Solly flies in to aid Angels

A Bendigo teenager flying solo around Australia for charity stopped over in Bunbury last week before he resumes his journey.

Fifteen-year-old Solomon “Solly” Cameron set off from his home town in early May and has been raising money for Angel Flight Australia, a charity which coordinates non-emergency flights to help people in rural areas access specialist medical treatment.

Solly is not old enough to drive a car by himself yet, let alone be on L-plates, but that has not stopped him indulging his passion for flying.

“I started training properly when I was 14, but I had my first lesson when I was 12,” he said.

“I really love aviation, it’s my main passion in life and so when I heard about another attempt to fly around Australia I thought it was something I could do.

“Overall I’ve raised a bit over $10,000 but some of that will be used to cover the trip, so it’ll be about $6000 to Angel Flight, although a lot of people have donated directly to the charity.”

Solly’s adventure has so far taken him to the southern-most tips of Tasmania, far north Queensland, across the top of the Northern Territory and down the west coast of WA to Bunbury where he will remain for most of this week while a series of cold fronts pass.

Once he has left Bunbury he will fly his Jabiru J220 along Australia’s southern coastline back to his home town of Bendigo.

Angel Flight chief executive and director Marjorie Pagani said Solly approached the charity at the end of last year. She described his trip as a wonderful adventure.

“We were thrilled somebody who wanted to go on a flying adventure as a young person also wanted to help promote the solution to the needs of people in the bush,” she said.

“So many young people dream about flying ... it’s great to see young peoples’ dreams come true.”