Registered blind, Mark Baxter, will stand on the top wing of a Biplane at 500ft to fund-raise for disability charity.
A man from Crayford, who is registered blind, will stand on the top wing of a biplane, travelling at 135mph, 500ft in the air, to fundraise for the national disability charity, Sense.
Mark Baxter, who is 35 years old, has a degenerative condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and has been losing his eyesight from an early age. He has used the disability as a spur to do as much as he can, while he can. In the last decade he has undertaken a number of extreme challenges, including skydives, the London Marathon, the Three Peaks Challenge, and treks across the Sahara Desert and Iceland.
Mark said: “As Retinitis Pigmentosa is so unpredictable I do not know how long I have left to see these sights, so I try to do and see as much as possible, which includes these crazy challenges. This is my first time wing-walking and I can’t wait. If it can raise awareness of the condition and money for research then that’s a bonus.
I really hope I can act as an inspiration for people who are going through a similar thing, and show them that where there is disability there is still ability.”
Mark will take to the skies on Saturday 1st July, as part of Deafblind Awareness Week (26th June to 2nd July). He will board a Boeing Stearman biplane as it climbs, dives and swoops for low level flybys. To be able to complete the challenge, he is undertaking an extensive training programme to drop his weight within health and safety limits of 12st 2lbs.
Mark is hoping to raise £1,000 for the national disability charity, Sense, who support people who are deafblind, have sensory impairments, or other complex needs to live full, independent lives.