Spanish pilot on Poles round-the-world flight

Spanish pilot Michel Gordillo has set off on a round-the-world flight via the North and South Poles. He left Madrid in February and is currently crossing Brazil after flying from Dakar in west Africa across the Atlantic.

Gordillo, aged 60, is a retired former airline pilot for Iberia and Spanish Air Force pilot. He is flying a Vans RV-8 he built and modified himself.

The two-seater has three additional fuel tanks for extra range: one where the rear seat would normally be, one in front and a belly tank which can be jettisoned in case of a forced landing. In total, the RV-8 can carry 730 litres of fuel. The RV-8’s engine is a 200hp Superior IO-360.

Retired airline and air force pilot Michel Gordillo has set off on a round-the-world flight.

It’s Gordillo’s third round-the-world flight – his first was in 2001. One of the objectives this time is to measure the effects of black carbon particles at the Poles.

“Since completing the 2001 round the world flight, I have been thinking of flying again into remote areas, where from the air, the earth remains unspoiled,” said Gordillo.

“After having the taste of flying over Greenland and Iceland, the Poles were the next dream. The flight will be overflying remote and deserted areas, like huge oceans, deserts and the hard Antarctica. It is a flight that requires a lot of study, and perseverance. It is a beautiful project, as scientific as it is aeronautical.”

Michel Gordillo and the Van’s RV-8 he built for his round-the-world flight.

There are two phases to the whole trip. Phase 1 is underway and will see Gordillo fly north through Brazil and South America to the USA, including arriving at Sun ‘n Fun, Florida on 5 April. He then continues to fly north via Resolute, Canada to the North Pole which he hopes to reach on 14 April. He will then return to Europe via Norway, then Germany and fly into AERO Friedrichshafen on 20 April, the first day of the show, before returning to Madrid.

Phase 2 of the trip will take him back to Dakar, then Brazil when he will head south to Antarctica and the South Pole, before returning via South America and Africa to Madrid. One of his sponsors is flight training school FTEJerez.

Michel Gordillo’s Sky Polaris round-the-world flight