Norman Surplus Granted Permission To Cross Japan In Autogyro

Norman Surplus, a pilot, adventurer and cancer survivor from Northern Ireland, has received permission from Japan to cross its airspace, which will allow the continuation of his attempt to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe in an autogyro.

Surplus is flying a German-built MTO3, a tandem, open-cockpit gyroplane powered by a turbocharged Rotax 914. His attempt to complete the trip last year was scuttled when he attempted a high-and-hot takeoff in difficult surroundings, and had to ditch in a lake in the Philippines to avoid terrain.
 
Bureaucratic delays back in the UK stalled repairs, and eventually Surplus ran out of good weather. With the Bering Straits and the North Atlantic both ahead, he made the frustrating decision to pickle the aircraft for the winter and try for a completion this year during warmer months.

When China flatly denied Surplus permission to cross its airspace, a route across Japan became essential. But Japanese regulations do not allow any aircraft under 500 kilograms, or about 1,100 pounds, to fly more than three kilometers from their local airfields. He's already busted that limit by about 9,400 kilometers.

A grassroots campaign urging followers to contact their local Japanese embassies to lobby on the adventurer's behalf proved fruitful, a waiver has been issued, and the flight is on again, starting Wednesday morning.
 
On his official blog, Surplus's team writes, "Patience is a virtue they say, but Norman’s patience and persistence is a lesson for us all. His dream to be the first pilot to fly an autogyro around the world meant too much for him to ever contemplate giving up and today that persistence has paid off."

FMI: www.gyroxgoesglobal.com