WHILE many people were stuck inside doing jigsaw puzzles, baking or playing games during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Grant Denyer took to the sky, literally.
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Television and radio personality Mr Denyer calls Bathurst home and he, along wife Chezzi and their two daughters, lives on a farm just outside Bathurst.
On Thursday he took to social media to say that he'd decided to upskill instead of stay home during the pandemic.
"Been curious about flying since I was a boy, so I had to finally answer the question," he posted to his Instagram page.
"I'm lucky to have a wonderful career in TV, but I've also been super hungry to learn a completely different skill and stretch the brain muscle again with a good solid challenge."
Mr Denyer also confessed he hadn't been a student since high school and that he was a little bit "wobbly".
"It's bloody rewarding hitting the books and learning a completely different craft," he posted.
He thanked Central West Flying School, which is based at Bathurst Airport, and his flight instructor.
"Big thanks to Central West Flying and Diego my instructor for helping me fall in love with it all," he said.
"It's also just so damn dreamy playing above the clouds.
"I like setting goals and chasing challenges, it's given me some truly incredible experiences in my life. Let this one begin."
Central West Flying School praised Mr Denyer, who they nicknamed G-Loc, for his first solo flight on Wednesday.
"[He has ] shown exceptional determination and dedication ... with his previous experience as a professional race driver showed his skills," the post said.
Mr Denyer has also spent a lot of time during the COVID-19 lockdowns at his property sharing images of his land and livestock on Instagram.
He recently shared an image taken during a photo shoot with The Australian Women's Weekly at their property.
He posted that he'd shared stories about life in lockdown at the farm and joked that he'd told a few fibs.
"Obviously I lied, a lot, pretending we kept really healthy, read 2000 books and meditated everyday," he wrote.
"Obviously, I had chocolate on my face more days than not, tried homeschooling but only made our kids dumber and wore a constant uniform of dirty trackies with five chins. Some right royal messes we were."