PARAPLEGIC pilot Dave Sykes has reached Cyprus in his attempt at a record-breaking microlight flight from York to Australia.

Dave, 43, a member of York Flying Club, who took off from Rufforth Airfield on April 28, is hoping to fly more than 11,600 nautical miles to Sydney to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Dave, from the Dewsbury area, who lost the use of his legs after a motorcycle accident in 1993, said in a blog on Tuesday he had made the six-hour flight from Malta to the Greek island of Corfu, and a tracking device on his website showed yesterday he had since landed in Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean.

He said on Tuesday: “I don’t know, but I must be the first person to fly a flexwing microlight from Malta to Corfu. I got clearance to take off on runway 23 then cleared to fly around the island over Marsascala Bay and past the grand harbour at Valletta, before turning on my track to the north and leaving my escort at Portomaso tower.

“The first three hours were fine but then it started getting a bit boring, as all I could see was the sea, lovely blue sky and water, flat calm.”

He said after he landed, he was greeted by a group of about ten people taking photos and smiling, saying: “Hello David, we are so pleased to have you visit us at Corfu International Airport. Anything you want we can provide for you?”

He revealed his trip had been attracting media interest along the way, with a press conference staged at one point and a TV crew turning up to interview him.

He said: “I felt like a TV star!”

Dave’s journey to Australia is expected to take between six and eight weeks and see him pass over 18 different countries.