BLIND PILOT LOOSES CONTROL
Photograph of Piper Cherokee
"Blind Pilot Looses Control" was the headlines of the newspaper article! If you have had time to read the other pages on my web site, you will realise that, although I've been without eyesight since 1986, I have always been a keen aeromodeller. Those were the headlines in my local newspaper when, one day, my radio-controlled aircraft vanished over the horizon, never to be seen again!
I can only hope that the same fate doesn't befall me and my latest venture, because late in 2002 I bought "G-ATOO", a gleaming white/blue four seat Piper Cherokee light aircraft. It had always been my dream to own a plane, and so I began my hunt for an "affordable" Cherokee.
I had tried to buy a share in a couple of aeroplane's, but the disbelief of the other owner's put me off the idea. Hence, I ended up visiting Blackpool Air Centre and asked the same question: "have you any Cherokees for sale?". I was shown into the back of a large hangar, full to the brim with light aircraft, and there stood G-ATOO. I only had to touch the wing to know this was the craft for me. My girlfriend, Debbie, helped me into the cockpit and the plane was mine!
I am a member of the British Disabled Flying Club, and I aim to fly GATOO with the aid of various electronic gadgets... and of course... a sighted pilot! Indeed, my first electronic creation is a tactile attitude indicator, which senses the horizon line out of the windows and transfers the attitude back to an artificial horizon on my lap. The device uses model aircraft technology, and my aim is to add a "turn and slip" indicator, a talking compass and an audio altimeter.
At present (Autumn 2002) I am taking flying lessons with Debbie and we aim to pass our ground school exams together!
If anyone is interested in flying with the disabled flying club, or are interested in learning more about the tactile horizon, then please send an e-mail to-
Alternatively, you may telephone-
07759-751320
[Copyright] Allied Law 2002