That magnificent man in his flying machine

The director of sustainable energy firm B9 had the idea when he was hospitalised with bowel cancer in 2003 and given a 40 per cent chance of survival.

He saw a a gyrocopter being restored in a TV programme. "It was then that I promised to myself that once I had recovered I would learn to fly one," said Norman.

His 115-day adventure begins at Sandy Bay on St Patrick's Day (next Wednesday) and will take him across Europe, Asia, Japan, Russia, North America, Iceland and back home.

Read the full story in this week's Larne Times.