Micro Light from York to Sydney
 

Met a guy in a bar here in Doha. Got talking - he was a pilot spending an extra day in Doha while waiting for the weather to clear.
So what - - you might say....

Well he's flying a microlight from York to Sydney, unsupported, and he's wheel-chair bound. Quite a guy.

Read more here and maybe support him. I donated the equivalent of my bar bill on the spot. And wished him 'Happy Landings'

Solo Flight Global

Remarkable feat:good luck to him

The last microlighter to attempt such a trip in 2010

perished on the first day:

I met him at Aero Expo a couple of years ago, great bloke, inspirational, I'm really glad to see he's on his way, I wish him ll the best and have donated.

I met and flew with Dave a few years ago when he needed a bit of help getting a set of disabled mods approved. Nice chap, very determined, I can only wish him very best of luck.

G

He had a very rough couple of hours into Doha on Saturday - serious dust storms and virtually no viz for a while. I think the updates on the website route tracker and blog are a day or two behind. He was hoping to get away to AUH on Monday (yesterday) - weather permitting.
Hope he makes it.

Which bar were you in ? Equivalent of the bill is a hefty donation.

I'm a bit surprised at his route into Doha, I wouldn't have wanted to fly over all that sea. I'd have expected him to coast in at Madinat and follow the Shamal Road. I notice his track doesn't follow the runway at Doha .... but I guess he didn't need 14,500 feet and could have just landed on the Aviation College's taxiway.

What a fantastic adventure .... now I've found the web site (thanks) I'll follow his progress.

I also met him at Aero Expo and what a great guy. He called me a couple of months ago to say he about leave for his epic trip. Good luck and God's speed :D

The bar on the 12th floor of the Mercure. Not too many drinks - my glasses of wine are cheap there - about £15 I think ;)

Edit £15 was the bar bill = donation. Not the price of one drink - sorry

I used to fly a lot from Rufforth and usually saw Dave there. I was always full of admiration to see him flying his microlight and just getting on with it.

Didn't know about this trip however until this thread. Just looked at the website.

Extraordinary achievement if he makes it. Worthy of some real recognition?

All the best Dave - your nearly half way I reckon? :ok:

What an incredible adventure! :ok:

... not to mention the incredible budget.

I was there to see him off at Headcorn. The vis was terrible that day - I breathed a real sigh of relief when he got safely over the Channel!

Good luck, mate! :ok: :D

The blog in the web site now tells the tale of his hairy sector into Doha. However no sign of the tracker nor the blog having been updated since then. Hope he's OK.

Fine as far as I know, but troubled by a transponder failure and waiting for a promised replacement. Epic flight, wheelchair bound maybe, but the gonads are all there for sure. Needs recognising surely. We give awards to dumb footballers, popstars and tv "celebrities" for just turning up for work in the afternoon

If you want a low hour student pilot, i'll steal number 2 seat :P

Best of luck to you Sir!

Met a guy in a bar in Doha - deja vu - bumped into Dave again on Thursday evening.

As posted above, he's had transponder problems. Now fixed. He got away to AUH Friday morning and going by the tracker he's had a hop up to DXB and back since then. He is now on the way to Muscat. Just coming up to the Hajar mountains

Good luck to a guy who just doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word NO.

EDIT over the hills and safely into Seeb Intl..

Incredible story. I'll be donating. Best of luck to him!

Ouch!
 

£15 a glass of wine ? That sounds exactly like the sort of place they should hold a major footballing tournament, something like the world cup. NOT!

Not one glass - sorry my post was not clear. It's about £3.50 for around 125ml - I'd had a few while chatting to Dave.
But that is the cheapest place in town for wine (French managed hotel - they want to encourage wine drinking - even though it's a Soave !!!)
But you're right - Qatar has a lot to learn about hospitality in general and hosting mega sports events in particular. Most places are >£6 /pint.
That's if the 2022 WC stays with them ..... ?????

On Topic - I see Dave's made it safely over the water to Pakistan today. Looking forward to the blog updates when he has time. He won't be enjoying a beer or two tonight in Gwardar. ;)

It looked like he was heading straight to Karachi then he turned a sharp left and ended up on the Pakistan side of the Iran border. I guess the winds were not as favourable as he had hoped. He is doing well. I'm guessing the flying is the easy part of the trip, dealing with the eastern bureaucrats is not my idea of fun.