7 summits by Microlight

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(UTC + 5:45)
2-1

Chronology of Aviation in the Everest region

This is a list of known flights over, from, near or associated with Mt Everest, which were planned to be undertaken without the benefit of a pressurized cabin and other salient dates such as the building of airfields.

1924

Aeroplane

Sir Alan Cobham, UK

1932

Aeroplane

Richard Halliburton and  Meyro Stevens, USA

1933

Aeroplane

Houston-Westland Expedition, UK

1933 - 1934

Aeroplane

Maurice Wilson, UK

1951

Aeroplane

John Jordan, UK

1960

Airfield

 

Mingbo airfield built by Sir Edmund Hillary, and abandoned.

Aeroplane

 

Pilatus PC-6 Porters arrive in Nepal for the first time

1964

Airfield

 

Lukla airfield built by Sir Edmund Hillary

1985

Gliders

Himalaya Soaring Expedition flew in the Anapurna region.

1986

Microlights

Dudh Kosi Kites and Kayak Expedition, Simon Baker, David Young & Malcolm McBride; UK

HangGlider

Steve McKinney, USA.

1988

Paraglider

Jean-Marc Boivin; France

1990

Balloon

Michio Kanda, Sabu Ichiyoshi and Etushi Saito; Japan

Paraglider

Jean Noel Roche and Roche Bertrand; France

1991

Balloons

Chris Dewhirst, Leo Dickinson, Andy Elson, Eric Jones; UK

1993

Microlights

Himalaya High International Ultralight Expedition, Jan Bem; Czech Republic

1998

Paraglider

Elvira Nasonova + 1; Russia

2001

Paraglider

Roche Bertrand and Claire Bernier Roche; France

Balloon

David Hempleman-Adams; UK

2002

Paraglider

Wilco van Rooijen and Hans; Holland

Future projects

Aeroplane

 

Wings Over Everest; UK

 

 

 

 

Postscript

On page one in his first book Richard Halliburton states his ultimate happiness would be to sail off into the sunset.  That was exactly what he eventually did.  In 1939 he left Hong Kong in the “Sea Dragon”, a Chinese junk he’d had built to sail to San Francisco in time for the World's Fair but disappeared without trace in a Typhoon.

Dick Ellison, the last known living survivor of the Houston Westland expedition and reserve pilot who flew with Bonnett on the Kanchenjunga flight was interviewed in 1990 by Leo Dickinson for his book Ballooning over Everest.

John Jordan is now 80 and living a graceful retirement at his mill in Bedfordshire.

Simon Baker runs a flying school and has been enormously successful in competitions, winning the Microlight World Championships in 1996, 1999 and 2003.

 David Young flew 7000 miles around West Africa in 1987 with the famous author and explorer Christina Dodwell and now runs a successful microlight flying school.

Besides being a hang glider pilot, Steve McKinney was one of the World’s leading speed skiers.  He was killed by a drunk driver in a car crash in 1990. 

Larry Tudor set a whole host of Hang gliding records in the 1980’s and 1990’s and is now ‘semi retired’ from competitive gliding.

Michio Kanda made the first balloon flight from China to Japan across the China Sea in February 1993 and flew with Hiro Takezawa over Mt. Naga Parbat, 8125m Pakistan on 14 October 2000.

Sabu Ichiyoshi made the first flight by balloon from Korea to Japan in September 1994

Jean-Marc Boivin was killed BASE-jumping the Angel Falls in Venezuela in 1990.

Andy Elson was on board the Cable & Wireless balloon which flew in March 1999 over 12,000 miles for 18 days to set an outright world endurance record for an aircraft in the earth's atmosphere while attempting a circumnavigation.  More recently, with the ‘Edge of Space’ project he has been attempting to break the world altitude record for manned balloon flight by flying with Colin Prescot to 130,000 ft in the biggest balloon ever made.

Jan Bem is living in Florida, is usually the Czech team leader at Microlight championships, and is still flying all sorts of aircraft including Microlights.  He led an autumn 2000 expedition to Anapurna and flew a microlight from Pokhara to more than 8,000m. near the mountain.

David Hempleman-Adams recently set a World speed record for hot-air airships.

THE NORTH FACE clothing for extreme conditions
 
 
The FIAT group
 
 
ALPHA emergency parachute
 
 
ICARO 2000 Hang Gliding World Champion
 
 
MAINAIR SPORTS  manufacturers of fine microlight Aircraft
 
 
O-ZEE flight suits.  Suppliers of Bar-mitts to the expedition.
 
 
AdventureWeather.com providing Meteorological information to the expedition
 
 
PEGASUS AVIATION manufacturers of fine microlight Aircraft
 
 
Mainair Sports; UK dealer for Warp Drive Propellors
 
 
Lyndhurst Touchdown Services.  Supplier of fuel system components to the expedition.
 
 
PARAMINA; Suppliers of Oxygen equipment to the expedition
 
 
Neltec flexible heaters
 
 
BAILEY AVIATION manufacturers of Paramotors and automotive sport acessories
 
 
Articole Studios - GRP mouldings
 
 
SKYDRIVE, the UK Distributor of ROTAX engines
 
 
Industrial Pressure Testing Ltd; Suppliers of Oxygen cylinders to the expedition.
 
 
Quatar airways
 
 
Gerbings heated clothing
 
 
FLYCOM Intercom and Radio equipment
 
 
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Page last reviewed
8 Apr 2004
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