Blind Pilot's Flight 'Brilliant'

By Colin McArthur

Colin McArthur, a blind man who recently piloted a Britten-Norman Islander plane in a charity fundraising event, called the experience "brilliant."  McArthur, who took off from the Isle of Wight, lost his eyesight through Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) over two decades ago.  He is hoping to raise more than £1,000 for the RP Fighting Blindness charity.  "I have just come back down to earth with a bump--it was a brilliant experience," said the father of five.  "It was a weird experience, I could feel the plane banking left and right and the pilot gave me a brilliant commentary as we flew out to sea and over the island. ... As a young lad of 14 I was partially-sighted and was at the Farnborough Air Show in the mid-1960s where the Islander was unveiled. It stole the show."  Previously, McArthur had piloted a 130-seat hovercraft, also for charity.

May 5, 2009