Blind pilot flies supersonic

APRIL 4, 2008 — An English pilot became the first blind man to break the sound barrier on March 30. Miles Hilton-Barber flew with a sighted co-pilot reaching speeds of up to 1,100 mph — or one-and-a-half times the speed of sound — over Cape Town, South Africa in an English Electric Lightning Jet. According to the BBC, the jet climbed to 50,000 feet in under two minutes. The 59-year-old from Duffield said it had made him "one of the happiest and most fulfilled blind men in the world. The rush was incredible. It was just wonderful. "Of course, I couldn't see anything, but my co-pilot told me that when we flying upside down at 50,000 feet, you could see the curve of the earth,” Hilton-Barber told the BBC. He has been blind for about 25 years. The sponsored record attempt was a bid to raise £50,000, or about $78,565, for the charity Seeing is Believing, which helps blind children in developing countries. "I will never see again but there are children in the world who could have their sight back for just £30 (less than $50),” Hilton-Barber said. "There are 37 million blind people in the world today, and 28 million could see again tomorrow if the money was available.” The pilot also holds a record for flying a microlight from London to Sydney in May 2007. Some of Hilton-Barber’s achievements Attempting to be the first blind person to reach the South Pole, in the process man-hauling a sledge over 250 miles across Antarctica Completing "The Toughest Foot-race on earth" - 150 miles across the Sahara Desert in the Marathon des Sables Climbing to 17,500 feet in the Himalayas Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt. Blanc- Africa's/Europe's highest mountains Running the 11-day Ultra-Marathon race across China from Gobi Desert to Great Wall Completing the "Coldest Marathon on Earth"- the Siberian Ice Marathon Circumnavigating 38,000 miles around world using 80 forms of transport Setting Malaysian Grand Prix lap record for blind driver in 200kph Lotus

Miles Hilton-Barber became the first blind man to break the sound barrier on March 30, flying an Electric Lightning Jet at speeds of up to 1,100 mph over Cape Town, South Africa. Photo: credit BBC In 2007, Miles Hilton-Barber broke another record. He became the first blind pilot to fly a microlight from London to Sydney. Photo credit: Mark Baker of the Associated Press The South African Police used Camels as a regular mode of transport until quite recently. Miles and the 80 Ways team included Camels as one of the 'Ways' as they made their way to Cape Town. Photo courtesy Hilton-Barber

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