Blindfolded pilot`s tightrope stunt

A blindfolded airline pilot walked a tightrope between two hot air balloons 4,000 feet above the ground in the first stunt of its kind.

Mike Howard, 38, who holds the world record for the highest balloon tightrope walk at 18,800 feet, inched his way along the 19-foot pole at the four-day Bristol Balloon fiesta.

Mr Howard, from Manchester, claims it is the first time such a feat has been performed blindfolded, and said he was using the stunt as a practice run before he attempts it again at a record-breaking 20,000 feet.

As he returned to ground level he said the experience was "exhilarating."

He said: "People think hot air ballooning is pretty but very sedate, we like to show that it can be a bit more exciting."

Mr Howard insisted that the need to concentrate on balancing meant he had no time for nerves during the three minute walk.

"When you are doing it you are concentrating so hard you don't think 'now I'm going to fall'. You have no concept of how long it is taking. When you are blindfolded you can't see how high up you are. I just try to imagine I am three feet above the ground."

Mr Howard, who learned to hot air balloon at the age of 17 five years before he learned to fly a plane, said the pole "had a bit of a wobble and is very slippery."

He admitted that four paces away from the first balloon he started to lose his balance but wearing a parachute as a safety back-up he stood still until he regained it.

Clive Bailey, 46, and Pete Dalby, 42, both commercial balloonists in Bristol, flew the balloons involved in the stunt sponsored by Ikea and energy provider, SWEB.