NEXUS to manage flight operations for the WE! Expedition team

NEXUS India will partner and sponsor the WE! Expedition team. This around-the-world aviation expedition is led by two female pilots from India, and will attempt to cover more than 40,000 kilometers in 100 days, touching down on three continents.
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NEXUS will be handling the international trip support and flight operations for the 21-country journey, from the state- of-the-art NEXUS control room in Mumbai, India.

NEXUS India CEO said, “Once completed, this attempt will set a world-record while breaking countless barriers for female pilots worldwide.” This is the first circumnavigation attempt by an all-woman, non- commercial, civilian team. And, the first motorglider circumnavigation by Indian pilots, man or woman.

A circumnavigation of the Earth in a motorglider is a feat so difficult that it has only ever been accomplished five times before, and never by a woman, according to the We Expedition website. “This is going to be a major accomplishment and we wish the team a great success,” said NEXUS Founder and Chairman Abdullah Al-Sayed.

The WE! motorglider named ‘Mahi’ is a Sinus 912, a pre-molded, composite built, single engine, two-seat Light Aircraft with a high wing, tricycle design. Powered by an 80hp Rotax 912 4-stroke engine, this plane only consumes about 10 liters of fuel per hour at a high cruise-speed of 200 kmph (110 kts). Mahi has a 15- meter wingspan, and a 1:28 glide ratio, with feathered propellers, allowing the aircraft to stay airborne for up to 1200 km. The plane needs approximately 100 meters of a runway for takeoff, and is equipped with air brakes, allowing the crew to utilise the smallest, and most remote airfields.