Dario Costa, a professional race and stunt pilot, set a world record by flying through two tunnels at an average speed of 245 kph (152.2 mph) on September 4, 2021. Costa flew in his modified Zivko Edge 540 race plane inside of the dual Catalca Tunnels on Turkey’s Northern Marmara Highway.
With over two decades of flying under his belt, the 41-year-old pilot clocked over 5000 hours in the cockpit, with more than half of those hours in high-performance aerobatics. He became the first Italian to win in the Red Bull Air Race Challenger Class. For years, Costa dreamt of the Tunnel Pass, believed to be his most challenging stunt yet.
“Everything seemed to be happening so fast, but when I got out of the first tunnel, the plane started to move to the right because of the crosswinds and in my head, everything slowed down in that moment, I reacted and just focused on getting the plane back on the right path to enter the other tunnel. Then in my mind, everything sped up all over again.” Said Costa.
Costa was averaging 245 kph while managing changes in the second tunnel. After the plane got out of the other side, he made a celebratory loop before landing. The flight in the tunnel was recognized with a Guinness World Record for Longest Tunnel Flown through with an Aeroplane at 1,730m. There are four other records set in this exhibition: first Aeroplane flight through a tunnel, longest flight under a solid obstacle, first aeroplane flight through two tunnels and first aeroplane takeoff from a tunnel.
#RedBull #WorldRecord #GuinnessWorldRecord #Airplane #Aviation #Tunnel #DarioCosta
Image Credit: Nuri Yilmazer for Red Bull Content Pool