The software in the four-seater Piper Warrior light plane will allow Mr Cunningham to receive constant updates on the plane's height, position and speed at the touch of a button.

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Or seeing the plane's height above the river?

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During the daytime, the batteries accumulate energy while the plane climbs to a height of up to 30, 000 feet.

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Eyewitnesses said the plane had climbed "almost vertically" to a height of about 200 metres (650 feet) before crashing.

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The cable became wrapped around a wing but the plane flew on towards St Andrews Park, losing height rapidly.

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Its terrain-following radar can be linked to the aircraft's autopilot - so the plane itself can follow the contours of the landscape at a height of just 100 ft (30 m).

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In the smaller plane I chartered, the seats and aisles were narrower and the low ceiling height only added fuel to the fire.

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While the park has added newer amusements, most visitors come for the vintage attractions, including a two-tier carousel built in 1921, the Talaia, which raises guests with a rickety metal arm to a height of 550m above sea level, and the iconic Avio ride, modelled on the first plane to fly between Barcelona and Madrid.

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