10 month Russian hold up puts pioneering UK world flight in doubt


A UK pilot’s world record gyrocopter flight is in doubt as Russian authorities have delayed permission to enter their airspace for 10 months. Cancer survivor and green entrepreneur Norman Surplus has already traversed 18 countries and broken numerous FAI World Records in his bid to be the first to circumnavigate the globe in a gyrocopter. If the Russian Civil Aviation Authorities do not give the green light soon Norman’s chance of crossing the Bering Sea, the next stage after Russia, will be lost due to the short Arctic summer.

The 49-year-old adventurer from Larne, Northern Ireland has already flown his tiny, five metre long craft half way around the world crossing some of the world’s most hostile environments. He has been forced to wait very patiently in Japan since late July last year for the Russian Civil Aviation Authority. The have been ‘processing’ his onward flight permission - an administration process that is normally supposed to take only 14 days. He needs to make a transit through the Far Eastern Region of Russia from Vladivostok to reach the Bering Sea and fly onwards into Alaska.

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