Missouri physician Paul Salmon never met a record he liked, so he breaks as many as possible. On Sept. 17, AOPA reported that he set a transcontinental autogyro speed record. Now he has broken the autogyro distance record by flying from El Paso, Texas, back to home base at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and has applied for the record. It is pending before the National Aeronautic Association and Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
The distance was 893 nautical miles (that’s 1,653 kilometers in record-speak), and the time it took was slightly more than 10 hours. He did it nonstop and had two extra fuel bladders onboard his Italian-built Magni M-22 Voyager from Magni Gyro powered by a turbocharged Rotax 914 engine.
The old record was 763 nm in a Little Wing Autogyro.
Salmon flew mostly at 7,500 feet and had a 20- to 30-knot tailwind nearly the entire distance. What’s next for this record-setting emergency room physician? He will rest until next spring and then fly for a record from Tucson, Arizona, to Cape Girardeau.
Alton K. Marsh
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