AN EVANGELIST had high hopes when he took to the heavens in a motorised paraglider. John Holme planned to host his own religious event, preaching to the people of Salisbury by megaphone. Instead, he found himself dodging an electrified fence, trees and bird tables as his idea barely got off the ground.
His height on his maiden flight was sometimes as low as 6ft, and
occasionally residents said he flew over so low they could see the look of horror on his face. There was not much opportunity for preaching, and his efforts put him out of favour with the Civil Aviation Authority.
The flight earned him a £1,050 fine and £250 costs when he appeared at Salisbury Magistrates' Court for flying too close to a populated area and straying into airspace over an airfield. It was the first case of its kind involving a foot-launched, powered flying machine.
Holme, 39, who had planned to circle above in a controlled manner, later joked: "I thought that maybe if they heard this voice booming out from the sky, think it was God." He plans to carry his message from ground level in future. The preacher, who is married with two children, works as a computer software sales manager.
He had been given the £8,000 "paramotor - a paraglider powered by a 66cc engine, encased in a protective wire mesh, which is strapped to the back of the pilot - as a reward for generating sales of £500,000. The prize seemed perfect to spread the word of his church in the village of Coombe Bissett,
Wiltshire, where he is an elder.
"I wanted to try to get through to kids on council estates and I needed something with some cred," he said. "I can't believe I've got a criminal record after this."
Richard Griffiths, for the prosecution, said the flight started with a
quick prayer for courage: "That courage was very much needed because he found himself flying between houses on the nearby Castle Hill estate.
"He set off and seemed to be gaining height, but only at the same rate as the houses were climbing the hill. This caused him instantaneous fear. He was flying down the road with chimney pots above him."
One couple said they "could see the pilot's face so clearly they were able to detect the look of horror as he lifted his body to clear obstructions as he wound his way through the housing estate. At one point there was an electric wire fence across his path."
Holme, who embarked on the flight on August 8 last year from the city's Old Sarum airfield, eventually managed to gain control of the paramotor, circle and land unhurt in a field.
Holme once hoped to preach from a hot-air balloon "but I ruled it out because you can't steer them". He said yesterday: "flying with the birds fascinates me. I had been trying to get off the ground for months.
"The wind is critical. It has to be less than 10mph for a novice like
me. I just took a run and up I went. Then I said to myself, 'What now?"' The real problems started when the wind got behind him and sent him at 30mph in the wrong direction towards trees. "I managed to clear the trees but saw the houses behind them and knew I was not high enough to get over the roofs. "I made the decision to fly between the houses but did not know how to steer. I learnt that in the following 15 minutes. Considering it was the first time I had flown, I think my performance was not too bad. I just chicaned up the gardens, missing things by inches."
He estimated his maximum height at 500ft. His wife, Ann, heard the commotion from their home two miles away. While negotiating his way through the gardens, he says that he saw Heaven. He added: "I never thought I was going to die, but as a Christian I would not have been frightened of dying anyway." He has since flown 30 miles from Winchester to Salisbury without
incident, and is now hoping to get a private pilot's licence. The court heard that although Holme had not needed a licence or training to fly the paramotor, he had taken two training lessons and thought he was capable.
Chris Mason, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, said: "The rules state that the aircraft shall not be flown closer than 5OOft to any person, vessel, vehicle or structure except while it is landing."
"The Times", 13 March 1998.
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