http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_7-3-2003_pg7_48
PESHAWAR: A pilot will fly a double-seat ultra light aircraft from Karachi to Peshawar on April 1 to set a cross-country flight record on a light aircraft in the country.
Qazi Sajjad Ahmed, a glider instructor at the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Academy Risalpur who will fly the aircraft, said at a news conference that the aim of the cross-country flight was to boost the confidence of the government and the people in local technology and to promote national unity. The ultra light glider has been manufactured by Mr Ahmed himself, with the help of his two brothers. Mr Ahmed will take off from Karachi at 3pm and reach Peshawar in around 16 hours. The glider’s flight path will be Hyderabad, Nawab Shah, Sukkur, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu. The aircraft will break its air journey at Sukkar for a night, he said.
Mr Ahmed, who only has a secondary school certificate, said that he started building gliders as an amateur, and his brothers Qazi Farhad and Qazi Jamshaid designed a glider’s model in 1978 and later manufactured a hang-glider. He said since the wind did not help them fly the hang-glider in their area, they built a single-seat glider in 1985. He and his brother Farhad worked on a double-seat ultra light aircraft project and carried out its test-flight on January 1, 1996, which ended up in a crash but its pilot Farhad escaped. However, Farhad died in another air crash on April 11, 2002, while flying a double-seat glider on the occasion of Jashn-e-Sarhad.
Mr Ahmed said that this glider was registered with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and he could fly it from any airport under CAA control. He said the aircraft had a cruising speed of 80-90 kilometers per hour and could reach a height of 2,000 feet above ground level. He said the fuel capacity of the aircraft, which has a 64 horsepower Rotax engine, is 50 litres. “We have built an additional fuel tank to it raising the capacity to 110 litres for the Karachi-Peshawar flight,” Mr Ahmed said. The uniformed pilot said that his next intention is to build a helicopter costing Rs 0.7 million. He appealed to multinationals, banks and the CAA to sponsor his helicopter project and also the cross-country flight, which would cost Rs 15,000. —Staff Report
