World-renowned pilots are set to travel to Kyrgyzstan, as announced by the Kyrgyz Associated Union of Pilots and Aviators. They will gather in Bishkek for the World Annual Meeting of Pilots who have circumnavigated the globe in single-engine aircraft, marking the first time this event will take place in the country.
The organizers have confirmed that the meeting will occur in the capital and along the shores of Issyk-Kul Lake from June 1 to June 8. Participants will include round-the-world pilots from the USA, Great Britain, Russia, Germany, Slovenia, Argentina, Lithuania, Switzerland, Papua New Guinea, and various other nations.
Among the participants is American pilot Ravinder Bansal, the first ethnic Indian to circumnavigate the globe in a light aircraft. Another participant, Argentine pilot Miguel Angel Gordillo, completed a 20-hour non-stop flight over Antarctica during his round-the-world journey. One of the honored guests is Carol Ann Carratt, a female pilot from the United States who also flew around the world in a single-engine plane, according to the statement.
A distinctive aspect of the international meeting is that some participants will arrive at Issyk-Kul in their own planes and helicopters. An international conference is scheduled as part of the World Annual Meeting, where attendees will share experiences, discuss airspace usage, explore innovations in obtaining flight permissions from various countries, and address numerous other industry-related issues and challenges.
As of now, there are 461 recognized round-the-world pilots who have completed circumnavigations in single-engine aircraft. Among them, 431 are men and 32 are women. The sole round-the-world pilot from Central Asia is Soyuzbek Saliev from Kyrgyzstan.
