Cork man to fly to Africa on craft powered by lawnmower engine

An Irishman will attempt to fly from Ireland to Africa on a lawnmower-powered craft this weekend.

Oisin Creagh will use a paramotor, a propeller blade mounted on his back on a rucksack device and connected to a wing, to complete the 3,000km journey.

He is aiming to raise awareness for the charity Gorta-Self Help Africa.

He'll fly via the UK, France and Spain at altitudes ranging from 1,500ft to 6,000ft before landing in North Africa.

Today he's undertaking a day of safety and rescue training at the National Maritime College of Ireland in Cork.

Amongst just a few dozen paramotoring enthusiasts in Ireland, Oisín Creagh regards his sport as “one of the simplest forms of powered aviation available to humankind.”

His paramotor is a specific type of motorised unit fitted with a propeller blade that is mounted on his back on a rucksack-like frame.

Powered by a small two-stroke engine similar to the motor of a lawnmower, he should potentially be able to cover up to 150-200km of his trip, per flight, travelling at up to 60km an hour.

The Paraglider (known in paramotoring as a ‘Wing’) is essentially a parachute, very similar to those used for paragliding, but with a motor.

Oisín is predicting that it will take him approximately a month to cover the distance, but says that a huge amount of the expedition is dependent on getting the right weather conditions.

“Too warm, too windy or too wet and you just can’t fly,” he says.