Blind pilot completes 59–day flight 

A BLIND British adventurer has touched down in Sydney after a record–breaking microlight flight from London. Miles Hilton–Barber landed at Bankstown airport in Sydney just before 8am (AEST) today. 

The 58–year–old is the first blind pilot to fly more than halfway around the world, travelling through 21 countries on a 59–day journey to raise money for charity.

The father of three, who began his epic 21,722km trip on March 7, has braved snowstorms, freezing temperatures and torrential downpours.

"It's the fulfillment of an amazing dream. I've been wanting to do this flight for about four years," he said. v"I've wanted to be a pilot since I was a kid. Now I'm totally blind and I've had the privilege of flying more than halfway around the world. "The big deal is not me doing this, it's raising funds."

Mr Hilton–Barber, who went blind 25 years ago, is hoping the trip will raise $2.5 million for the charity Seeing is Believing, which works for the prevention of blindness in developing countries.

He flew with a sighted co–pilot and uses revolutionary speech output from navigation instruments to steer a course for his customised hang glider–like plane.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/story