The ADVANCE team pilot Ramon Morillas flies over the entire Iberian Peninsula and the Pyrenees in a motorized paraglider, setting a world record of 951 Km. Andy Hediger interviewed Ramon after this extraordinary flight on 8th of June 2006.

Ramon – first of all, our sincere congratulations on your record-setting flight!

Thank you Andy.

What motivated you to undertake such an extreme adventure?

I had already established a 644 km record in Spain in 1998, but this was beaten by Vladimir Makurim in Russia in June of last year. Therefore, my main motivation was to take back “my” record.

How long have you been planning for the record-setting flight and waiting for the right conditions?

Originally, I wanted to make a world record attempt in Brazil at the start of the year. Unfortunately, I was unable to raise the required funds. Therefore, I decided to launch another attempt in my home country. This makes the whole thing somewhat easier…really, we were targeting the first week of June all along. This worked well with my schedule, and experience has shown that ideal wind conditions – that is, strong winds from the south-west – typically prevail before warm fronts at that time. Therefore, my brother and I left for Huelva at that time. We did not have to wait very long. We had favorable conditions after just three days, and I took off. It was a good thing, too! The very next day, the front collapsed and bad weather hit...

You covered 948 km in 12 hours! This means an average speed of 80 km/h! That is extreme! So how were the wind conditions? Did you also take advantage of thermal lift?

Even just after takeoff, I had a brisk ground speed of 110 to 120 km/h over 2000 m of ground, but unfortunately to the north. This surprised me a lot, since we had been counting on a south-west wind! Therefore, I had to change my planned flight path shortly after takeoff! Honestly, I really was not prepared for that…I did have thermal lift, and I tried to profit from that as much as possible. However, corkscrewing was not possible – it would have cost too much time.

What was the most difficult situation during the flight?

Several! That already started at takeoff. My own weight of approx. 70 kg plus 80 kg additional payload, and all that with zero wind! You can imagine how long it took just to get everything on my back...then during the flight I had great respect for the strong wind, in some areas there were even wave clouds. Due to the change in my flight path, I had to fly across terrain I was unfamiliar with and where I did not know exactly what to expect. Fortunately, I had brought a road map which I used to simply fly from one town to the next…
 

Somehow, you crossed the Pyrenees. What was that like in this wind?

Because of the southerly winds, I crossed the Pyrenees at their western end at San Sebastian where the peaks are not so high anymore. By this time, I was traveling at just 90 km/h. Therefore, this was no problem.

How was the end of your flight? What prevented you from continuing your flight? You already landed at 19:00 hours.

As I approached the town of Roquefort, my motor suddenly died. That is, I had run out of fuel. And this happened in a highly wooded area, of all places! The direction smoke was drifting along the ground was not exactly reason for optimism either. The wind was suddenly from the East and very strong, approx. 60 km/h! After I had flown through the turbulent shear layer, I was suddenly flying backwards and had to aim for a larger clearing close to Arue. And all of this while still weighing approx. 100 kg! Fortunately the landing itself was completely clean, and I was glad to be back on solid ground.

How do you feel after such a long flight, with a new world record in your pocket?

After the landing I was totally overtired. First, I had to get witnesses for the landing so that the record would even be recognized. Once that was all taken care of, I was overcome by happiness to have finally realized the world record after all those preparations! I had three hours until my brother arrived, during which I was able to think everything through one more time. The feeling of flying over the landscape at high speeds like a jet and navigating was especially intense. The only difference was that I was not sitting in a cabin but was out in the fresh air, my jet was the EPSILON 5. That is a whole new dimension!

How important is the material?

Very important. I was traveling in an ADVANCE EPSILON 5 25 with convertible risers and trimmer, as well as a PAP 1400 R4 Ros 100. I was very happy with the good takeoff behavior of the EPSILON 5, especially considering the difficult conditions. Also, the glider is very stable – I benefited from that when passing through the wind shear and flying in the thermal lift! My PAP motor was equipped with 7 tanks, that means approx. 50 l.

What potential do you see for the sport of motorized paragliding? In what direction will the sport develop?

I see the greatest potential mostly for the plains – the ease with which one can take to the air with just a piece of cloth and a small motor. The motors continue to become smaller, more reliable, lighter, and quieter. However, I think it is unfortunate that motorized paragliding and unmotorized paragliding are being separated more and more. After all, a good motorized paraglider has to have the same characteristics as a good unmotorized paraglider (good takeoff behavior, efficient acceleration, large speed range, high level of stability, high level of passive safety, pleasant handling, etc.). That is why I like to fly with an ADVANCE paraglider.

You have been a member of the ADVANCE team since 2000. What made you decide on ADVANCE?

ADVANCE has a very serious manner, a very good name. They have a quality product on all levels: Development, processing, material selection, etc. At the time, my brother had just taken over as the ADVANCE agent for Spain – so that is how I came to join. As an ADVANCE team member, I am very well supported. I truly feel honored to be a member of the ADVANCE team, and this makes me even happier to share this record with ADVANCE.

What are you personal goals for the future?

First of all, I will rest up and spend some time with my wife and children. Then I will start thinking about the 1000 km mark and how it can be achieved. That is my goal. And I already have a few ideas floating around in my head for that…

Ramon, thank you very much for the interview, and the best of luck for the 1000 km mark!