MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
UK/Falklands air bridge sets two new records with the A330-200
A new capability to fly directly from the United Kingdom to the Falkland Islands has been achieved. The modified aircraft, G-VYGM, took its maiden flight on Tuesday 2 June 2020, as part of the scheduled South Atlantic Airbridge and returned directly to the UK on Friday, setting two new world records in the process. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesI suspect the reference to “world record” is a bit overstated here. Possibly a record for a non-stop flight specifically between Brize Norton and Mount Pleasant, but there was a regular direct flight from Stansted to Mount Pleasant during one of the oil drilling operations that used a Boeing 747SP, which cruises faster than the A330 Voyager, and I suspect would have achieved a similar distance even quicker.
Jun 06th, 2020 - 06:14 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Mollymauk 'I have to correct you. The oil flights from MPA to Stanstead in 1998 regularly had a flight time of 14 hours and 30 minutes. I actually travelled on this flight and can verify the time. It was never quicker.
Jun 11th, 2020 - 10:46 pm - Link - Report abuse 0All flight times are, as a matter of official Air Aviation policy, required to be formally documented (in the event of a future investigation) and consequently AIR TANKER had access to these details and knew that the previous fastest flight time between MPA and U.K. was established by a VC10 aircraft in 1987.
The flight by the Voyager A330-200 aircraft on 04th June was indeed a new world record time of 13 hours and 22 minutes from the Falklands to Britain. Incidentally the southbound flight, which always takes longer, on 02nd June also established a new record time of 15 hours and 09 minutes.
Congratulations to AIR TANKER and Chief Pilot Dave Hall and Senior First Officer Aby Jackson-Moore.'
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