'Faceless Pen Pushers' In Russia Blamed For Latest Delay

Adventurer Norman Surplus has been delayed for another winter in his quest to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe in an autogyro. He's conceded the need to park his yellow AutoGyro MT03, G-YROX, in Japan to wait for the late arctic spring to arrive again before crossing the Bering Straits to Alaska.

Surplus, a colon cancer survivor who set out in March of 2010 from Larne, Ireland to make his assault on one of the last unclaimed circumnavigation feats in aviation while promoting cancer awareness, had most of the necessary permissions lined up to complete the trip last year. But he was caught in a high density altitude situation which forced a ditching in a lake on takeoff one day in the Philippines, and while the machine was quickly fixed, delays in repair approvals within the UK, where the machine is registered, cost him the rest of the summer. He pickled the gyro for the winter, and went home to Ireland.

This year, Japan proved an obstacle, because exemptions had to be obtained to allow cross-country flight in a gyro. That was overcome in part with the help of a letter writing campaign to Japanese embassies by supporters worldwide. The next step was traveling north along the eastern coast of Russia, which required agreeing to carry a Russian-speaking guide in place of the ferry tank, flying only in the daytime, and other restrictions to which Surplus agreed. But this year, Team G-YROX says the Russians revoked permission and demanded Surplus reapply, and months later there has been no approval, or even a response. So the gyro is again being pickled in Asia for the winter, this time at Shonai Airport, Yamagata Prefecture, East Japan.

Surplus has been immersing himself in Japanese culture while stranded in Japan waiting for the Russians to act, and even giving presentations on his travels to Japanese students. He'll shortly be headed home to Ireland for another winter. His team recently posted on the official blog, "It is sad news that once again bureaucracy has brought this magnificent adventure to a grinding halt. The fact that our brave aviator is doing something unique and for such a good cause seems to go over the heads of these faceless pen pushers in so many countries, but they haven’t reckoned with the tenacity of Norman Surplus."

FMI: www.gyroxgoesglobal.com