Slovenian airplane maker Pipistrel continues to make headlines in the aviation arena with an ultra-efficient around the world flight.
The relatively tiny, two seat, 640 pound Pipistrel Virus SW914 is piloted by Slovenian photographer Matevž Lenarčič who has completed more than two-thirds of his GreenLight WorldFlight that will take him to every continent on the planet. Yes, he already flew the 100 horsepower airplane to Antarctica.
The flight is part of Lenarčič’s goal to produce a book documenting the world’s water from the deserts to the oceans. The slightly modified airplane is powered by a turbocharged Rotax motor allowing cruising altitudes as high as 30,000 feet, a key to gaining some extra speed, as well as extra time and gliding distance for some of the longer legs over the oceans. The flight should cover more than 50,000 miles on its westbound journey, crossing the equator six times.
After departing Slovenia on January 8, Lenarčič crossed the Atlantic to South America and continued up through North America before heading south again. After a bit of permit wrangling, he made the truly impressive, albeit relatively short five hour flight from Ushuia, Argentina to Marsh Martin, the Chilean base on King George Island, Antarctica.
After a brief stop on the driest, coldest and windiest continent (picture at top), the pilot turned north again to Chile before departing on his longest flight to Easter Island. With his airplane’s weight doubled with fuel, Lenarčič was able to fly the 2,282 miles to the legendary island in 15 hours. He followed up the Easter Island leg with another long flight over the Pacific, 11 hours to French Polynesia.
In addition to documenting the world’s water in an effort to raise awareness over water issues, the airplane is also equipped with an air sampling device that will allow for measurements of soot to be made in some remote locations that have never been investigated. Yes, we all see the challenge of justifying burning all that fuel to measure the output of burned fuel.
Trained as a biologist, this is not Lenarčič’s first long distance flight. He has flown around the world before (eastbound) and has made several other long transect flights including in Siberia and Africa. He has published several books featuring the aerial photography from his flights.
Currently Lenarčič is crossing Australia and is in the middle of the country. After island hopping across the Pacific, Lenarčič and his Pipistrel are near Ayers Rock. Other than some permit and small issues with radios, Lenarčič’s first significant mechanical repairs happened in Tahiti after he decided to take care of some engine vibrations and a leaky carburetor. He has flown more than 38,000 miles so far averaging around 30 miles per gallon at roughly 150 miles per hour during the flight (some friendly tail winds for the small airplane).
Pipistrel, the company that built the efficient composite airplane making the flight is enjoying an impressive year of aviation accomplishments. The company won NASA’s Greenflight Challenge with its twin fuselage electric airplane last fall and earlier this year was nominated for the Collier Trophy, aerospace’s highest honor.
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