Journey from St.Petersburg to Moscow and to the Guinness Book of World Records

Another Russian record is very likely to be included in the Guinness Book of World Records next week. A 29-year-old student, parachutist and stunt man Alexander Begak, is going to hold a world record in the distance of non-stop flights in a superlight aircraft. The flight will be dedicated to aviators living at the beginning of the previous century.

Alexander will perform the flight with a Skarabey paraplane, which has no analogous in the world. The apparatus was constructed by students of the Moscow aviation institute according to their project, with the assistance of the Russian Space Agency. Alexander says: “Our idea was to create something new, unusual, and special for Russia to perform a record flight dedicated to the first flight of aviators.”

Representatives of the Guinness Book of World Records have been already informed about preparation for the flight; they will closely watch the Russian pilot.

The flight is to be an enthralling journey from St.Petersburg to Moscow, right above the E-95 highway connecting the two Russian capitals. The non-stop flight will last for almost 24 hours. The journey will start from the Palace Square in St.Petersburg, and the landing will be defined later. This may be the aerodrome of Tushino or the Poklonnaya Gora monument in Moscow. The altitude of the flight is to make up from 50 to 300 meters.

What is especially interesting about the flight is that Alexander is going to comment upon the flight himself and simultaneously broadcast it on TV and radio; he will also video-tape the flight, the record is planned to be broadcast on the Russian TV immediately. In addition, a satellite telephone will be installed at the apparatus for a direct telephone connection with cosmonauts at the International Space Station. ORT Russian television will watch the flight.

According to ORT, Skarabey was constructed of ultrastrong and light materials last year. Alexander’s previous personal record was a 200 km flight. This time, the task is harder: a 720 km non-stop flight for 24 hours. Let's wish luck to the Russian student!

The first attempt to cover the distance between Moscow and St.Petersburg in a superlight aircraft was committed almost 90 years ago, Rosbalt informs. On July 10, 1911, thousands of St.Petersburg residents gathered at the Komendantsky aerodrome to watch eight aviators take off. Only one of the eight managed to cover the distance successfully. The aviator spent 24 hours and 41 minutes to cover 725 km with a Blerio-XI plane. This was a record long flight performed within 24 hours.

Sergey Yugov PRVADA.Ru

Photo by Compulenta: the paraplane equipped with an engine

Translated by Maria Gousseva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/07/16/44255.html

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