This week, a group of young adventurers set a new record for the longest solar-powered flight on a paramotor (machine powered paragliders). The nine pilots, including four from the Cardozo family, flew 1,242 miles from Monte Carlo to Morocco, using just the backpack-sized device.

Covering 130 miles a day at a height of about 1,500 ft., the pilots took turns flying the paramotor across the Mediterranean coast. The most harrowing part of the journey was flying over the shark-infested waters off the Straits of Gibraltar.

The paramotor was powered by lithium batteries, re-charged by 12 solar panels placed on top of the support vehicles that followed the pilots, along the entire route. Three other bio-ethanol powered paramotors, were also used.

Equipment malfunction , failed launches and emergency landings all added to the excitement of the two-week adventure. However, besides a pilot breaking a foot, everybody returned back home safe and sound, with not only a new world record, but also, $15,000.USD raised for a Ataxia, a disease that attacks the human nervous system. To read more about this flight and other fun adventures the Cardozo family has been involved with, check out their site http://www.theincrediblewebsite.org.

sources: dailymail.co.uk,theincredibleswebsite.org,mail.co.uk.