Commercial pilot and sport pilot instructor Shannon Russell reached 32,059 feet in a Sling TSi late last month, setting a women’s altitude record in her class of aircraft. The California flight used a turbocharged FADEC Rotax 916iS engine with Swift unleaded avgas.
“This flight was about expanding the performance envelope of the airplane and showing what’s possible for women in aviation,” Russell said.
Russell conducted the attempt with safety pilot Jean d’Assonville, using multiple oxygen systems and a coordinated IFR profile to manage the unpressurized climb. The flight followed months of preparation with medical and engine specialists and came just one day after Russell earned her sport pilot instructor certificate.
A longtime member of the Sling community, Russell trained with Rotax technicians in South Africa, later moving to the U.S. through a Sling Pilot Academy scholarship. She carried some of her late father’s ashes during the record climb, a personal tribute to the former Sling Aircraft South Africa chief test pilot.
“I hope young girls see this and realize that the sky isn’t the limit — it’s just the beginning,” she said.
Check out our full interview with Shannon Russell, below:
Not sure what this article is about or what it’s celebrating. And what difference does it make that a woman did this? Do women have a tougher time flying aircraft at higher altitudes than men do?
Sir, your erudite comments are an interesting testament to what?
I would like to think that there is some aspirational thoughts at large. For starters, there is a breaking of a mould. She is woman, the aircraft is not designed the USA, the engine isn’t a Lycoming or the Chinese owned Continental.
Thank you Shannon for showing there is an horizon beyond the end of one’s nose.
Brian Souter
Proving once again that even the most banal journalism will ultimately find an enthusiastic audience.
So sad that you can not see the achievements accomplished with this record setting flightl
If you don’t think flying an unpressurized aircraft to above 32,000 feet is worthy of an article, I have to wonder if you’ve ever approached any boundaries, flying or not. ”The credit belongs to the man (or woman) who is actually in the arena”, who, at least, ”shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”