The first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in a single engine small aircraft was achieved on August 5th by Wing Cdr Rahul Monga. Monga took off from Hofn in Iceland and landed in Lassiemouth, Scotland.
As part of his incredible journey, Monga flew solo from the northern Canadian community in Iqualuit to Kulusuk, Greenland. The flight took four hours and 11 minutes and covered a distance of 734 kilometers. From Kulusuk, Monga flew to Reykjavik.
The round the world expedition has two pilots. Wing Cdr Anil Kumar joins Monga for many legs of the journey but took a commercial flight between Canada and the UK. The light aircraft flies longer distances with only one pilot on board and the extra room allowed Monga to carry safety rafts on board.
On the flight between Iqualuit and Kulusuk, the mircolite aircrafts wings were covered in ice and visibility diminished significantly for the pilot.
The expedition is currently 16 days behind schedule. The schedule only allowed for four days of rest and began on June 1 when the plane took off from the Hindan air base near Delhi.
hi,
i did post a comment on this site but do not know why it wasn’t registered…
congrats to the team of Wg Cdrs. Rahul Monga and Anil Kumar for successfully completing their mission and breaking the world record in the category of 300-500kg microlight flying in 80 days (the earlier record was 99 days), despite delays due to severe weather conditions in China, Russia and Greenland! Great job on reporting about the duo, in Iceland…