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surprised
Dear... I'm stunned... Such are the people that make this world go on! If you're not going to read the whole article at least you must read this: "I
used to see my blindness as a disability and I felt very sorry
for myself but now I see it as a challenge". won-der-ful! That's the point :-)
What is it with blinks like this nutter?
Smelling the ground and feeling the clouds, blind pilot
closes on record: Flight of fancy: Adventurer faced
snow blasts, tropical storms and violent turbulence
during seven-week odyssey
Barbara McMahon Sydney
Almost there Miles Hilton-Barber after landing in the northern
Australian city of Darwin earlier this week. He is due to pilot
his aircraft into Sydney on Monday morning Photograph: Monica
Naapper/AFP
When flying a microlight halfway round the world there is much to
contend with. Thermal blasts that toss the craft around the sky
like a toy; snow flurries and frigid altitudes that cut through
protective clothing; the bureaucracy of refuelling in difficult
parts of the world. All challenging enough if you're at the peak
of your powers.
But doubly so if, like Miles Hilton-Barber, you are blind.
The Briton is on the last leg of an epic seven-week, 13,000-mile
adventure. He has endured violent turbulence, freezing
temperatures and fierce headwinds in a tiny aircraft exposed to
the elements with the aim of becoming the first blind person to
fly a microlight from Britain to Australia. He is due to complete
the journey by piloting the plane into Sydney on Monday morning.
"I've been thrown around the sky in the most frightening way and
the cold has been beyond description at times but I feel jubilant
that I'm nearly there," he said, speaking from a motel room in
Queensland on the last leg of his voyage.
The 58-year-old has flown across 19 countries with the aid of
speech-controlled navigational equipment developed by a British
company which reads altitude, speed and headings to him and helps
him steer his course. He responds by typing flight coordinates
into a keyboard strapped to his leg.
"I use all the knobs and switches as well, just like other
pilots," he added. The microlight has a 100hp engine that allows
it to cruise at 70 knots and it also has a long-range 160-litre
fuel tank sufficient for flights of up to 10 hours. A co-pilot -
microlight champion Richard Meredith-Hardy - has accompanied the
blind pilot, but he only takes over in emergency.
"Flying like this is a very sensual experience because, although I
can see only light and darkness, I can still smell the smells
coming up from the ground," said Mr Hilton-Barber. "Even at
5,000ft, I can smell whether I'm going over a city or a factory
or a field with crops and whether they're growing corn or wheat
down there. I can also feel when we're going along the edge of a
cloud, because I sense the moisture in the air and there's a damp
and musty smell."
The record-breaking flight set off from Biggin Hill airfield on
March 7, heading south across France, Italy and the Mediterranean
towards Syria and Jordan. From there, the microlight crossed the
United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Burma,
Thailand, Singapore and the island of East Timor before a long
sea crossing to Darwin, then down the east coast of Australia to
Sydney.
Along the way, there have been a few scrapes.
"The other day it was very turbulent weather so we climbed up to
12,000ft to try to get out of it, which, for a microlight, is
very high. It was so cold I was shaking and shivering and Richard
had to keep a very close eye on me," he said.
"The degree of con centration needed is very high because I'm
having to listen to information constantly. My brain goes soggy
towards the end of every day." The microlight has also been
engulfed in a snowstorm in the Middle East, caught up in a
tropical storm over Malaysia and hit by thermal blasts over Saudi
Arabia which sent the tiny aircraft spiralling up into the sky.
"It was like being in an elevator that was out of control and it
was a very alarming thing because the microlight is completely
open to the elements and you only have a seatbelt to hold you
in," he said. "We really took a hammering."
Mr Hilton-Barber lost his sight 25 years ago because of an
inherited genetic disorder which also blinded his brother. "I
used to see my blindness as a disability and I felt very sorry
for myself but now I see it as a challenge," he said.
He is now a full-time adventurer and motivational speaker and
hopes to raise pounds 1m for the charity Seeing is Believing,
which aims to restore sight or prevent blindness in the
developing world.
According to the charity there are 37 million blind people in the
world but 75% of blindness is avoidable or repairable to some
degree. "Cataracts, river blindness, vitamin deficiencies,
malnutrition& these types of blindness are preventable or can be
fixed and that is why I am raising money," he said. Mr
Hilton-Barber is being sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank,
which will match every pound he raises.
He is due to finish his journey on Monday by piloting his
microlight around Sydney harbour in a triumphant finale before
returning home to Derbyshire and to his wife Stephanie and their
three children. He will be flying back to the UK on a jumbo jet
and says he is looking forward to sleeping all the way home.
Mr Hilton-Barber, who has climbed in the Himalayas, taken part in
marathons and other extreme endurance sports and attempted to
become the first blind person to reach the South Pole, is already
planning his next challenge. He wants to be the first blind
person to fly an aircraft through the sound barrier.
For donations:
www.seeingisbelieving.org.uk/microlighta
________________________________________
Copyright (C) Guardian Newspapers Ltd, 1984-1997
used to see my blindness as a disability and I felt very sorry
for myself but now I see it as a challenge". won-der-ful! That's the point :-)
What is it with blinks like this nutter?
Smelling the ground and feeling the clouds, blind pilot
closes on record: Flight of fancy: Adventurer faced
snow blasts, tropical storms and violent turbulence
during seven-week odyssey
Barbara McMahon Sydney
Almost there Miles Hilton-Barber after landing in the northern
Australian city of Darwin earlier this week. He is due to pilot
his aircraft into Sydney on Monday morning Photograph: Monica
Naapper/AFP
When flying a microlight halfway round the world there is much to
contend with. Thermal blasts that toss the craft around the sky
like a toy; snow flurries and frigid altitudes that cut through
protective clothing; the bureaucracy of refuelling in difficult
parts of the world. All challenging enough if you're at the peak
of your powers.
But doubly so if, like Miles Hilton-Barber, you are blind.
The Briton is on the last leg of an epic seven-week, 13,000-mile
adventure. He has endured violent turbulence, freezing
temperatures and fierce headwinds in a tiny aircraft exposed to
the elements with the aim of becoming the first blind person to
fly a microlight from Britain to Australia. He is due to complete
the journey by piloting the plane into Sydney on Monday morning.
"I've been thrown around the sky in the most frightening way and
the cold has been beyond description at times but I feel jubilant
that I'm nearly there," he said, speaking from a motel room in
Queensland on the last leg of his voyage.
The 58-year-old has flown across 19 countries with the aid of
speech-controlled navigational equipment developed by a British
company which reads altitude, speed and headings to him and helps
him steer his course. He responds by typing flight coordinates
into a keyboard strapped to his leg.
"I use all the knobs and switches as well, just like other
pilots," he added. The microlight has a 100hp engine that allows
it to cruise at 70 knots and it also has a long-range 160-litre
fuel tank sufficient for flights of up to 10 hours. A co-pilot -
microlight champion Richard Meredith-Hardy - has accompanied the
blind pilot, but he only takes over in emergency.
"Flying like this is a very sensual experience because, although I
can see only light and darkness, I can still smell the smells
coming up from the ground," said Mr Hilton-Barber. "Even at
5,000ft, I can smell whether I'm going over a city or a factory
or a field with crops and whether they're growing corn or wheat
down there. I can also feel when we're going along the edge of a
cloud, because I sense the moisture in the air and there's a damp
and musty smell."
The record-breaking flight set off from Biggin Hill airfield on
March 7, heading south across France, Italy and the Mediterranean
towards Syria and Jordan. From there, the microlight crossed the
United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Burma,
Thailand, Singapore and the island of East Timor before a long
sea crossing to Darwin, then down the east coast of Australia to
Sydney.
Along the way, there have been a few scrapes.
"The other day it was very turbulent weather so we climbed up to
12,000ft to try to get out of it, which, for a microlight, is
very high. It was so cold I was shaking and shivering and Richard
had to keep a very close eye on me," he said.
"The degree of con centration needed is very high because I'm
having to listen to information constantly. My brain goes soggy
towards the end of every day." The microlight has also been
engulfed in a snowstorm in the Middle East, caught up in a
tropical storm over Malaysia and hit by thermal blasts over Saudi
Arabia which sent the tiny aircraft spiralling up into the sky.
"It was like being in an elevator that was out of control and it
was a very alarming thing because the microlight is completely
open to the elements and you only have a seatbelt to hold you
in," he said. "We really took a hammering."
Mr Hilton-Barber lost his sight 25 years ago because of an
inherited genetic disorder which also blinded his brother. "I
used to see my blindness as a disability and I felt very sorry
for myself but now I see it as a challenge," he said.
He is now a full-time adventurer and motivational speaker and
hopes to raise pounds 1m for the charity Seeing is Believing,
which aims to restore sight or prevent blindness in the
developing world.
According to the charity there are 37 million blind people in the
world but 75% of blindness is avoidable or repairable to some
degree. "Cataracts, river blindness, vitamin deficiencies,
malnutrition& these types of blindness are preventable or can be
fixed and that is why I am raising money," he said. Mr
Hilton-Barber is being sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank,
which will match every pound he raises.
He is due to finish his journey on Monday by piloting his
microlight around Sydney harbour in a triumphant finale before
returning home to Derbyshire and to his wife Stephanie and their
three children. He will be flying back to the UK on a jumbo jet
and says he is looking forward to sleeping all the way home.
Mr Hilton-Barber, who has climbed in the Himalayas, taken part in
marathons and other extreme endurance sports and attempted to
become the first blind person to reach the South Pole, is already
planning his next challenge. He wants to be the first blind
person to fly an aircraft through the sound barrier.
For donations:
www.seeingisbelieving.org.uk/microlighta
________________________________________
Copyright (C) Guardian Newspapers Ltd, 1984-1997