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British pilots in record bid

Rifat Jawaid, in Calcutta

British aviation world-record chasers, Jennifer Murray (59) and Collin Bodill (49), who are on an 86-day round-the-world odyssey covering 33 countries, arrived in Calcutta on Sunday afternoon.

While Bodill intends to become the first pilot to fly a tiny microlight aircraft around the globe, Murray, a grandmother, will be the first woman to fly solo around the world in a helicopter if she completes her aerial tour successfully.

The pair's attempts to achieve this unique feat are aimed at raising $1 million for what is known as 'Operation Smile'. Christened 'The Now Challenge', their record-creating efforts are being sponsored by Pacific Century Cyber Work's revolutionary NOW - - Network of the World.

Founded by Richard Li, this non-profit medical voluntary organisation provides reconstructive facial surgery to indigent children and young adults in 16 developing countries.

Both Murray and Bodill admitted that a journey of such monumental proportions entailed quite a lot of hardships as well. Recalling the difficulties that they had to face in high altitude during the last 18 days of their global odyssey, Bodill revealed that once he had to attempt an extraordinary mid-flight repair to the exhaust system of his Mainair Blade 912 Flexwing microlight during the Jordan-Kuwait leg.

"A weld spot broke and I had to melt one of my flying gloves, but even this effort my mine didn't yield desirable results. Unable to fix the damage in mid-air, I then flew to Kuwait airport and managed to land my tiny aircraft in 30-knots' winds. If you are not experienced enough, such things may well pose you a great deal of difficulties, sometimes even bringing an unfortunate end of your record chasing efforts," Bodill said.

Bodill was also forced to make an unscheduled landing near Toulouse in France just there days into the challenge while strong winds in Cyprus delayed both their departures by a day.

Murray too was forced to effect mechanical repairs to her chopper in both Jordan and Kuwait, after the helicopter tackled sand storms across the Middle East.

Both Bodill and Murray took off from Brooklands Airfield near London on May 31 and have travelled over 5000 nautical miles, covering France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Dubai and Pakistan before arriving in India.

Murray was the first woman to circumnavigate the world in a helicopter in 1997, co-piloting with Quentin Smith. Understandably, the feat got her a place in the Guiness Book of World Records.

Smith, who is responsible for teaching Murray the rudiments of flying, is the current World freestyle helicopter champion.

Both pilots left for Bangladesh on Sunday and their next scheduled stopover is Hong Kong later this month.