1400 miles to Antarctica
After flying for over 4 hours, Captain Michel Gordillo is now about 820 kilometers from his departure point at Hobart, Tasmania. He still has approximately 1400 miles to go. Thanks to the Spidertracks texting capability, Michel was able to report that the aircraft airspeed is slowed to about 100 – 110 knots and altitude is limited to no more than 2000′. This is due to the skis that were mounted onto the RV-8 aircraft while in Hobart. Although performance is limited due to the skis, they will no doubt aid in the ability to land in the snow of Antarctica. Credit goes to Patrick Gilligan of Ottawa, Canada for building and shipping the ski to Michel.
Of course you know that you have live tracking of the flight available at at https://skypolaris.org/tracking-map/, but here are a few other web sites that provide good information about the flight:
www.windytv.com This site has forecast winds and weather for every point on the globe. For instance in a few hundred miles, Michel will have a 15 knot tailwind. That is good news and should make up for the slow speed. On the other hand, when he lands in Mario Zucchelli, Antarctica the wind will be calm, but the temperature will be -10 degrees C.
http://boulter.com/gps/distance/ By entering any two points, the site will calculate the distance.
Please continue watching the flight right here.
Don Pearsall
Sky Polaris
7 Comments
I suspect the fuel and skis are contributing to slow speed, as fuel is burnt off airspeed should increase also the predicted tail winds will provide better ground speed. I will be up all night checking progress.
Continuing with excitement every advance of Michel
The RV-8 ER is flying with pretty good ground speed last 3 hours. Finally, it is giving Michel some good knots to reach Mario Zucchelli Station. GO FOR IT, MICHAEL! AND HAVE A NICE ANTARCTIC SANAIM!
Wow. Stunning, many questions to ask but they will be answered in good time anyway, so I will just keep watching and keep saying, wow!
One hour to the antarctic coast, abeam Buckle island. Wind should increase and help pushing, but moist is also building up there. It’s such a thrill…the last 450 miles will not be easy. All the best!!!
Congratulations on making Antarctica! Welcome to the small group of pilots who have had the great privilege of viewing this spectacular continent from the air. Be careful, the advantage of the tailwind on this leg comes with the disadvantage of pushing relatively warm, moist air up onto the coldest, highest continent on the planet. Ice will be a definite threat. Best of luck. How’s the HF antenna working?
Bill Harrelson
Over the South Pole on January 1, 2015
Congratulations from all Canadian pilots!
Halloween was a scary night for me!
I barely slept, each time I heard a faint email notification I jumped, I was alert and on pins and needles.
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