Chuck McElwee is a bit of a legend of the West Australian aviation scene.

Originally from the United States, this week’s West Aussie Great on 6PR Breakfast has been involved at aviation at Jandakot Airport for the last three decades, teaching thousands of people to fly, helping launch their commercial and private aviation careers, while making several dreams come true with a variety of ‘dream’ flights (see video below).

After meeting his now-wife when a carrier docked in Fremantle, he moved to Perth in 1984 and built a fleet of 16 planes. The ex-US navy pilot is now selling his Air Australia International business.

“Failure is not an option, how bad do you want to suffer to succeed? That’s really where I come from,” he told Parker about establishing his business in Perth in the early 1990s with only $9000 cash and no line of credit.

The Perth company hit headlines for its Mile High Club flights, which started out as a joke around 1993 but got so much interest they went ahead with it, completing 350 mid-air trysts.

Chuck was also in the news in 2005, when he crash-landed in a cul de sac in South Lake, winding up upside down in someone’s front yard after hitting power lines.

Tap PLAY to hear more action-packed stories from Chuck on Breakfast