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WORLD RECORD QUICKIE
On March 9, 1983, Stephen Eckrich
of Alberdeen, South Dakota set a new world record for distance in a closed
course with his Quickie. Steve flew an amazing 842.2 miles to set the new
standard for the âUnder
662 lb. ultralight category aircraftâ
Four months of planning and preparation went into the attempt with nearly all aspects of the flight being precisely calculated on his brotherâs
Apple II Personal Computer. All variables, including wind, altitude, and performance
parameters of his Quickie were fed into the computer and the most efficient course
and strategy were calculated.
Total fuel capacity was raised to 14.25 gallons by use of auxilary tanks in the
baggage compartment. The Cockpit was crammed full of provisions for the nearly
9 hour flight.
A storm delayed the planned departure for 2 days. Early Wednesday morning, March 9th, Stephenâs
brother Paul and Deen Goehring, the NAA directing official were on hand as Steve
climbed into the cockpit of his Quickie for the record setting flight.
The 210.55 mile course from Alberdeen to Watertown to Huron and back to Alberdeen
would be circled 4 times for a total of 842.2 miles.
Stephen said of his flight, âI remained pretty tense until the first completed circuit, but upon passing Alberdeen the first time it didnât
make any difference how much further I flew, the record had already been broken.
I relaxed, stretched out and enjoyed the sunny day.â
Stephen encountered no major problems throughout the flight. After completing
the memorable flight he and his ground crew celebrated with champagne.
The final peformance figures are impressive. Steve used just 12 gallons of fuel
to complete the 842.2 mile course in 8.8 hours. The average speed was 95.5 MPH
at an incredible 70.2 MPG economy.
For the entire story please refer to the July, 1983 issue of SPORT
AVIATION.
CONGRATULATIONS STEVE! |
| N99SE before winter came to South Dakota. |
(Photo Courtesy Steve Eckrich) |
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