At first, Ramon had planned to fly an Omega 7 colour "steel" (light-gray & yellow) but he was strongly adviced to take an orange one for security reasons.

Preparing the record flight

Several years ago, Ramon and two friends sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in a catamaran, and it was then when he thought for the first time that a similar journey by paramotor could be done. The idea stayed in his mind until last year, when he proposed it to the organizers of the Paragliding Festival of Los Realejos “Flypa” as part of the promotion activities for the 2007 edition –in the first Flypa Festival, Ramon broke the PPG record of altitude over Tenerife, and in 2006 he flew over the sea from Tenerife to La Gomera (Canary Islands).
"I told them that if I broke the record of distance flying 1000 km, which I had planned for the summer (2006), we could seriously consider flying from the Iberian Peninsula to Tenerife. Then, when I had done the record (950 km) we started to organize the expedition with the city-hall of Los Realejos" explains Ramon.

Ramon studied the course to Tenerife and every alternative route in detail, with Google Earth.

The first step was to study the meteorological conditions between Spain and the Canary Islands, and check if a paramotor could take advantage of the trade winds to travel at high speeds in south-westerly direction. With the help of the Canary pilot and meteorology expert Guillermo de Armas, Ramon concluded that it would be possible, and they decided that the best time would be during April. The total distance is 1350 km starting from the airport of Jerez de la Frontera (Cadiz, on the South-west of Spain) and landing at the beach of El Socorro in the municipality of Los Realejos (North of Tenerife, Canary). A total of +16 flight hours, only if Ramon finds tail wind of about 30 knots, and 65-70 litres of fuel.

The right choice
It will not only be a unique flight over the sea, but also a new world record of distance for the Spanish sportsman. And it will not be an easy task nor “a walk in the park", thinks the pilot. Only the planning has taken him and his team several months and now, while he waits for the right weather to take off in optimal conditions, Ramon feels serene knowing that he has the most suitable equipment for such a long flight: A paramotor PAP Ros 100 with carbon two-blade propeller of 1,30m (slightly bigger than the serial 125cm for the best compromise between thrust and consumption), lightened chassis and harness, and two tanks of 13.5 litres on the back part and two side tanks of 22 litres each; and a paraglider Advance Omega 7 (DHV2-3) size 30, a high performance model. Add to this a number of safety devices ranging from self-inflating rescue boat to hi-tech satellite tracking systems (see box on the left), water and food. Altogether, at the takeoff run the whole unit pilot-glider-paramotor-equipment will make 170kg, of which nearly 100kg will be supported by Ramon's back.

Institutional support: This ambitious adventure would not be possible without the support of the city-hall of Los Realejos, organizers of the Flypa Festival; the Spanish Aeronautical Federation, the Air Force, and the City-hall of Jerez de la Frontera. These institutions have offered the athlete unconditional support and belief in his dream of connecting the peninsula and the Canary Islands by the lightest and youngest aircraft in the world: the paramotor.

Not alone
His brother Juan managed to involve other important sponsors for this adventure, like the Spanish Airsports Federation, the National Air Force and Spain 's SAR (Search and Rescue service, considered one of the most efficient in the world). They will take care of Ramon's security during the flight and will rescue him from the sea in case he falls. This way, Ramon will not fly alone. He will be escorted by a military helicopter since launching from Jerez until the aircraft needs to refuel in the afternoon, leaving Ramon all alone above the Ocean for a couple of hours only. Another helicopter will be ready to leave from the Canary island of Lanzarote to meet the Paramotor, and an airplane will fly over the route of Ramon during the day. The SAR will be prepared to launch a rescue procedure in case the adventurer ends up in the water.

 

The flight
If the meteorological conditions are optimal, i.e., there's north-eastern wind of about 30 knots during the day and route, Ramon will take off at dawn and will fly to the South taking altitude until he sees the Army helicopter. From there, he will be flying above the sea using only the instruments and a map for reference, and he'll possibly receive relevant information from the helicopter by radio or from the rest of the team via the Iridium phone. His route is not exactly straight; he will follow the curve of the isobars which is also the course of the trade winds or ‘alisios'. If the conditions were not so favourable concerning the wind intensity, Ramon will take off before 6 am, still by night, to try to gain time and height above the airport of Jerez –safe known land- before attempting to fly the distance between the peninsula and the Canary archipelago in less than 18 hours, the time there's daylight. If he can't make it, because the wind changes and alters the course, or because the speed is not enough to reach Tenerife before darkness, the pilot has alternative options, like flying to the island of Lanzarote instead (about 200 km nearer, also in Canary), flying to the coast of Morocco and landing there with no support, or even try an emergency landing in a deserted isle. The worst scenario would be to fall in the water by an engine failure or by any other incidence, although Ramon says he is prepared to face this contingency and believe that the rescue services would make their work well. But if he falls to the sea during the last hours of the day things would be more complicated since helicopters cannot fly by night, so any rescue operation would rely exclusively on life-boats. Another scenario would be that Ramon arrived at night in Tenerife, in which case he would have to use the instruments to find and land on the esplanade of Puerto de La Cruz, some km from Los Realejos, a well illuminated and broad landing zone.

Decisions
Ramon, used to big challenges, admits calmly that there are risks involved in the flight but that it can be done. "The first three hours are the most critical; I'll have to get used to being alone there over the sea and lacking all references. Then I will be navigating and piloting, which is a lot of work, I must be very attentive to consumption and flight altitude, to fly at between 1000 and 1500 meters. Above the sea there's lift and sink, there could be a big cloud, or even rain... I will also have to watch the wind and, at a certain moment, make a critical decision of whether to continue towards Tenerife if my levels of fuel, speed and daylight are ok for arriving there before it gets dark. If they aren't, the alternative is to change the course towards the island of Lanzarote, which is a couple of hundreds ks nearer. I have to know this for sure once I have covered 800km, to correct the course", explains Ramon.

"Doing such a long flight and over the water may seem insane to many people or that I'm perhaps taking too many risks, but we have meditated a lot on this and this is what motivates me: That it is difficult, but it can be done! And it is my way to do a small contribution to my sport; in this sport that it's so young I like to push the limits a little, to do my part. I like challenges; to challenge myself, and I feel really lucky to be able to think ‘what do I want to do?' and do it, to fulfil my dreams. The attempt to make this record is what motivates me the most. Then, if I accomplish it or not will depend on many factors", concludes the adventurer.

At the time of publishing this article, Ramon Morillas was in Jerez training and preparing the last details of his journey with the rest of the team. He planned to take off as soon as the meteorological conditions allowed him, possibly on Wednesday April 18th 2007. You can follow his flight in real time thanks to the satellite tracking system at: Draconexion.com/latravesia and Flypa.es

+ Info

Watch a video of Ramon explaining the equipment he'll use and how he feels about this flight. It's in Spanish (sorry!) but it shows the gear and nice sequences of Ramon flying. Click on the Play icon.

Photo Album by Ojovolador.com

www.papteam.com

*Draconexion.com/latravesia live tracking and +info

*www.flypa.es live tracking and +info - Read our report of FLYPA 2006 here -