475 Miles from Zapata, Texas — July 3, 2012
“In the history of human endeavors, no one has ever flown farther without a motor, using only the wind, sun and a small wing overhead. This is an historic moment in the history of aviation.”
— David Glover, past President, United States Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association
The Record
On July 3, 2012, Wills Wing team pilot Dustin Martin flew his Wills Wing T2C 144 an unprecedented 764 kilometers (475 miles) from Zapata, Texas to near Ralls, Texas — north of Lubbock — in a single 11-hour flight. The flight shattered the previous FAI World Open Distance Record of 700.6 km (435 miles) set by Manfred Ruhmer in July 2001, a record that had stood for 11 years.
Flying alongside Dustin was Australian pilot Jonny Durand on a Moyes Litespeed RX 3.5. Durand landed approximately 3 km behind Dustin, also exceeding the previous record. Both flights were verified and ratified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) as Record Claim #16577, and entered in the Guinness World Records. As of 2026, the record still stands.
The Flight
The flight was part of the annual World Record Encampment (WRE), a gathering of distance-oriented hang glider pilots at Zapata, a small town near the Mexican border in south Texas. The region’s geography makes it uniquely suited for long-distance soaring: Gulf of Mexico high-pressure systems drive strong, steady southerly winds that blow in a straight line for 500 miles or more, combined with early thermal development from Gulf moisture and extreme summer heat.
Dustin launched via aerotow at approximately 10:10 AM into what would initially prove to be extremely challenging conditions. He dropped as low as 878 feet above the mesquite terrain before finding usable lift — a precarious situation that would have ended the flight for most pilots. The early thermals were weak and widely spaced, and he had to carefully navigate around Laredo’s controlled airspace while staying aloft in marginal conditions.
Conditions improved dramatically past the 110-mile mark near Carrizo Springs, as cloud bases rose from 2,500 feet above ground level at Zapata to over 10,000 feet near the Edwards Plateau. Winds were 20–30 mph from the south-southeast, providing consistent 23 mph tailwinds. Between thermals, the gliders achieved speeds approaching 80 mph.
Dustin and Durand flew in close proximity for much of the journey, often sharing thermals and remaining within sight of one another for approximately 240 miles. Davis Straub, publisher of the Oz Report hang gliding newsletter and a veteran of the Zapata campaigns, wrote: “They started final glide right next to each other. Could have held hands.”
Durand, who carried a GoPro, captured footage of the two reconnecting at approximately 8:00 PM. By that point, both had already flown beyond Ruhmer’s previous record distance. At 8:30 PM, Dustin was still climbing at 10,000 feet in 150 fpm lift.
The final glide was decisive. Dustin held approximately 300 feet of altitude advantage over Durand, and over a 17.2-mile final glide with a 33:1 glide ratio aided by the tailwind, he eked out the extra distance. Dustin landed exactly at sunset — 8:59 PM — having covered 475 miles at an average speed of 69 km/h (42.8 mph). Durand landed three minutes later, approximately 3 km behind.
The Glider
Dustin flew a Wills Wing T2C 144 with carbon down tubes — the full competition version of the T2, featuring a carbon keel, base-bar, outer leading edges, sprogs, and down tubes. The increased stiffness of the carbon components allows for lower sail twist and a commensurate boost in high-speed performance. The T2C’s exceptional glide performance was critical in the final miles, where Dustin’s 33:1 glide ratio on the last 17-mile glide secured his lead over Durand’s Moyes.
The Record in Context
The progression of hang gliding distance records reflects the sport’s remarkable technological and technical evolution:
| Year | Pilot | Distance | Glider | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Larry Tudor | 222 mi | UP Comet II | First to break 200 miles — Owens Valley to Battle Mountain, NV |
| 1990 | Larry Tudor | 303 mi | Wills Wing HP AT 158 | First to break 300 miles — Hobbs, NM to Elkhart, KS |
| 1994 | Larry Tudor | 308 mi | Wills Wing Ram Air | Extended distance record — Hobbs, NM |
| 2001 | Manfred Ruhmer | 435 mi | Laminar | Zapata to Lamesa, TX |
| 2007 | Dustin Martin | 283 mi | Wills Wing T2 144 | East Coast record (with Jonny Durand) |
| 2008 | Dustin Martin | 410 mi | Wills Wing T2C 144 | Zapata — 25 miles short of Ruhmer’s record |
| 2012 | Dustin Martin | 475 mi | Wills Wing T2C 144 | Zapata to Ralls, TX — current world record |
Dustin had been campaigning at Zapata for years, methodically building toward the record with flights of 202, 220, 410, and finally 475 miles. The sport went from the 200-mile mark to 475 miles in 29 years.
About Dustin Martin
Dustin Martin is a multiple US Hang Gliding Champion and Wills Wing factory team pilot based in Scottsdale, Arizona. He began flying RC airplanes as a young teenager, made his first sailplane flight at 14, and transitioned to hang gliders at 15 — an obsession that, by his own account, quickly consumed his life. He has been a principal contributor to Wills Wing product development for over a decade, and co-developed the Covert harness with Jeff Shapiro and Steven Pearson.
Dustin runs Fly With Dustin, offering paragliding and hang gliding instruction, harness manufacturing, and repairs in Scottsdale. He has traveled to South America approximately 50 times and guides hang gliding tours to Colombia.
Dustin’s friendship with Jonny Durand spans over 20 years, beginning when they were 18 and 19 after rolling back from a task together at a competition. The two have frequently flown together on record attempts, including setting the East Coast Open Distance Record together in 2007.
Further Reading
The definitive longform account of the flight was published by the New York Times in January 2013: Two Men, One Sky: The Silent Realization of a Purer Form of Flight (subscription required). For an in-depth audio interview with Dustin about the record, his flying philosophy, and his career, listen to Cloudbase Mayhem Episode 54: Dustin Martin and Finding the Magic.
Sources
- XC Mag: Dustin Martin and Jonny Durand break hang gliding world record in Zapata
- KCBD News: World record smashed in flight over Lubbock
- Guinness World Records: Farthest distance flown in a hang glider
- The Zapata Chronicles — World Record Encampment blog
- Cloudbase Mayhem Episode 54: Dustin Martin and Finding the Magic (podcast)
- New York Times: Two Men, One Sky: The Silent Realization of a Purer Form of Flight
- Hanggliding.org forum: New world record for Dustin and Jonny