trying to tackle the registration ones
Land registration: Practice guides - GOV.UK