Ultralight Record History :
1998 : Brian Milton & Keith Reynolds
After surviving a 120 day adventure, a British pilot has completed his record breaking journey around the world to become the first to circumnavigate the globe by microlight aircraft, essentially a hang-glider with a motorcycle slung underneath.
Although he failed to complete the odyssey in time to match Phileas Fogg's fictional trip around the world in 80 days, he also smashed the previous record for a round-the-world flight in an open-cockpit single engine aircraft. That was set in 1924 by four US Army pilots who completed the trip in 175 days in a Douglas biplane.
Brian Milton celebrated the completion of his 37.000 km trip Milton, a 55 year old former journalist for the BBC, set off from England on 24 March with co-pilot Keith Reynolds, who was forced to drop out in Russia after authorities insisted the pair either take on a native navigator or pay for a plane to accompany them.
The trip, inspired by the 125th anniversary of the Jules Verne novel, was plagued by numerous delays and difficulties caused by the weather and bureaucratic wrangling.
The GT Global Flyer, a single engine Pegasus Quantum 912 aircraft, was powered by an engine equivalent to that of a small car. It had a wingspan of 33 feet, 8 inches and an open cockpit that was 9 feet, 2 inches long. The trip included stops in France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Laos, Vietnam, China, South Korea and Japan. From there, he flew to Russia, the United States, Canada, Greenland, Denmark, Iceland and Scotland before he returned to England.
2000 : Colin Bodill
Colin was to fly solo around the world in a flexwing microlight at the same time as Jennifer Murray, a truly remarkable woman who celebrated her sixtieth birthday in 2000, was to fly a helicopter solo around the world. The two pilots were supported by another helicopter and a chase plane but were very much on their own in their respective cockpits throughout the whole journey.
Colin experienced some truly heart stopping moments during his epic journey, from severe storms over Vietnam that threatened to suck his tiny aircraft in and spit it out again in small pieces, to an engine failure in the USA where the only possible landing place was in a schoolyard. He flew at heights of up to 17,000 feet to try and avoid bad weather and after being buzzed by jet fighters was persuaded to land in China whereupon he was promptly arrested and thrown into jail by the Chinese military authorities.
The team, consisting of one microlight, two helicopters, one Cessna Caravan transport aircraft, five pilots and two field producers, with the help of 20 ground support/technical staff he covered 35,000km / 21,750 nautical miles and 30 countries in 99 days, (600 hours flying time). The longest water crossing was 1,089km/677 miles (Naha to Nanki, Japan) which took Colin about 12 hours. Colin's longest day flying was 13 hours 40 mins. He is the first person to fly a microlight solo around the world.
2007 :Wing Commanders Rahul Monga and Anil Kumar
Flying over 16 countries and touching 81 destinations, Wing Commanders Rahul Monga and Anil Kumar completed their journey in 80 days, shaving 19 days off the existing mark of 99 days held by Britain’s Colin Bodil since 2001.
The 300-kg microlight plane covered a distance of 40, 497 kilometers over varied terrain ranging from plains, dense forests, deserts and seas.
They also bettered Bodil's airspeed record of 16.53km per hour by recording 21.09km.
Asked about the experience, Monga said, "It was thoroughly enjoyable. We got to meet different people from varied cultures. It was a good gesture from all the countries that supported us, including Pakistan."
The team was received at Hindon by top IAF officials, including Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major. The expedition entered the Indian air space near Bhuj on Saturday night after a historic stopover at Karachi for refueling.
The team acted as goodwill ambassadors of the country across the globe. "At Karachi, we felt at home. We were greeted by a Pakistani Air Force Air Commodore at the airfield and had food together while the aircraft refueled," Monga said. A bag of lovingly prepared sandwiches and a tank full of fuel set off the Indian team for the final leg into India.
The expedition, flagged in by Air Chief Marshal F. H. Major, saw the pilots cover 40,497 km in 80 days flying over 19 countries.
F H Major set the tone for military diplomacy by thanking the countries that hosted the team. "The IAF will gladly reciprocate this generous hospitality at any time. It has fostered goodwill across nations," he said.
The pilots, Wing Cdr Rahul Monga and Wing Cdr Anil Kumar, had taken off from Hindan on June 1.
The original plan was to complete the trip in 64 days, but bad weather has preceded the expedition all through and delayed them at a number of places, especially in China, Russia, Alaska and then in Europe.