At 11:58 AM on September 18, 39-year-old bicyclist Wang Huihai
crossed the Hongqi Canal on his bicycle and flew 39.30 meters. His
endeavor has broken a Guinness World Record.
Hongqi Canal is located in the TaiHang Great Canyon, Rencun
Town, Linzhou City, Henan Province. At 9:00 AM yesterday,
coordinators set up an 81-meter-long man-made course on the
southern side of the Hongqi Canal. The highest point of the course
was 32 meters high, with the lowest at 8 meters. On the northern
side of the canal a landing area piled with wheat straw was
constructed. Several soft foam pads were put in the center of the
straw.
At 11:54 AM exactly Wang began his adventure from the highest
point, became airborne and flew to the lowest point.
Due to wind resistance, Wang scratched three fingers when he let
go of his 28,000-yuan bicycle.
According to Liu Tianliang, Wang's coach, the height of his
flight was 16 meters, with the length at 39.30 meters. The trip
took 9.3 seconds in all, with 3.12 seconds completely airborne. His
39.30 meter record has broken the Guinness World Record of 36.1
meters, formerly established by Wang Huihai himself. This is the
longest distance anyone has flown with non-motored vehicle to date
in the world.
Wang says that he will consider flying outside China as his next
step.
(China.org.cn by Li Xiaohua September 19, 2007)
