Mid-air crossings
In the late afternoon of Sunday, 7 September 2008, in Etyek, Hungary, Zoltán Veres and Zoltán Gulyás Kiss set the Guinness World Record for the smallest distance between an aeroplane and a motorcycle during a mid-air crossing. While Zoltán Gulyás Kiss jumped from ramp to ramp on a Yamaha YZ250F cross motorbike, Zoltán Veres flew right underneath him in his Extra 300 aeroplane at a speed of 200 km/h. As Veres passed Gulyás Kiss, he was flying only 2 metres above the ground and 2.42 metres below the motorbike.
Andrea Bánfi, Guinness World Records adjudicator witnessed the breathtaking attempt from beneath the ramp to make sure all GWR guidelines were followed.
Both men knew what they were doing, not only because they had rehearsed their parts but also because they have great experience in their areas of expertise.
Zoltán Veres is one of the most colourful names in European aviation, with 14,000 flight hours in more than 110 types of aircraft. He is not new to GWR either. He has already set four Guinness World Records: most rolls consecutively by an aircraft; most balloons released by an aeroplane ribbon cut; largest weight difference during a formation flight; and finally, one together with Zoltán Gulyás Kiss for the fastest aircraft speed for a mid-air transition.
Zoltán Gulyás Kiss is a stunt director, co-ordinator and performer. He began working as a movie stuntman in 1977 and is a charter member of the Hungarian Stunt Association, founded in 1990; his work is admired all around the world. He has performed stunt work for several Hungarian and international films, shows and theatre performances.
This new Guinness World Record is well deserved. Congratulations to both of them!
15 September 2008