Seiko Fukuoka has set a new women’s world record in Brazil. She flew 345.6 km on 20 November, beating the previous world record by more than 20 km.
According to her track log, she took off in Quixada, in the northeast of Brazil, and flew for a little over 10 hours. She was flying a Niviuk Icepeak 6.
The season in Quixada has been a good one so far, with several pilots flying more than 400 km. A team of Sol Pilots has been chasing the world record of 502 km, although that has eluded them so far.
The best flying was in late October, when half a dozen pilots from the Sol Team flew together for 460 km.
Quixada in north-eastern Brazil attracts pilots from across the world in October and November when strong, consistent winds set up, meaning pilots can fly far. Because of its position on the equator, pilots can take off very early in the morning—7 a.m. in some cases—and fly distances until sunset at around 5.30 .
The competition saw seven tasks flown: 53.9 km, 83.9 km, 85.1 km, 87 km, 97 km, 62.3 km, and 52.1 km. Billed as the “first Alpine Superfinal,” it was indeed the first Superfinal in history to take place in the European Alps. Disentis is a prime competition venue in the heart of the Swiss Alps and offers spectacular flying of high, glaciated mountain terrain.
Some 103 pilots took part, from 25 countries. However, France, Switzerland, and Italy dominated the pilot list, with 25 pilots from France alone. Sixteen Swiss pilots took part, including seven-time Red Bull X-Alps champion Chrigel Maurer, who finished in sixth place overall.
The competition between the gliders was also However, the appearance of the new Ozone Submarine harness, designed and flown by winner Luc Armant, added enough extra performance to help Luc win not only the competition, but also three of the seven tasks. The streamlined design is an old idea that Luc started to work on again in 2017. This was its first international debut at a major competition.
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