I learned of it last night on The CBC’s As It Happens: Miles Hilton-Barber, blind since age 30, has flown from Biggen Hill, south of London, to Gosford, outside Sydney, by ultralight in a journey that took almost two months.

Aviation regulations required he take a sighted co-pilot, but in the As It Happens story he explained how his instruments were geared up to give him audio and voice feedback such that he could do most of it on his own.

Still, one gets the idea that the man wouldn’t let a lack of suitable instruments keep him from making the flight or any other adventure. Speaking with Hilton-Barber before his flight, BBC World Service explained: