Ultralight flying apparatus test flight going on well

The test flight of an ultralight flying apparatus, called Scarab, from St Petersburg to Moscow is proceeding successfully, flight administrator Vladimir Saakov said.

At the moment the Scarab, piloted by flier Alexander Begak, is over Valdai /Novgorod region/. The weather along the route is fine, a slight impediment being a light breeze.

Begak is also the designer of the Scarab /the apparatus is also called a paraplane/, developed in cooperation with students of the Moscow Aviation Institute and engineers of the Russian Aerospace Agency.

Begak left St Petersburg at 8:05 p.m. Moscow time on Wednesday. His arrival at Moscow's Tushino aerodrome is expected about 11:00 p.m. on Thursday.

In 2003, Begak plans to set a world record in non-stop paraplane flight and cover St Petersburg-Moscow distance in 16 hours 42 minutes.