Mile High Club pilot feels the earth move
A pilot who has a flourishing Mile High Club tourism business in Australia said his enterprise started as a joke.
American Chuck McElwee said he was loading a mattress onto his light aircraft to transport a patient to a country hospital when he jokingly told a curious onlooker that he was starting a mile high club.
A local newspaper in Perth got wind of the venture and sent out an intrepid reporter to discover the truth. The pilot continued the joke, and persuaded a young couple to pose for photographs and say they had been on a flight.
The resulting publicity persuaded McElwee to launch a Mile High Club for real. Last year 314 couples enjoyed the experience at $650 a time, including champagne and chocolates.
“Ninety percent it’s women who pay for it,” said McElwee, adding that in such a small plane he feels every movement behind the curtained passenger section.
“You might say we feel the earth move,” he says.
A 70-year-old woman has returned three times in the company of three different younger men.
by TravelMole Australia
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026