Aircraft

Pilot makes crazy plane landing on skyscraper helipad 212 m above Dubai

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Third time lucky: Polish pilot Luke Czepiela successfully landed his heavily modified fixed-wing CubCrafters Carbon Cub airplane on a supertall skyscraper's helipad at a height of 212 m (695 ft) on the third attempt
Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool
Third time lucky: Polish pilot Luke Czepiela successfully landed his heavily modified fixed-wing CubCrafters Carbon Cub airplane on a supertall skyscraper's helipad at a height of 212 m (695 ft) on the third attempt
Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool
The helipad was a very small target for Czepiela to work with and he had a maximum length of just 27 m (88.5 ft) to come to a safe stop
Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah rises to a height of 300 m (984 ft) on an artificial island in Dubai
Naim Chidiac/Red Bull Content Pool
To take off again, Czepiela used nitrous oxide for a speed boost
Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool
The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah’s helipad has hosted a number of previous stunts, including Tiger Woods teeing off and David Coulthard performing donuts in an F1 car
Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
Czepiela logged 650 test landings at ground level, throughout Poland, the USA, and Dubai, before actually carrying out the stunt
Samo Vidic/Red Bull Content Pool
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In a world first, Polish pilot Luke Czepiela has successfully completed an incredible landing on Dubai's iconic Burj Al Arab Jumeirah. Using a customized fixed-wing CubCrafters Carbon Cub STOL (Short Take-Off and Landing) airplane, he touched-down on the supertall skyscraper's helipad at a height of 212 m (695 ft) above the city, stopping with just a few meters to spare.

The helipad was a tiny target for Czepiela to work with. His "runway," such as it was, provided a length of just 27 m (88.5 ft) to land and safely come to a stop. After two unsuccessful attempts on the morning of March 14, he pulled it off on the third, stopping in 20.76 m (68 ft). Following a short pause for celebration, he then took off again successfully, despite the limited space available.

"The biggest challenge was the lack of any external points of reference, which is usually found at an airport where you have hundreds of meters of runway," explained Czepiela. "Normally when approaching a runway, I see how high above it I am, and I can easily control the approach path. Today the helipad disappeared over the nose of the plane and my periphery was reduced. I had to rely on my practice and instincts when my last few references went away if I wanted to come to a stop before running out of space."

Czepiela is an experienced pilot, having logged approximately 12,000 flying hours and working as the captain of an Airbus A320 for his day job. He's no stranger to daring stunts either and previously flew under three bridges and landed on a Polish pier. To prepare for this latest challenge, he logged 650 test landings at ground level since 2021 throughout Poland, the USA, and Dubai, building his confidence and convincing himself he could actually pull it off.

He also had help. American aviation expert Mike Patey guided him onto the helipad and was in charge of modifying the 7.1-m (23.3-ft)-long, 10.44-m (34.25-ft)-wingspan Carbon Cub with the aircraft manufacturer. Patey and CubCrafters made a number of changes, including upgrading the suspension, moving the main fuel tank to the rear of the plane to allow for more aggressive braking, adding nitrous oxide tanks and replacing the fabric covering the fuselage and wings with a lighter alternative. In the end, the plane weighed in at 425 kg (936 lb), while its Titan CC340 engine has a maximum of 230 horsepower when the nitrous is engaged – which was needed to help him get up enough speed for takeoff from the helipad.

The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah rises to a height of 300 m (984 ft) on an artificial island in Dubai
Naim Chidiac/Red Bull Content Pool

The Burj Al Arab Jumeirah's helipad has hosted a number of previous stunts in the past, including Tiger Woods teeing off and David Coulthard performing donuts in an F1 car. Designed by WKK Architects, the building hosts a luxury "7-star" hotel and is an impressive engineering feat in itself.

It was originally completed in 1999 and rises to a height of 321 m (1,053 ft). It's situated on an artificial island 300 m (984 ft) off the shore and has a spacious atrium rising through most of the height of the interior. The building's defining glass-fiber screen is meant to lend it the appearance of a billowing ship's sail and actually has a practical purpose too, reducing solar heat gain inside while still enabling diffused light to naturally illuminate the interior. The sail is attached to the building with steel cables, allowing it to flex with the wind. Due to the tower's location, it's also partly clad in Teflon, helping to keep the exterior from becoming too dirty and dusty in the sandy landscape.

Sources: Red Bull, CTBUH, Atkins

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6 comments
paul314
What's the wind at that altitude? On a really breezy day, you might be able to almost hover in...
P51d007
Pretty nice, but not unexpected. Those piper cubs, when outfitted with those huge tires, routinely make very short landings. And when the wind is incoming, very short takeoffs.
jerryd
I've long said such very STOL aircraft are a good low cost way to do E taxis. I'd use a large lower low aspect ratio wing that would cushion itself on landing and with lots of peak power, just leap into the air.
Bets having all that extra VTOL stuff, weight stealing payload and costing a lot. Plus the large prop/s needed are more efficient by a good amount as so lightly loaded.
Mechfan
Here is an interview with some of the crew involved: https://youtu.be/_xac5Qhxd4k
Martin Hone
One of the very few times when the term stunt flying actually fits. Another ridiculous Red Bull effort......
Jeff7
A bit over-egged. A modified plane. Plenty of STOL footage on the web that shows Super Cubs and others doing this stuff.