Twin brothers take on new altitude record

Ross and Hugo Turner flying a tandem electric paramotor

Professional adventurers from Devon are making their final preparations for a world altitude record in a tandem electric paramotor.

Ross and Hugo Turner, known as the Turner Twins, said they would be pushing aviation battery technology to the limit when they attempted to take a paraglider-style aircraft to 10,000ft (3,050m) in the French Alps.

The brothers have already broken world records by becoming the first twins to row the Atlantic Ocean and were also part of the youngest ever crew to complete that challenge.

The record attempt was helping test emissions technology, which they said they hoped would set a benchmark for future projects.

The Turner Twins preparing to fly a tandem electric paramotor

The brothers are using an aircraft with a custom-built motor which has been in the development stage for five months, and they are now testing it.

However, they have not been without problems.

"Our first full flight... [saw] the paramotor fall over and we broke the cage that keeps things [from] getting trapped in the propeller," said Hugo Turner.

"Other than that, we have had a couple of emergency landings. But that is what we train for."

Hugo and Ross Turner

"I think the biggest teething problem we’re understanding is how to fly it," said Ross Turner.

"We’ve flown petrol parameters for a long time and, to get high, it’s just full throttle and you get that steady rise."

"Whereas this we have found out that, as the battery gets hotter, the onboard computer thinks there’s not a lot of power left or [battery] percentage left.

"As soon as we do a level flight after one minute’s time, it then cools down in the cooler air as you go up and you get more battery.

"So our flight isn’t going to be straight up - it’s going to be up, level, up, level."

The Turner Twins flying above Dartmoor

The electric paramotor has been built by British manufacturer Parajet.

While practising on Dartmoor, the twins said they were well aware that it would be very different at the French ski resort of Val d’Isere.

"The Alps is just 10 times bigger [than flights over the moorland] with 3,000 or 4,000m [9,800 or 13,000ft]," said Ross.

"There is going to be a lot of high altitude wind, there’s going to be a lot of snow, and there is going to be a very small landing and take off site for us in the bottom of the valley.

"Ticking all the boxes, including trying to get certification for a world record from the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique International), is [also] all part of the fun."

The Turner Twins said they hoped to complete the challenge by the end of October.