Club back in the clouds

THE sky isn’t the limit at the Bendigo Flying Club, where members have the chance to learn or develop their aviation skills.

Taking off in 1965, the club owns and operates five planes from the Bendigo Airport for its over 200 members.

A spokesperson for the organisation said in the weeks since opening after the COVID-19 lockdown, people have been keen to get back in the clouds for a bit of fun.

“It’s for a recreation, but there’s been a lot of people going through the flying club over the years. A lot have gone on to fly commercially,” they said.

“There’s four recreational aircraft and one general aviation aircraft which is a four-seater. We have five or six instructors so we’re growing into quite a large organisation.”

Those instructors are teaching students of all ages and skill levels, but common ground can be found in their sense of adventure.

“Some people retire and it’s something they’ve wanted to do all their lives or it’s a young person that’s got ambition to go into the airlines or the military. It’s a wide range,” the spokesperson said.

“We’ve had kids that can’t drive a car that fly.”