Simviation Forums

Steve Cunningham, 41, of Banbury, Oxfordshire, who lost his sight at the age of 12, is to attempt to become the first blind person to fly a plane around the UK. He takes off from Biggin Hill today on a five-day trip.

Interesting, alright.  Some regulations must have had to have been waived.  I don't think he would have been able to get it through the bureaucracy in the US.  Good luck to him .

im glad i dont live in britain

Well, on the one hand I think it's cool that he's confident enough to attempt it.  

But on the other (more logical) hand, I have to stick by my belief that not everyone will be able to do everything.  

Hmm... :-/ Is this solo?

How'd he even get his license?!

It's obviously not solo. Full story here. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/3884123.stm

He has a co-pilot but is in full control of the plane, with the help of talking computer guidance software.

Mr Cunningham has broken records for the fastest blind man on land and water and is also captain of the England Blind Football Team.

The software in the four-seater Piper Warrior light plane will allow Mr Cunningham to receive constant updates on the plane's height, position and speed at the touch of a button.

His co-pilot will act as a look-out and check that the information from the computer is correct.

PS.

captain of the England Blind Football Team

Maybe he should apply for Beckham's job.
Sorry. I know it's a tad sick but I had to say it before someone else did.

Sounds cool! :-)

Too much red tape if you ask me...:-)

Sorry if I'm a kill joy, but how much of an achievement is it someone's there next to you?  Fastest speed records?  Yeah, just puch the throttle and hold the wheel steady.

Sorry if I'm a kill joy, but how much of an achievement is it someone's there next to you?

I have to admit that this was my first impression. It's obviously a great achievement for him but what does it really prove? But hang on a minute. It's quite possible the software he's using will be developed over the next few years so that he will be able to "see" better than any sighted person. It's not impossible & this would benefit not only the blind but everyone.

Mr Cunningham said that sighted pilots needed to be able to fly "blind" through clouds and at night so his challenge was not too different from normal flying.

blind football team eh?? uhm that sounds intersting to go see....

rocks ffor him to do it, but uhm.... i dunno..... how do we know he did it and not his copilot?

how do we know he did it and not his copilot?

One of the first things I thought of. The answer is - we don't. If this was an official record attempt I assume an unbiased observer would have to be aboard the aicraft.

How many of you know that General James H. Doolittle, most famous now for the bombing raid he led on Tokyo in 1942, had many "firsts" in his distinguished flying career. In 1929 he made the first "blind" flight from take off to landing. This was done under a hood in a Consolidated NY-2 biplane. He naturally carried a safety pilot in case anything went wrong with the instruments. I don't really see the difference. http://www.firstflight.org/shrine/jimmy_doolittle.cfm

It depends how much he's guided - something I didn't quite gather from the article.  As far as I see it, it's impressive if he only gets heading, speed, altitude etc., and get no fancy stuff for landing, assuming he does land by himself, and the co-pilot only intervences to prevent fun little fireballs.

But as I understand, he's getting a lot more help than that.

[quote]It depends how much he's guided - something I didn't quite gather from the article.

Going back to the comment regarding his "SOFTWARE"......

I hope it's a bit more stable than than the MS FS stuff we have come to love and admire......

Next thing we know he'll "pop-up" on the forums seeking advice .................