Here is a segment of a truly epic flight that is very much part of the present rather than the past. Matevz Lenarcic (I can’t type Matevž LenarÄiÄ constantly) is a Slovenian multi-skilled adventurer; an alpinist, a paraglider, environmentalist and photographer who, in 2004, flew around the world solo in a motor glider, without ground support. He is also a private pilot and has an instrument rating.

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The aircraft he used was designed and built by his fellow countrymen – the Slovenian company Pipistrel. The Pipistrel Sinus 912 is an ultralight motor glider with high cruising speed and low fuel consumption, critical for this journey with its long segments over mountains and water. Like other Pipistrel designs the Sinus seems an elegant match of advanced engineering and beautiful sculpture.

Details of his journey, taking 79 days and covering 39,700 km are given at his web site and the diary pages describe an adventure not only in aviation but in the challenge of working through the processes of civil aviation bureaucracies.

Here is a simulation of a short segment of the trip made overnight on the 19-20 July 2004 to give a flavour of the journey. It is from Farewell to Anchorage, Alaska.

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Matevz had just crossed the Bering Strait, including an 800 km ocean section to land at Nome, Alaska – to be advised he needed to clear a customs check in Anchorage. So at 7.00 p.m. in the almost permanent daylight/twilight of July he set of from Nome to cross Alaska, getting as far as Farewell before having to stop. After several hours of rest in his plane he cleared some rocks from the airstrip before take-off at first light. He crossed the Denali range to land his ultralight at the comparatively vast Anchorage International airport to complete, as he notes, “three times as much papers than in Russia and to pay 300 US$.â€

The Flight: Farewell (PAFW) to Anchorage International (PANC).

I used the FS2004 Pipistrel Sinus from the Flightsim library (Sinus.zip by Giovanni Quai) which worked very nicely. If you want to make this flight in an FSX motor glider I would suggest using the Scheibe SF 25C (variations can be found in the library) although you will need to use the ‘control+x’ function to adjust fuel en route.

Starting at Farewell the route is direct across the mountain range, albeit climbing and following the valleys initially.

Allan Jones

allanj12@gmail.com

http://moonscourse.blogspot.ca

Allan Jones is the author of In a Moon’s Course, an ebook of World War II flight stories/plans of the Air Transport Auxiliary, available at Amazon, Kobo, W.H. Smith and other ebook online suppliers.