PARAPLEGIC microlight pilot Dave Sykes is facing one of the most dangerous stages of his attempt at a record-breaking flight from York to Sydney.

Dave, a member of York Flying Club at Rufforth Airfield, is set to fly the next stage of his journey over dense jungle, with nowhere to land if problems occur.

Club member Mike Poole said Dave was currently spending a few days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while he waited for permission to fly to Indonesia.

He said he had spoken to Dave briefly and he was in good spirits and determined to see the flight through to the end.

“The weather in this region can change very quickly – one minute it’s clear blue skies and the next you can be in a thunderstorm, plus it is very hot and humid,” Mike said.

“The big worry is that he is flying for great distances over jungle with nowhere to land and so has no option other than to keep going when the weather suddenly deteriorates. As he said, if he was to have an engine failure in this sort of area, it is going to hurt!”

Dave, 43, from the Dewsbury area, who lost the use of his legs after a motorcycle accident in 1993, took off from Rufforth on April 28 on a bid to fly more than 11,600 miles to Sydney to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. He has already been caught up in violent electrical and dust storms.

Describing his flight into Kuala Lumpur, Dave wrote: “It started clouding over and it even looked stormy, just what I didn’t want. After a smooth flight, a storm to finish it off – just great.

“So I got changed over to the tower frequency and was told to hold off and orbit while three aircraft came in.

“So there I am at 1,000ft, just circling over a housing estate to the east of the runway, and the storm was heading towards me. I’m just in my T-shirt no jacket, and it started raining and rumbling.

“I’m saying to myself: ‘Come on, come on, hurry up and land, so I can get in.’”

Fortunately, Dave then got a call to say he was clear to land.