1 min
Bullseye Landing
Polish pilot Łukasz Czepiela attempts to land a plane atop Dubai’s famous Burj Al Arab high-rise building.
Everything you need to know about pilot Luke Czepiela’s breathtaking mission to land a plane on Dubai’s Burj Al Arab Jumeirah.
As far as aviation feats go, landing a plane on a helipad is (literally) right up there. Especially so, when the helipad in question is just 27m in diameter (about the size of a tennis court) and located at 212m above ground level on the side of one of Dubai's most luxurious hotels.
But that’s precisely what aerobatic pilot Luke Czepiela pulled off at dawn on March 14, 2023, manoeuvring his modified 7m Carbon Cub aircraft into the history books.
Taking into consideration the location of the helipad, this being on the 58th floor of Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, among all other factors, this was truly a remarkable achievement in the world of flying, engineering and all-out awesomeness
Let's take a closer look at how the accomplished aviator and his team pulled it off.
Ideas like this are dreamed up in the clouds. For Czepiela, the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah was not a must-see hotel, but an all-consuming target for a world-first – an aviation feat more than two years in the making.
"The idea came to us right after the pier landing in Sopot. It was the next step in testing what could be done with an airplane,” he says. “When I came up with the idea to land a plane on a helipad, I instantly thought of Burj Al Arab. Moreover, I knew that Dubai is open for such innovative ideas."
We wanted to do something extraordinary, but on a global scale
At 39 years old, and best known as the first Polish pilot to compete at Red Bull Air Race and winning the world championship in the Challenger class, as well as manoeuvring under three iconic bridges in Warsaw, Czepiela knew he was the man for the job.
If you want something badly enough, nothing can stop you
But to pull it off, he needed a bespoke set of wings. American company CubCrafters came on board and teamed up with Mike Patey to provide Czepiela with the perfect aircraft for the project. Having built 14 experimental planes to date, Mike Patey quickly understood the technical challenge of what Luke wanted to do. With a passion for innovation and a respect for his flying, Patey quickly came onboard. “Luke is an amazing guy. I followed him in the past and his aerobatics, routine and air racing is just unbelievable," Patey says.
The pair set about modifying the best-of-class short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft in the world, the Carbon Cub, for the attempt, but it would take more than a shiny new toy. “This type of landing, in those conditions, with a pretty much factory machine, requires specific mentality, excellent knowledge of this airframe and skills that only few can show off with,” Czepiela explains.
So, could they actually pull it off?