XC News

Swiss pilots Sebastian Benz and Patrick Meyer went big in Brazil this week, both flying more than 580km. Seb flew the furthest: 592.4km via three turnpoints, 574.61km straight line. It is the longest flight ever flown in Brazil and is getting close to the magic 600k. How can pilots fly so far?

First they go to northeast Brazil, which experiences strong and consistent winds at this time of year. They launch early – 6.30am – in windy conditions by tow and then drift in zeroes and weak climbs 300-500m AGL waiting for the day to turn on. When it does start, they get higher and start to speed up. By the end of the day the climbs are 5m/s and base is at 3,000m. They literally fly all day – Seb was in the air for 11h28m. Exploring the tracklogs of these amazing flights is fascinating for any XC pilot – you can learn a lot.


Ganz herzliche Gratulation an euch, aber auch an Steffi und das ganze Team!