British daredevil father fuelled by 200 CHOCOLATE BARS makes history to become first person to fly to Canada and back in tiny microlight

Jon Hilton, 45, is the first man ever to fly from Britain to Canada in a microlight aircraft

He was awarded the Britannia Trophy 2013 by Prince Andrew for excellence in aviation

During the 18-day voyage Mr Hilton ate 200 Mars bars in order to keep energised

He wore a full immersion suit to keep himself warm as air temperatures plummeted to -20C

While taking off in Canada he thought he was going to be killed because of poor conditions

The microlight is not designed to fly over water and cannot go through clouds

Mr Hilton says he didn't know nobody else had completed the feat before he set off




A British daredevil has won Britain's most prestigious aviation award after becoming the first person to fly from Britain to Canada and back - in a microlight.



Amateur pilot Jon Hilton flew the tiny 270kg aircraft on a 5,500-mile round trip - in a plane not designed to be flown over water.



Amateur aviator Jon, 45, was forced to travel at 30ft above sea level and dodge massive icebergs in a plane with no heating - because he couldn't fly in clouds.

Scroll down for video

Mr Hilton completed the journey despite the aircraft not being designed to fly over water and unable to travel through clouds. He also struggled across Greenland as he had to fly over mountains

Amateur aviator Jon Hilton, 45, from Bolton in Lancashire has become the first man to fly from Britain to Canada and back in a tiny microlight aircraft The 5,500 mile journey took Mr Hilton 18 days. He said that when he set off from Salford, Manchester, he had no idea that it hadn't been done before. Pictured are mountains in Greenland

Jon's historic 18-day trip in his microlight Samson saw him jet from Salford in Manchester to eastern Canada and back via Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland.



He flew in seven hour chunks and was able to save fuel by gliding when the weather allowed and ate hundreds of Mars bars to survive.



Jon has now been awarded the Britannia Trophy - Britain's top aviation award only given in years when a British aviator has achieved a world first or other similarly daring feat.



Jon, of Bolton, Lancs., said: 'When I set out, I didn't realise I was the first person to try to fly a microlight to Canada. If I'd known that, I might have thought twice.



'The amount of concentration required to keep the twitchy plane flying true was so great that I couldn't lapse, not even for a second.



'If I did, I could have plunged to my death, which nobody would have wanted. I had to keep full of energy, so I ate a couple of hundred Mars Bars.



'It was hard to calculate the actual distance I flew, because I quite often had to turn back if the weather ahead was too bad, or I had to make detours to avoid clouds.



'Plus, if the wind was against me I would obviously burn more fuel, so I'd be able to cover less distance that day.



'Samson's range was good enough, although I was cutting it close a couple of times. The plane is ideal for flying short distances around Britain, not for flying to Canada.



'It's not designed for going long distances, or flying in ice or clouds. Clouds and ice are death to a microlight.'







Mr Hilton's route took him across Iceland, Greenland, and into Canada (left). He said the longest leg was the initial 1,000-mile trip from Salford to Iceland

As the plane had no heating, Mr Hilton had to wear an immersion suit to stop himself freezing and ate 200 Mars bars to keep energised. Pictured is a volcano in Iceland

Mr Hilton, whose also went past the Faroe Islands, had to avoid clouds as they would have caused an icy buildup on the wings which would have caused a crash

For most of the very dangerous journey Mr Hilton was outside of radio and radar range, which meant if he crashed into the ocean nobody would have known

Jon set off in his two-seater plane, a CTSW Microlight, fitted with a Rotax 912 engine on May 24 last year.



His longest leg of the trip was on his first day, when he flew 1,000 miles from Salford's Barton Aerodrome to Iceland, via Wick in Scotland and the Faroe Islands.



Jon said the lightweight engine is not designed to work under strain - especially the kinds of pressures placed on a plane during a transatlantic crossing.



He also had to deal with a lack of oxygen when he was forced to fly 'Samson' at high altitude to get above low-lying clouds.



Every day he had to wear a full immersion suit - a protective outfit that protects the wearer from hypothermia if they fall into the sea - because his plane didn't have heating.



Jon said: 'I had to wear it but in the event of an emergency, it wouldn't really have helped much.



'For a lot of the trip I was completely on my own out of radio contact and radar range. If I'd crashed into the sea, I'd be a goner.'



Mr Hilton's partner had no idea how dangerous the trip would be before he took off, and when he returned home and told her she made him promise to never do it again

Mr Hilton said the scariest part of the journey was in Canada (left) when he thought he was going to die while taking off because the weather was so bad. After he returned from his mission, he was presented with the Britannia Statue 2013 (right) by Prince Andrew for excellence in aviation



During the trip Mr Hilton raised thousands of pounds for charity. When he arrived home he celebrated with his daughter, Ava, and a pint of cold beer

When compared to a jumbo jet it is easy to see how small the microlight is. While microlights are commonly just an engine and seat underneath a large fabric sail - much like a hang glider - in the UK a microlight is technically any aircraft which weighs under 450kgs

But Jon reckons the scariest moment of his trip was when he was preparing to take off in Iqaluit, Canada, to start his journey home.



Jon said: 'I really thought I was going to die. The weather was terrible, the forecast was worse. I'd got there at 9pm the previous night, and arrived at the airport at about 5am.



'It was so cold and it was so icy - if any ice had built up on the wings, I would have dropped from the sky like a stone.



'I really didn't want to take off that day, but I only had a limited window of opportunity to dodge cloud cover. That was the scariest moment.



'There was sleet building up on the window - if it had stuck to the wings I almost certainly would have crashed.'



During one stopover in Denmark officials made Jon change his will.



Danish authorities refused to let him fly until he could made an addition to his will allowing them to recoup the costs of recovering his body from his estate if he crashed.



Jon's tiny microlight had a maximum range of 1,000 miles but he rarely exceeded more than six hours of flying time.



Jon, who has so far raised more than £11,000 for his chosen charity, is currently writing a book about his adventure which he will also sell for charity.

Mr Hilton took this picture after landing at Kulusuk, Greenland. He had to carefully plan the journey to make sure the plane could make it between landing strips and said he pushed it to the limit on a few occasions

This picture was taken as he left Canada on the return leg. The journey is estimated to be around 5,500 miles, but Mr Hilton says he could have flown further as he often had to turn back because of clouds

Flying at several thousand feet the air temperature would often drop as low as -20C with nothing to protect Mr Hilton other than an immersion suit

Mr Hilton said when he was forced to fly over clouds he also suffered because of a lack of oxygen as the air become very thin

Businessman Jon made it to Iqaluit and then got back from his journey on June 10 and celebrated with a hug from his daughter Ava, three, and a pint of cold beer.



He said: 'My partner didn't really realise how dangerous it all was before I left - it was only when I got home and told her about it that she realised she almost lost me.



'Obviously, she told me off and I've promised never to do anything like this again.'



Jon, who raised thousands of pounds for charity with the feat, has now been awarded 2013's Britannia Trophy by Prince Andrew in special ceremony.



Others who have been honoured with the trophy include Sir Richard Branson, for his record-breaking trans-Atlantic hot air balloon crossing, and RAF air aces the Red Arrows.



The sparse cockpit contains little other than a few basic instruments designed for us on short trips. Mr Hilton managed to find room for his lucky mascot, a cuddly Santa

A view of ice flows in Greenland. The lines on the left are the rota blades distorted by the lens of the camera

Jon Hilton (centre, red top) celebrates with friends in Salford at the end of his record breaking trip to Canada and back

The Britannia Trophy is an award presented by the Royal Aero Club for pilots who have accomplished incredible feats in aviation.



It was first presented in 1913 to Captain C.A.H Longcroft of the Royal Flying Corps after he completed a non-stop flight from Scotland to Hampshire, in a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2a.



The trophy has not been awarded every year, particularly during the First and Second World Wards, and has also been awarded jointly and to teams.



David Sykes was given the award in 2011 after he became the first paraplegic to fly solo from England to Australia.