As a child, Miles Hilton-Barber (now 59), wanted to be a pilot. When he was 18 he applied to be a fighter pilot, but was rejected due to poor eyesight. His life didn't turn out as he planned, but he has achieved his dream of flying. Miles was born in Rhodesia, into the well-known and pioneering southern Africa Hilton-Barber family. The father of three has been blind for more than 25 years, but this has not stopped him from fulfilling his dreams and travelling the world as an adventurer and motivational speaker. He lives in Duffield, Derbyshire, with his wife Stephanie and kids Deborah, Abigail and David.
Last year he became the first blind man to fly half-way around the world, from London to Sydney in a microlight plane. He was accompanied by his safety co-pilot, Richard Meredith-Hardy (46). Miles was also the first blind pilot to fly across the English Channel a couple of years ago. The London-Sydney flight was in aid of Seeing is Believing, a charity that restores the sight of blind children in developing countries. He used speech-output technology to fly his specially customised microlight plane and was accompanied during the 13,500 mile flight by safety pilots Brian Milton (London to Cyprus leg) and Richard Meredith-Hardy (Cyprus to Sydney leg). Miles faced snowstorms, freezing temperatures and torrential downpours during the 59-day flight. Miles' inspiration for this flight was his brother, Geoff, who is also blind and sailed solo from South Africa to Australia in 1997/8. Geoff (now 54) began losing his sight in his mid-twenties due to Retinitis Pigmentosa. Miles said that Geoff's adventure made him realise that the problem in his life wasn't his blindness, that the only thing holding him back was five inches - the distance between his ears. Miles firmly believes that attitude is what determines altitude. In 2000, Miles and Geoff became the first blind runners to complete the Marathon des Sables.
Last year, Miles broke the world speed record for a blind pilot by flying in a Hawker Hunter at Kemble airfield near Cirencester. He was accompanied by a Red Arrows co-pilot.
A few days ago, Miles became the first blind man to break the sound barrier as the pilot of a supersonic fighter jet. This was in an Electric Lightning at Thunder City in Cape Town.
Geoff has been a finalist in the Adventurer of the Year competition, three times, once as runner up. He has completed two ocean crossings - one solo from Durban to Freemantle, Australia, making him the only blind person to have completed a solo ocean crossing. He has completed two desert marathons in the Sahara and Kalahari deserts. These six-day events cover about 240 kilometres each in temperatures ranging between 35 and 50 degrees Celsius, and runners carry their own supplies in backpacks. Geoff climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 2000. He has represented South Africa as a blind track athlete, and completed the Comrades Marathon ten times, the New York Marathon four times and the Argus Cycle Tour twice on a tandem with his wife. While still partially sighted, Geoff completed 430 parachute jumps and he set a South African night altitude record. Geoff lives in Durban with his wife Carol and kids Steve, Penny and Andrea.
