SAFA Skysailor Magazine

SKY SAILOR 15 July | August 2020 cross-country routes while waiting for the flying season to start. The anticipa- tion and patience paid off for 50 year old Ukrainian pilot Bogdan Baziuk, who started flying in 2003. “The weather forecast was really good, but I knew I had to take more care than usual regarding where and how far to fly, because public transport wasn’t back to normal in Ukraine yet,” describes Bogdan. His day didn’t start with the intent to try for a record distance. Equipped with his Nova Sector (EN/LTF-C), and in company of his wife, who operated the winch, plus two other pilots, the small group headed for the winch launch near Vetrovka before midday. At 9:30am, the first pilot launched and left, then the second, and finally it was Bogdan’s turn – but this flight ended prematurely after only five kilometres. He wasn’t willing to give up that easily though. “My wife picked me up and by 12:15pm, I launched for the second time that day – then she went home,” remembers Bogdan. “By that time, one of my friends had already achieved 120km. About an hour later he reported that he had landed in a small village after 150km total distance.” Bogdan’s other buddy also sunk out, but then came over the radio from the car, announcing he was now in pursuit and willing to pick them both up. “When I heard that, I knew I could keep going and he would come pick me up – I didn’t think twice,” says Bogdan, who then kept following a line of clouds for about an hour. “It could not have been more than a few degrees Celsius up there, because I was shivering even though I had dressed warmly. The conditions got ever better though, fortunately, my Sector is very comfortable and never lets me down even in strong turbulences – it has exactly the flight characteristics I appreciate for long flights. Towards the evening, I texted my friends in the car that I would probably land near Voznesensk, and as it happened, they were only 20km away when I finally touched the ground. It was almost 8pm by then. I just love to fly till sundown! I think, I couldn’t have gone any further even if I had started earlier though. I thank my wife and friends for supporting me, and for making this flight possible at this time.” One may wonder: Has Bogdan just been lucky several times or would a wider range of pilots be able to do similarly long flights if only more tried? Where is the limit? Is 500km distance possible in Europe? Are the flatlands of Ukraine, Belarus and Poland the ‘new Brazil’ of Europe? Let’s see what 2021 brings. Story courtesy Till Gottbrath, Nova En-route to 350km