Thu, Apr 01, 2004
Birchwood, Alaska, Antares designer Sergey Zozulya has just
returned with his highly modified Antares Trike to report the news
of 'possibly' breaking the world speed record between Birchwood,
Alaska and Los Angeles.
After undergoing
therapy from suffering what may be described as wind damage to the
lower jaw and cheek and temporary hearing loss along with shoulder
and elbow dislocations encountered during the historic flight, Mr.
Zozulya excitedly explains, “My total time flight was one
hour forty two minutes, thirteen seconds.”
Passenger and copilot Andy Kmak explains that the attempt was
purely accidental. “We were testing the Antares as a possible
launch platform for a surplus AIM-120 with the larger, longer range
engine over the Knik Arm when all of a sudden the rocket motor
decided to ignite. All we could do is close our eyes and hold
on.” Fortunately, a Garmin GPS was on board and recorded the
flight. The GPS showed a total distance of 2373 miles with an
average speed of 1547 MPH. At this time it is not certain if this
will be able to be used as evidence to support the flight but the
data was submitted to the record committee for evaluation.
“When we opened our eyes some time later,” Mr. Kmak
explains, “We were over an area of LA that looked familiar to
me, but I could not believe it.” The Trike touched down
between the runways at LAX and the crew and craft were apprehended
by authorities.
No charges were filed since the FAA could not decide on what to
do as long the crew paid the airport landing fee. Both were
released to return home.
Further investigations are pending. Photos were taken just after
rocket motor ignited. ANN thanks Sonja Hickup, official Ultralight
Noise Patrol Officer, for her assist with this story.
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