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Ramon smiling after having broken the record (the red line is only orientative of the route he took). |
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After winning the Spanish paramotor championships last week in Leon, Thursday 8 th of June at 7.30 am, Ramon Morillas(the record hunter) with his PAP-ROS100 and a ADVANCE EPSILON5, took of with 50 litres of gasoline from the beach of Lepe(Huelva), and landed in Arue (France), flying about 12 hours, travelled 951km, at 2000m altitude, speed between 70km/h to 120km/h. When he was still flying at 90km/h he used up his gasoline and was on top of Roquefort, and with more than 50km/h wind managed to land backwards safely. Ramon and Juan Morillas would like to thank all their colleagues who helped them on the ground, with their punctual information of each zone while he was getting there. From Ager where he is competing in the Spanish paragliding championships, we managed to interview him at 10pm:
Texts: Ramón Morillas Red Bull/Advance, Román Quintana. Photos: Pepe Villén of Cirrossur, Juan Morillas of Parapente Draco, Pierre Aubert (PAP). |
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Ramon Morillas with Pierre Aubert the moment of picking up the PAP-1400R4 with the ROS100 engine from the factory |
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Ramon can I make a fast interview? - Of course mate in the afternoon we are calm, so let's go on… How did everything get started? - Last year when we saw that someone broke my record which I had since 98, we thought let's try it again, I spoke to Pierre, spook to the people of Advance and we prepared the engine and a powerful glider. The glider an ADVANCE EPSILON-5 of 25m with fine suspents and trimmers. The engine a ROS with a 1400 chassis.
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Ramon went to Estepona to pick up the same Ros 100, which was in the comparative of the Flying Eye in Caceres to try and break the record. |
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The ROS 100 or the Ros 125? - The ROS 100 which goes very very well, we put 3 tanks of 13,5 litres and two tanks of 5 litres (total 50ltrs) next to the central one, as you can imagine I was very packed, and then I did a few tests, keeping an eye on the weather forecasts, with my brother Juan and a few more people from free flight in other places.
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The new PAP 1400 R4 with a ROS100 and 5 gasoline tanks. A total of 50ltrs
So you already chose the date? - Yes I had that week, after the paramotor championships, and if it would not work out, the one after the Spanish paragliding championships. Then we checked out the weather forecasts when we finished in Leon, and we were not sure of which place to go, either to Galicia to fly towards Gerona, or go to Gerona and fly to Galicia, because there was no wind, but we found out speaking to Guillermo and Juan that Wednesday, Thursday and Friday there would be southeast winds. - So I got back to Granada, prepared everything and took off to Huelva, Lepe a beach which is called De La Antillas, we did a few flights that day, found a good take off place, it was flat and hard, because on the beach with so many kilos I would be sure not too take off…
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| With 25m and aprox. 150kg total, 60kg on top of the weight which is approved for free flight, and 25kg on top of the approved with engine, what a rocket.. | |
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-.....We prepared it all, got to sleep at 1pm, got up at 5 am and were knackered (smiley) and got ready to leave.
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Ramon is concentrated |
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At the take off they had to wait for the camera who arrived late to film them, so they delayed to take off at 7.30am
How was the take off? - The worst was to get it all on my back, I calculated I had 80 kg, between the engine, gasoline, food, instruments, water video and photo cameras, ….
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| As there was a ground breeze, the take off got complicated, taking off towards inland slightly uphill, and a 25 m glider and nearly 2km of breeze. “ SPECTACULAR” according to Pepe Villén. | |
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Did you take a catheter or something special? - Yes, I took a catheter to pee, but it didn't work, I put it on quickly on the last moment, between the instruments, food. , And while taking off it got off halfway, so at the first pee I got stained (smiling), and nothing, afterwards I continued peeing, so afterwards it got cold so high up. But anyway leaving that and the difficult take off, as soon as I left I looked for my course, because in the beginning it had too be south east but there it was north east. - How was the flight? - Very well, it was quite easy, I was fast, following a road map, from one city to the other, first Seville, then Merida, Caceres and in Plasencia I was going at 120km/h. All that way I went at 120km/h. - Afterwards there I had a little “yu-yu” about the sierra de Gredos, and I opened up a little towards the north towards Salamanca, and passing Salamanca I turned a bit to the north east, if not I would not have been able to keep my high speed and there were a lot of Km left to cross the peninsula, “only” getting to Salamanca or Oviedo.
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Pictures from the air, once Ramón took off. |
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-From Salamanca I left for Palencia, from Palencia to Burgos, Burgos to Vitoria and there I was “only” at 90km/h, although I had a lot off hours of flight and was not checking on the gasoline, but knowing that I would get too France. Between calls and messages I managed too control the gas, which I finally used up in 12hrs, I had calculated 14hrs, I landed at 7pm. When I got into France the messages told me that there were strong eastern winds, which I had already seen on the ground from the parallel smoke lines, and there you freak a bit ” how will I land”, I was keeping more an eye on where to go than checking the gas, without maps from there I had gone down too 1500m 1600m, was not so high, then my speed lowered a lot, normal between 40…50. - The terrible thing was that my gas was finished and there were still 2 hrs off daylight, if I would have had those 2 hrs, I would have done 1000km or more, but anyway. - Up I was giving it all, very loaded, because at more than 2000m was difficult, and at 3000m was more wind more than 90km/H, but as I was going at 120km/ h why go higher. Where did you go fastest? In the middle of the peninsula? - No mainly at the beginning, since the first hours I was already going at 110-120km/h , very fast And up there was everything fine or was there a lot of turbulence? - No, there was turbulence between 2 air layers, so you had too look for a layer and stay there, if not if you would try and cross it, with all that tank weight on the sides, you move a lot and get a lot of inertia. But nothing that I couldn't handle well, I had no folds or nothing, when it got nasty, I got the trimmers, and that's it. After I would let them go and carry on. - The thermals where not too strong, as I had speed I crossed them. - Then the landing part, my engine stopped in a village called Roquefort, and I couldn't get into the village. I went backwards… and backwards… and when I got down from the layer I was in, there was a strong eastern wind, so I had to look for a clear spot in the woods, there were enormous woods, and landed as I could, in between lines, houses….. But landed safely, and once there I looked for a house where they saw me land took them as my witness for the landing, after a while my brothers van got there with Juan and Pepe Villén, who followed me very fast
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| A picture of Ramon with the witness. | |
So they were really following you? - No they could not see me, because I was always in front of them How did you communicate with them? Through radio? Phone? - At the beginning through radio to tell them that I was not going to take the planned route, and in Seville they saw me going so fast, that they left for Madrid, so they really never saw me only at the take off. Did they call or just checked through Internet? - I called them but only too see how it was on the Cantabrica coast. They would send some messages, and a few people would send support messages as “ Come on Ramon (smiling), but I was in my world, trying to get somewhere as fast as possible. The strongest moment, or the scariest one? - Going past Gredos was a bit moovy, but it was my thing no? I did not know what it was going too be like. It wasn't bad after all. The landing was hard, you had too bee sure if not you could be dragged. It is always intimidating knowing that there is a lot of wind. The take off is no child's stuff with all those kilos, but everything fine… fine I imagine that now you are going to do the formality to homologate your record? - I took a VOLKSLOGGER which Richard Meredith left me, who is very involved in FAI subjects, records, he borrowed me this instrument which sail boats… use and it is homologated by the FAI, these instruments were recording all the time, so what I do now is unload the track, and send it all certificated, about the judge, the witnesses, etc. but at first it will be fast to homologate. You have 7 days to communicate it and a few months too send. As soon as the national finishes I will send all the information so it can be homologated as soon as possible.
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Finally were there 950km? - 951km of flight, I haven't checked exactly yet, but about 12 hrs, I landed at about 7pm in a place called Arue.
Quite a deed, we followed you through internet, and in the forums everybody thought it was great Ramon - (smiling) If I had done 2 hrs extra of flight, you all would have amazed, because I could have done the 1000km or more, but anyway there it is you know? You have to do it, and be there, prepared.
Thanks for the interview Ramon; a hug and you know we are there for you. -Thank you, see you
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Greetings draco ____________________________________________________ |
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