Cross Country magazine
January 2009
An interview with Nevil Hulett following a world record flight
WHEN NEWS CAME THROUGH that South African pilot Nevil Hulett had flown 502.6km to bag two (still to be ratified) world records on Sunday December 14 2008 the paragliding world blinked and blinked again. Not only a broken world record, but a smashed one – and an incredibly fast one.
Hulett’s quickest 100 km leg took barely 90 minutes and he was only in the air for seven-and-a-half hours – at an average speed of 65 kph. In comparison, the current record, set by Brazilians Frank Brown, Rafael Saladini and Marcelo Prieto, from Quixada in November 2007, is 461.6 km and was notable for its early launch and long day. They flew from 7.20am to 5.30pm – at an average speed of 46 kph.
What’s more, Hulett launched and flew alone in conditions he knows were dangerous – at one point he suffered multiple blowouts and cascades in rotor while low going backwards at 50 kph. “I could have died there,” he told Cross Country. We tracked him down and shook him until he told us his story…
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