Ulster autogyro pilot smashes world record
A REMARKABLE adventurer from Larne has officially smashed the world record for the distance flown in an autogyro in his bid to journey around the world.
Father-of-two Norman Surplus, 47, took the record yesterday as he flew into Kolkata, India in his bid to be the first person to fly an autogyro around the world while fundraising for cancer charities.
No one has ever managed to circumnavigate the globe in an autogyro, which is the predecessor to the modern-day helicopter that was made famous by an appearance in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice.
Planes across Europe have recently been grounded by the now infamous Eyjafjallajoekull volcano in Iceland but despite the fact Norman is scheduled to fly past it in three months time, he was remarkably unfazed.
"The height I fly at, it should be ok. I'm actually looking forward to flying past that volcano. Hopefully it will let me past.
"It'll be interesting to see how that goes," he said.
World record breaker Norman has now flown 7,118 miles since he set off from Larne last month and he told the News Letter he was looking forward to celebrating with an authentic Indian curry.
"As I was flying along over India I was thinking I have now flown longer than anyone else," he said.
"This is a great way of experiencing different cultures, it is interesting to see the way they change from Europe, then the Arab world and now the Indian sub continent, you can even see the way the cultures mix at the edges.
"I am looking forward to having a curry in Pakistan. When I told them I am from Northern Ireland they were all worried the food would be too hot for me but when I was in the restaurant I recognised most of the dishes from takeaways at home."
Norman said the most challenging thing he has faced so far is the heat in India.
"It was 47 degrees centigrade earlier. As I was descending down from the 6,500 feet I usually fly at, it was just getting hotter and hotter and hotter, like flying into an oven," he said.
"I was telling people the average temperature in Larne was about 14 degrees in the summer and people were just looking at me funny."
Next stop for Norman will be Bangladesh before he travels further east towards Thailand, the Philippines and on to Japan.
What makes Norman's journey even more amazing is the fact that, just five years ago, his outlook was bleak as he battled cancer.
But after months of treatment he beat the disease and was intent on breaking a world record, raising money and awareness for cancer research along the way.
He has set up a website where people can monitor his progress and even watch on the tracker system to see some of the fascinating sights that he passes along the way.
It is also possible to donate money to cancer research and treatment by logging into his website at www.gyroxgoesglobal.com.
Norman's preferred charity is Bowel Cancer UK but he said he will also be donating to cancer charities in the countries he visits on his voyage.
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Tuesday 29 May 2012
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