Manuel Queiroz was the first British pilot to fly solo around the world in a home-built plane. He tells Zoe Chamberlain the poignant reason why he flew 27,000 miles over 39 days.

It was supposed to be a routine operation to have his appendix removed.

But doctors found much worse when they began surgery on Manuel Queiroz. They discovered he had cancer of the colon, and took out the tumour there and then.

“It was quite worrying when I woke up and found I had tubes and things sticking into me,” says Manuel, 64 and from Pirton, Worcestershire.

“I expected it to be a quick in-and-out of hospital, I had no idea I had cancer. Something like this changes your perspective on life.

“We all know we’re going to die at some time but it’s such a remote idea you don’t treat it seriously. Suddenly I realised I was immortal and that realisation tends to put your priorities in place.”

Having learnt how to fly in his forties, Manuel decided it was now or never if he was pursue his dream – to fly solo around the world in a home-built aeroplane. So, in November 2000, he began to put his plan into action, buying a plane built by an amateur in Canada, a Van’s RV-6.

He says: “I got into flying quite late in life, and the discovery of that freedom was almost like finding a new religion. It was unique.

“I found flying full of previously unimaginable delights. One of its most outstanding aspects was the ability to see what nature normally hides from us ground-hugging, wingless creatures.

“The very act of flying a small aircraft allows a view of the world that is not only vastly superior to the keyhole glimpse allowed by the average airliner window, but it is much more than just a view – it is an introduction to a new world.

“I chose the Van’s RV-6 because I felt it was the one most likely to be able to break the speed record. There are other home built planes that have been used to travel the world by people overseas but I was not so sure about fibreglass constructions.

“This was metal and I was much happier that I could inspect it and look after it myself. I modified it to make it suitable although the manufacturer said they did not make it to go round the world, and that ‘you’re on your own, don’t come back to us if it doesn’t work.’”

He decided to name his aeroplane Slavka after a friend called Slavka from Wolverhampton who had ovarian cancer at the same time as he had cancer.

“Slavka fought it for a long time, undergoing surgery and chemotherapy but sadly she died.

“Because I was trying to raise money and awareness for Cancer Research UK and because she was a good friend I lost, I named the plane after her.”

Manuel’s wife Jill, 51 and a fellow pilot was understandably worried about her husband’s flying ambition.

He says: “Jill wasn’t keen on my challenge at all. She flies microlights so she was well aware of the risks. But speed has always been a big attraction to me. I used to have a business restoring sports and classic cars in Rowley Regis.

“I had to give this up in order to fulfil my dream.”

When the big day finally arrived – February 24, 2006 – Manuel thought he felt quite calm about his grand adventure.

“I think I must have been more of a state of nerves than I thought because I didn’t realise that it was so cold, below freezing, that day. After all those years of work, all of a sudden it was happening. There was a worry that I might never see my family again.

“But if you are going to try to break records, you have to accept that. You have to be prepared to die doing it and I was. I had done everything I could to prepare the aeroplane and myself but there was a risk and I was well aware of that.”

There were highs and lows throughout his trip.