Brave man

Mon 12 Jul 2004

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2:47am (UK)
Blind Pilot Aims to Be First to Fly Around UK

By Simon Baker, PA News

A daredevil sportsman who lost his sight at the age of 12 was today beginning an attempt to become the first blind person to fly a plane around the UK.

Steve Cunningham, 41, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, was due to take off from Biggin Hill airfield in south east London on a five-day trip which will take him to Newcastle, Glasgow, Belfast and Cardiff.

If successful it will be the third major feat the inspirational father-of-two has achieved in five years after previously breaking speed records for the fastest blind man on land and water.

Mr Cunningham – who is also captain of the England Blind Football Team and a keen golfer – will be accompanied for the challenge by co-pilot Vincent Coultan in a four-seater Piper Warrior light plane.

However, he will still be in full control of the aircraft aided by special “talking” software which allows him to receive constant updates on the plane’s height, position and speed at the touch of a button.

He said: “Vince is there primarily to keep a look out for other aircraft in the sky and to ensure that the information that I am getting from the software is correct.”

The adventurer added that sighted pilots needed to be able to fly “blind” through clouds, at night and in poor visibility so his challenge was not very different.

“You don’t fly an aircraft on what you can see, you fly an aircraft on the information that you are getting back from the control panel,” he said.

Mr Cunningham said he had been working for three years towards his goal, and had built up a good relationship with his co-pilot over many hours of flying.

The pair took to the skies in last week’s freak storm conditions to ensure they were prepared for any weather.

He said: “It was a bit foolish but we could encounter those types of conditions, especially in this country.”

Mr Cunningham was born sighted but developed glaucoma at the age of eight. Within four years, despite having shown promise as a footballer, he was totally blind.

He said: “Losing my sight at the age of 12 was not fun. I had to change but I can prove that change can be healthy. I am far more successful now than I would have been.”

In 1999 he became the fastest blind man on land when he achieved an average speed of more than 147mph driving a Chrysler Dodge Viper on a Leicestershire airfield.

But not content with one world-beating stunt, he performed another in September 2000 when he set a new offshore powerboat record in the English Channel off Bournemouth.

This week’s challenge, which is sponsored by the mobile phone company Orange, has been dubbed the “Hat-Trick Challenge” because of his previous efforts.

He said: “The Hat Trick was always set up to do land, sea and air and I knew I could do land and I knew I could do sea but this has been the biggest challenge.”

When he is not in pursuit of inspirational records, Mr Cunningham runs his own company, Blindvision and Inspiration Ltd, which specialises in after-dinner speeches and disability awareness training.

He also tries to spend time with his two daughters, Katie, five, and Megan, nine.

“It is not about setting world records, it is about proving to people what you can achieve – and what you can achieve is always more than you think you can,” he said.

Mr Cunningham is due to take off from Biggin Hill between 8.30am and 9am, and is expected to arrive at Newcastle Airport sometime around midday