New World Record For Longest Freestyle Flight Set in Texas

Ex-Austinist Gary Osoba established the new world record for longest freestyle flight in an ultralight glider plane last Saturday, soaring across the skies of Texas for some 615 miles in a small, engine-less aircraft. As the Statesman points out, the only fuel consumed during this flight was by another plane, which was used to bring the glider to a sufficient cruising altitude. The glider then followed thermal pockets of warm air, much like birds do, eventually making its way from a small airport near the US-Mexico border to a town near Lubbock. [Statesman]