Retired pilot stops in KK during round-the-world solo bid
KOTA KINABALU: A retired airline pilot is making his second bid to fly solo around the world using an aircraft he assembled all by himself 11 years ago.
This time around, Capt Jurio Hugues, 77, is dedicating the trip in memory of a close friend who died six months ago.
Hugues, who touched down here last Wednesday, started from his home base of New Caledonia on June 22.
New Caledonia is an archipelago under French protection located in the southwest Pacific Ocean.
It is 1,210km east of Australia and 16,136km east of Metropolitan France.
From there, he flew to Australia and Bali, before arriving in Kota Kinabalu.
He is now awaiting clearance to fly to Taipei, Taiwan.
“I am still within my planned schedule as I am now one day ahead of my timetable,” he said.
“I aim to reach Russia by July 8, before ending in France,” said Hugues, who had flown for Air France and Air Caledonia.
“I wanted to fly via Russia because that was the dream of my American friend, Bill Randolf, 87, who introduced me to the idea of flying around the world,” added Hugues, who operates a flying school in New Caledonia.
His RV-8/8A aircraft from Van’s Aircraft powered by a single 134kW (180hp) Lycoming engine was painstakingly assembled since 2006 at a cost of around US$100,000 (RM430,000).
“I ordered all the parts from the United States, and it took me six years to complete building the whole plane alone at home,” Hugues said.
Also known as home-built planes, kit aircraft are common among flying enthusiasts in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.
They buy the entire plane in the form of assembly kits or build it from scratch by using parts acquired from various sources.
Hugues’ first solo flight around the world took place in 2013, when he flew across the Bering Strait, the United States, Canada, Europe, Saudi Arabia, India and back to Australia before ending in New Caledonia.