Gregory Knudsen reports from Kenya, where he has broken the 100km Out-and-Return World Record: I've just come back from 12 days of camping in the Kerio Valley where, after much required patience and no little consternation, and following several failed attempts, the weather finally improved enough to provide a window of opportunity for me to take a crack at the FAI world record.  On January 19 I began my official flight at 08:24:00.  Two hours, twenty-one minutes, forty-three seconds later, I completed the task and broke the current world paragliding record.  Flying almost constantly at 70% bar, trying to punch through powerful thermals as fast as possible and not climb while remaining relatively close to the rim of the escarpment, was easily one of the more demanding and intense experiences I have ever encountered.  Hours after I'd landed, I became conscious that the muscles in my neck and shoulders had still not fully decompressed. The following is the official Press Release from the Luxembourg NAC:

The Fédération Aéronautique Luxembourgeiose (FAL) wishes to make known that on January 19, 2013, flying an Ozone R11 along the Elgeyo escarpment in Kenya’s Rift Valley province, Gregory Knudson, team leader and competition pilot for the Luxembourg national paragliding team, set a new world record for a speed over and out-and-return course of 100 km by flying an average speed of 42.34 km/h (beating the former world record of 40.20 km/h set in January, 2011, by Germany’s Thomas Schweers).  The FAL has officially validated this claim and submitted it to the FAI in Lausanne, Switzerland for ratification.  We wish to congratulate Mr. Knudson on his success.

Check out Gregory's tracklog here.

Congratulations Gregory, and we're glad that you're enjoying your R11!

Cheers from all the Team.