MICROLIGHT RECORD ATTEMPT - ENGLAND TO CYPRUS IN 6 DAYS
Former Tank Corps Sergeant Major Jaysukh Madhvani, 53 and 70-year old David Armstrong are setting out in September in a tiny microlight to try and beat the record time of seven days between England and Cyprus, set on the first microlight flight around the world in 1998. Kenyan-born Madhvani, whose family came to England when he was 14, and who joined the Army at 19 to serve twenty-two years in the Armoured Corps, has been a chief microlight instructor for ten years. David, a retired bookbinder and printer, now lives in Paphos, their destination in Cyprus where he flies out of Paphos International Airport.
They are laying a personal demon to rest with this record attempt.
'We tried this flight once before, in 2001,' said Madhvani, 'but were held up for six days in Brindisi in southern Italy by strong winds and bloody-minded bureaucrats. We were blown over by similar winds near Athens before abandoning that flight.'
The original record was set by former BBC journalist Brian Milton, who took 120 days to fly 23,000 miles around the world between March and July, 1998, setting benchmark records - first west-east across the Atlantic, for example - many of which still stand. Milton and a second pilot, Keith Reynolds, had set off to make the first world circumnavigation by microlight; 120 days later, Milton returned alone, Reynolds having abandoned the flight in Siberia.
'Jay & David would need to get to the bottom of Italy within 3 days,' said Milton, 63, who now lives in East London, ' and they have a chance then get to Athens in one day, and Cyprus in another, but only so long as they have luck with winds and fly all the hours of daylight. 'They have to fly 2,253 miles if they takes my route over the Alps, which I covered at 322 miles/day, at an average speed of 57 mph. They will have to do better than 360 miles/day, tough going over difficult terrain, including the Alps. '
'Another reason we failed last time was because we went on a whim at just 3 days notice,' said Jay. 'This time we'll choose a route that takes us across the Alps in any but the worst of weather, and pick our time to go on a good forecast'.
Madhvani & Armstrong will be flying an Australian-built Airborne XT 912 microlight, powered by a Rotax 912 dual-ignition, four stroke engine, their flight will involve crossing hundreds of miles of sea.
Madhvani, whose Army service included 3 years in Northern Ireland and 13 years in Germany, is seeking sponsorship for his flight, and will also raise money for a local charity; in 2000 he raised £2,500 for the Starlight Neonatal Ward in Barnet General Hospital and will be raising funds for the same charity again. David will be fundraising for the Margarita Liasidou School for Disabled Children.
Donations can be made directly on the website covering the record attempt at www.england-to-cyprus.co.uk where a daily report on their progress can be followed.
Please
forward all media requests to pr@england-to-cyprus.co.uk.
A 500
word daily report can be made available during the flight including low
resolution photographs. Video material and high resolution photographs
are available after the flight.
