Chasing the Morning Sun – that’s the title of Worcestershire pilot Manuel Queiroz’s attempt to set a new world speed record for a solo round the world flight and it’s underway right now!

Manuel, a motor engineer originally from Portugal, departed from Gloucestershire Airport at 7am on 28 February. He expects to take 24 days to fl y over 24,000 miles in his Van’s RV-6 kitplane. He’s due back in the UK on or around 23 March, finishing at Gloucester to complete the record bid according to the rules.

Manuel’s route eastwards goes via the Arab States, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Hawaii, USA and Portugal. The longest single flight will be from Tarawa Island to Hawaii - 2384 miles and will take almost 15 hours. The record Manuel is attempting to beat is ‘Speed Around the World Eastbound’ in Sub-Class C-1b: Landplanes with a take-off weight of between 500 and 1000kg.

It’s currently held by Hans Georg Schmid who completed 44,055km from Zurich in 27 days, with an average speed of 69.87 km/h. For Manuel to beat the record, he must complete his chosen route of 40,131km in less than 24 days.

W: www.chasingthemorningsun.com