By BRIDGET COOK
DAVE Jacka jetted off from Tooradin Airfield this week on a trip aimed to break records and barriers.
The former paralympian started his world record challenge from Tooradin on Monday morning to attempt to become the first quadriplegic to fly solo around Australia.
The flight will involve Mr Jacka, from Fairfield, flying to 21 rural towns and cities around the coastline of Australia, in four and half weeks.
Mr Jacka said he was excited to be heading off on his pioneering journey.
“I truly believe you are only limited by what you think you can do,” he said.
Mr Jacka was involved in a motorbike accident when he was 19.
He broke the fifth vertebrae in his neck, leaving him with quadriplegia with just six per cent physical function.
Mr Jacka has limited arm function, no finger function and an inability to move any part of his body from the armpits down.
He said it took him 10 years to get his life back on track.
“For me one of the greatest challenges was learning to get out of the wheelchair and into bed and into and out of the car on my own,” he said.
“That gave me my independence back.”
After his accident, Mr Jacka started the charity ‘On a Wing and a Chair’. The charity aims to raise expectations of what people with disabilities can achieve and provide inspiration for people with or without disabilities to achieve their own challenging goals.
“I want to one day live in a world where people look beyond the disability, and only see people’s capacity to contribute and achieve,” Mr Jacka said.
“My manta is that with an open mind and determination, the impossible becomes possible.”
The public can follow the flight via the On a Wing and a Chair website with a real-time tracker or make a donation at www.onawingandachair.org.au.
