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What is the world record for long distance paragliding
The world record for paragliding distance belongs to Sébastien Kayrouz since his extraordinary flight on June 19, 2021. Setting off from the town of Del Rio, Texas, this American pilot covered 613 kilometers in a straight distance flight on a day with exceptional conditions.Over 11 hours of flight, maintaining an average speed of 60 km/h, Kayrouz made the most of Texas's perfect aerological conditions. His performance shatters the previous record held by the Brazilian trio Rafael Saladini, Marcelo Prieto, and Rafael de Moraes, who had reached 582 kilometers in 2019.This historic long distance flight marks a new era for paragliding, crossing the symbolic 600 kilometer mark in open distance for the first time.
The new 2024 French distance record:
On the French side, the new distance record was set by a group of 6 pilots on April 23, 2024. Setting off from the Notre Dame de la Mer site west of Paris, Tim Alongi, Michel Cervellin, Julien Garcia, Honorin Hamard, Jonathan Marin, and Maxime Pinot managed to land in Douville, Dordogne, after a cross country flight of 464 km and just over 10 hours in the air, beating Frederic Delbos's previous 417 km record from 2019.A great team achievement that opens up the prospect of breaking the 500 km mark in mainland France!
Ewa Wisnierska's accidental altitude record
If one record sticks in the mind of every paraglider pilot, it's Ewa Wisnierska's altitude record. During the 2007 Paragliding World Championships in Australia, the German pilot was sucked into a cumulonimbus cloud at a speed close to 40 m/s, reaching an altitude of 9,946 meters. Between temperatures of -50°C, ice, lightning, and hypoxia, Ewa lost consciousness and her wing collapsed under the weight of the ice, only to reopen at 6,900 meters after a fall of over 200 km/h. Regaining consciousness, the German pilot managed to move away from the storm cell and land as best she could, her body covered in ice and with numerous cases of frostbite.The reconstruction film of this flight incident:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oiw9_DChyQ8
The world record for intentional altitude in paragliding
When you think of the world record for intentional altitude, you inevitably think of Antoine Girard. The French pilot reached the astonishing altitude of 8,407 meters above Broad Peak, in the Pakistani Himalaya, in July 2021.This feat surpasses his previous record of 8,157 meters set in 2016, and beats the achievement of François Ragolski, who had peaked at 8,225 meters above Rakaposhi. To achieve this dizzying climb, Antoine Girard used his GIN GTO 2 wing and carried an oxygen bottle.But while Antoine Girard does hold the altitude record for thermal flight by making use of a rising column of air, there's also the 2011 record set from the top of Everest by Babu Sunuwar and Lakpa Sherpa. Taking off from the summit, the two companions managed to gain 20 extra meters for a total altitude of 8,865m, beating the previous 1988 record set by Marc Boivin, who had launched from 8,848 meters, at the summit.So there are two records worth remembering:
- 2023: 8,407 meters in thermal flight by Antoine Girard
- 2011: 8,865 meters by Babu Sunuwar and Lakpa Sherpa
What is the absolute maximum altitude possible in free flying?
Free flying encompasses both paragliding and hang gliding. While Ewa Wisnierska's unintentional paragliding record stands at 9,946 meters, the hang gliding altitude record is held by Christian Voiblet in 2012 in Namibia with just over 6,000 meters on the altimeter.Either way, it's worth noting that intentionally going beyond 8,500 meters in thermal flight seems complicated, but the current buzz around high altitude flights in the Himalaya may push these limits a little further still.
