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Paramotor world altitude record with OMEGA 7!
02.10.08 | Ramon Morillas sets a new paramotor world altitude record with his OMEGA 7!
The longest and highest flights: these are dreams which Ramon Morillas has long pursued as a vol libre and paramotor pilot. Now we have a new altitude record.
“At the end of August and the beginning of September I made three altitude test flights. The objective was to try out the equipment and the pilot . . with a view to flying over the 8km+ mountains in Pakistan. With Pierre Aubert - PAP TEAM - we decided on a F200 Walkojet motor. For the wing I tried three ADVANCE gliders – day1/ Sigma 7/23; day 2/ Epsilon 5/23, and day3/ Omega 7/26.”
Ramon’s concerns centred on the effects of altitude on the pilot and the engine – both use oxygen to convert their fuels to useful energy. The higher you go the less oxygen there is. Sea level dwellers can expect anoxic affects above 3000m. Above 4000m these are clearly present. In particular emotions and judgement are affected – in a different way for each individual. First sign – blue finger nails.
Flight 1. Aug 25th. Cenes de la Vega: thermal/motor climb to 6000m in one hour. The next day Ramon settled for making adjustments and resting himself. He says “if you go straight to high altitude quickly the body feels it . . and battling with thermals with a powerful motor on your back - that’s tiring as well.”
Flight 2. August 27th. Cenes de la Vega. Upper wind and unstable conditions. Big towering cumulus over the mountains. Ramon climbs to 5000m before arriving alongside a tower. He thermals alongside in clear air, and finds himself mysteriously at 6400m. “What’s happening here?” he said to himself. He stopped the motor and had a nice glide down. He needs more power to break records and takes the air filter off – as he had done at Mount Kilimanjaro.
Flight 3. September 2nd Motril beach (Granada), this time with the intention of breaking some world records:- time to 3000m, time to 6000m and the world altitude record; with the Omega 7/26 and a PAP VR 200 1400 motor without air filter. Perfect weather - south east wind increasing with height. Ramon gets to 6000m in just over an hour, then uses the Sierra Nevada slopes for dynamic assistance while looking for the standing wave. “At 6700m I could climb no higher, although the motor kept going well . . at this moment I decided that I was at 7000 m, even though the barograph indicated 6740m. Alarm bells sounded in my head: I’d spent plenty of time at over 6000m and, although I thought I was OK, decided nevertheless to switch off the engine and go down. I hadn’t used oxygen on any of my flights and I’d accepted the risks that that implied. The wind was over 30 knots and I had to use full speed bar during the descent. The sensation of fatigue and stress were considerable and I decided to land “at home” at the Purche - Monochil, very tired, but happy at the 3 records achieved, above all at the great possibilities for future projects that my partners might offer me. Sea level to 6700m in under two hours - not bad!
Thanks to Juan, my brother; to Pierre de Pap, the whole Draco family, my friends, Advance, Helix, Flyengine, Nac Intercom, Flypa, Andalucia, Red Bull, Cetursa Sierra Nevada and to all those who, like me, like to daydream . . . “
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