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World Green Flight Marks Major Achievements

The Pipistrel Virus SW 914 Turbo being flown around the world by Matevz Lenarcic in Antarctica on February 16.

February 23, 2012 – As Slovenian Matevz Lenarcic continues his around-the-world flight in a modified Pipistrel Virus SW 914 Turbo, he's stacked together some significant milestones over the past week. On Tuesday, he completed the single longest leg of the flight - 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) over the Pacific Ocean - from Concepcion, Chile, to Easter Island. On February 16, Lenarcic landed in Antarctica, marking the lightest aircraft ever to land on the ice-covered continent.

The flight to Easter Island took just over 15 hours, averaging 152 mph using 80.6 gallons of fuel for a consumption rate of about 2.17 gallons per 62 miles flown. Goals of the flight include flying the lightest three-axis aircraft around the world westbound and using the smallest amount of fuel per distance flown.

The ambitious flight began in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on January 7 and is expected to last 10 weeks. He's about a third of the way through and when it's over, Lenarcic will have flown nearly 50,000 miles, crossing the equator six times and touching all seven continents , 60 nations, 120 National Parks, and three oceans. The flight will also overfly Mt. Everest and four other mountain peaks.

Pipistrel is a multi-NASA Challenge winner and a 2011 Collier Trophy nominee. To learn more, click here.

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