GUARDIAN journalist AVERYLL LOFT took a scenic flight over the region with 81-year-old pilot Dick Peel. Here is her report…
WHEN it comes to an adventure, I am the first person to put my hand up.
Skydiving, bungee jumping, mountain climbing — bring it on, I say.
So when I was kindly offered a joyflight in a light aeroplane over Swan Hill last week, I didn’t hesitate in saying yes.
The best part? My pilot was 81 years old.
For those who haven’t met or heard about Lake Boga’s Dick Peel, let me tell you this — he is a man excited about life.
The driving force behind Lake Boga’s Flying Boat Museum, he always has a project on the go and is a bit of a expert on all things local — especially Lake Boga’s wartime history.
And, at an age when many no longer have their car licence anymore, he’s zooming across the skies above Swan Hill in an plane.
Living the dream.
Arriving at the Swan Hill Aerodrome, I have to admit I was feeling a few last-minute jitters about flying with an 81-year-old.
But I needn’t have worried — as soon as I climbed into the two-seater Tecnam I knew I was in good hands.
Dick gave me a run down on the various levers and switches and before I knew it the little plane was speeding along the grassy runway and climbing above the treeline.
I was struck by the beauty of the Swan Hill region by air — mile after mile of colourful crops and paddocks, the winding waterways and the impressive Lake Boga.
Having recently moved here from the Fraser Coast, Queensland, I am still getting used to the vast, flat landscapes of northwest Victoria.
The view is something that isn’t lost on Dick — he loves to go for a fly whenever he can, simply for the love it.
He had his first flying lesson with the Mid Murray Flying Club at age 73 — 60-odd years after his first flight in a Catalina when Lake Boga was operating as a Flying Boat Repair and Service Depot during World War II.
“The flight was a present for my 12th birthday, but they didn’t have a sickbag onboard and had to hose the plane out once we landed,” Dick chuckles.
While he doesn’t own his own plane, Dick is able to book the MMFC’s Tecnam whenever he fancies a fly.
A few years ago, Dick and his wife made the five-hour flight to the Birdsville Races in Outback Queensland, making a pit-stop in Broken Hill.
Despite the occasional light plane crash across the country, he says he’s not worried about what could go wrong.
“Every two years I’ve got to go up with an instructor for a flight review. I have to be able to prove to the pilot if something went wrong, I’d be able to land the plane safely.
“Around here with the open country, the worst you could really end up doing is going through a fence.”
Just last week he passed his yearly medical and he is now in the process of renewing his pilot’s licence.
He encourages anyone with an interest in flying to consider taking a lesson — no matter what age they may be.
“If I can do it at 73 — and I wasn’t the best student — anyone can do it,” he said.
“The older you get the more you need to do to keep active.
“I love every minute of it.”
