Cape Town - On a mission to raise funds for his ex-colleagues who were flight engineers in the South African Air Force and fell on hard times after retirement, Robert Earle, 69, plans to scale Chapman’s Peak and Suikerbossie Hill in his wheelchair tomorrow.
From Krugersdorp, Earle landed in Cape Town this week to take on the challenge, starting at 9am.
He was involved in a helicopter crash in January 1978 while serving in the air force as a flight engineer.
“I crushed four vertebra, which messed up my spine.
“I am paralysed from the waist down.”
He said he decided two months ago to take on the physical test, and has been training for the past six weeks.
“I am very excited and so ready for it, I will be using a normal wheelchair, the one I use every day,” Earle said.
His motivation, he said, was to encourage other physically and mentally disabled people that they could still enjoy life.
Earle previously attempted to swim around Robben Island, but had to abort after three-quarters of the distance due to the wind.
He swam across the Gariep Dam in 8.5 hours; cycled from Krugersdorp to Bloemfontein in two and a half days as a fund-raiser for the 1986 Flood Relief fund; travelled in a basic wheelchair between Krugersdorp-Diepsloot-Krugersdorp in 12 hours; and pulled a light aircraft weighing 407kg over 500m in 35 minutes, with an uphill gradient of 7 metres against a 40km/h headwind.
“On three occasions I have done it for charity but I will do this initiative for some of my ex-colleagues who retired and are struggling a bit, so I am doing this to help bail them out.
“I don’t have a specific target amount, I just want to be able to raise as much funding as possible.”
To donate towards the cause, reference: Flight Engineer’s Fund; Bank: ABSA; Acc No: 9086103277.