New York to the Cannes Air Show in a Mooney

For the 2011 Cannes Air Show, which is slated for June 9-11, Jacques Callies and Gilles Khaïat will attempt to set a new record: New-York to Cannes in less than 24 hours, in a Mooney Ovation2 GX without supplemental fuel equipment.

Departure is schedule from Bridgeport, New York, Wednesday, June 8 at 5 am, with, considering the least favorable scenario, a stop in Greenland, for an arrival prior to the Cannes Air Show opening at 10 am on Thursday June 9.

The 280-hp Mooney Ovation 2 GX is equipped with de-icing and  oxygen, two essential items for flights over Greenland and in case of icing conditions, the pilots said. If favorable winds are there to meet them, two stops will be sufficient at Goose Bay and Reykjavik. The crossover would then be possible in less than 24 hours.

Callies, pilot, editor of the Aviation & Pilote Magazine, and Gilles Khaïat, attorney at law in Paris, already set a world record last year, during the Cannes Air Show exhibition, departing from Cannes to Tel-Aviv, non-stop in 9 hours and 58 minutes in a Mooney M20J.

The 5th edition of Cannes AirShow will take place at the airport of Cannes LFMD. It is the only GA exhibition in France. The exhibition is designed for owners and pilots, organizers note.

For more information: www.cannesairshow.com