Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘The best thing I have ever done’ Perth pilot touches down after round the world adventure

Dave McElroy arrives in Perth.
Dave McElroy arrives in Perth.

After spending 81 days flying around the world, a globetrotting pilot has returned to Scotland.

Dave McElroy touched down in Perth and in true Scottish fashion, the heavens opened just as he made his descent.

Undeterred by the wet weather, the 67-year-old delighted his friends and family by swooping past the Scottish Aero Club headquarters in a celebratory formation.

When he finally taxied in to Perth Airport, he was met with champagne and kisses from his partner, Debbie Rona, and dog Oscar.

Although he has travelled through some of the most inhospitable parts of the world, Mr McElroy revealed Friday’s weather was among the worst he had experienced.

It had been a race against time to get back home as the after-effects of Hurricane Bertha sparked warnings across the UK.

He said: “I just couldn’t see anything coming in today.

“The flight back was fine, but to have to come in with this rain and fly in formation at low altitude was a little bit demanding after a six-and-a-half hour flight.

“It felt like coming home to Scotland though.

“I’m going to enjoy a bit of quiet time now before I get ready to fly the plane back to Toronto in a few days.”

Mr McElroy undertook the mammoth 59,000-mile challenge to raise £150,000 for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA).

He set off from Perth on May 19 and although he flew solo for much of the time, he welcomed co-pilots on board the single engine Piper Comanche for short stints.

The final person to accompany him was 19-year-old Michael Rose from Forfar, who joined the epic trip at Goose Bay in Canada after raising money for SCAA to secure his coveted seat.

He described the experience as “the best thing I have ever done” and said he hopes to follow in Mr McElroy’s footsteps once he gains his pilot’s licence later this month.

“Flying over the Atlantic has made me want to do it,” he added.

“It was a bit eerie because all you can see is water for miles and miles, but it was such a great experience, although I’m happy to be home at the same time.”

SCAA chief executive Gavin Davey said the charity was “hugely” grateful for the efforts of Mr McElroy.