83 degrees South – On Course

83 degrees South – On Course

As of this writing, the Sky Polaris RV-8 piloted by Michel Gordillo is headed directly South. His position is 83 degrees south. At this moment the longitude does not matter. As long as he heads directly south, he will reach the south pole.

After a slow start and a fly-over of the McMurdo Station near Mario Zuchelli, Michel turned the aircraft toward the very high ice and snow plateau of the Antarctic interior. Michel reported that it was difficult to gain airspeed and altitude due to the fuel-heavy aircraft. However now his airspeed has increased to over 120 knots which was the primary goal for this leg of the project. As long as his ground speed maintains 120 knots or higher, he has the fuel to reach Marambio,

According to the SpiderTracks tracking system, Michel is averaging 1 degree latitude every 35 minutes. At this rate, he is scheduled to reach 90 degrees south at 0500 UTC.

If you look at the SpiderTracks map, it appears to end prior to the south pole. That is partly due to the way maps are projected on a flat surface. Hopefully the tracking will be reliable all the way to 90 degrees south even though the map will end about 85 degrees South. After that Michel will  head northbound following the 60 degrees west longitude toward Marambio.

Note: As I was writing this, Michel reports (via Paula Bustamonte) that he has a headwind, slowing the ground speed.

6 Comments



Real Aeroclub de Málaga / Nov 9, 2016 2:25 am / Reply

Reaching 85ºS. Hopefully Michel will find tailwinds after South Pole.

Sue Harrelson / Nov 9, 2016 4:25 am / Reply

Con estos vientos de frente, espero que Michel este’ considerando la posibilidad de aterrizar en Union Glacier (SCGC), si no es posible alcanzar Marambio.

Sue Harrelson, Lead, ground crew. Bill Harrelson’s RTW successful polar flight.
Andale, Michel!

Real Aeroclub de Málaga / Nov 9, 2016 5:41 am / Reply

IT IS DONE. Congrats Michel. Go safely to Marambio station

Jorge Camuñas García / Nov 9, 2016 4:59 pm / Reply

Aprox. at 15:49UTC Plain landed on Marambio. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Two Poles already, now some relax after the epic leg.

Miguel Mendez / Nov 9, 2016 5:15 pm / Reply

Ahora si puedo respirar.
Ya has alcanzado tu meta sobrevolastes los dos polos. Y estás a salvo en la base de Mac Murdoc
Desde hace un mes estoy aguantando la respiración. Ya lo has conseguido campeón. De ahora en adelante podríamos decir que es cuesta abajo. El
resto ya está chupao
Campeonnnn !!!!

Peter Robledillo / Nov 9, 2016 6:11 pm / Reply

Contratulations Michel! I think this makes you “bipolar”, no? 🙂

Peter

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