A British paraplegic pilot who flew from York, England to Sydney, Australia in a flimsy one-man aircraft in 2011 paid President George Abela a courtesy visit earlier today.

David Sykes, who lost the use of his legs after a motorcycle accident in 1994, flew for four months across 18 countries battling against savage sandstorms and fluctuating temperatures in his slender Microlight aircraft.

His message: “I am sat in a wheelchair but I am not disabled. Neither is anyone else. Everyone can do it” was met with applause from President Abela who leafed through Mr Sykes book ‘A Wing and a Chair, Soloflight to Oz’.

The 43 year old said the most harrowing part of his adventure was an electrical storm over Burma.

“There was a big flash and the aircraft shuddered with a lightning strike at the side of me and it blew all the fuses out on the instruments. It got to the point where I wasn’t scared any more, it was just about trying to survive it all,” Mr Sykes said.

He was also grounded in Thailand for three weeks as a result of a monsoon.

The journey is all the more remarkable as it followed the death of a fellow Microlight pilot whose plane went to ground during a similar England to Australia charity journey in 2010.

He next plans to fly around the world in 2015 and is currently working on finding sponsorship to support his cause.