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Simone Moro sets altitude record with ES101 Raven

By Vertical Mag | November 30, 2015

Estimated reading time 2 minutes, 34 seconds.

Simone Moro in the AvioTechnica ES101 Raven he used to fly to an altitude of 6,705 meters. Photo courtesy of Simone Moro 
Italian helicopter pilot and alpinist Simone Moro — who is also the president and founder of Altitude Helicopters in San Diego, Calif. — announced he has set a new altitude record with his two-seat, turbine-engine AvioTechnica ES101 Raven helicopter.
On Nov. 12, Moro climbed to an altitude of 6,705 meters (21,998 feet) in the aircraft, breaking the previous record for a turbine rotorcraft in the E-1a category (having a maximum takeoff weight less than 500 kilograms/1,102 pounds). That record, of 4,789 m (15,711 ft), was set by French pilot Jean Dabos using a Sud-Ouest Djinn helicopter in 1953.
Moro also surpassed the record altitude of 6,658 m (21,843 ft) for a piston-engine E-1a category rotorcraft, achieved by French pilot Olivier Gensse in 2005 with a Guimbal Cabri. Moro has submitted his record claim to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) for review and validation.
The AvioTechnica ES101 Raven is based on the RotorWay Exec. Photo courtesy of Simone Moro
Moro conducted his record-setting flight from the airport in Bolzano, Italy. Although he had aimed to go as high as 8,000 m (26,246 ft), issues with his supplemental oxygen supply caused him to conclude the flight early — leaving the 8,000-m record attempt for a later date.
In the meantime, Moro is on to his next high-altitude challenge: a winter climbing expedition to Nanga Parbat in northern Pakistan, the world’s ninth-highest mountain at 8,126 m (26,660 ft). After that ascent, he will return to Nepal to continue his helicopter rescue work in that country, as described in his Q-and-A in the February-March 2015 issue of Vertical.

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