All the best plans in the world… never go exactly to plan. In December 2025, adventure paramotor pilot Harley Milne launched from Florida with one goal: complete a historic unsupported open-ocean crossing to The Bahamas by foot-launch paramotor. But before the prop ever spun, the challenge began. Presidential TFRs forced last-minute departure and return location changes — altering emergency procedures, weather trajectory planning, and significantly increasing the distance between land masses.
What was already an extreme overwater flight became even more complex. The Nassau leg required waiting 10 days for a narrow weather window — more than double the wait for the Grand Bahama crossing. The reroute meant: • More open ocean • Greater emergency exposure • Higher physical and physiological demand And then came the clouds. Four hours over open water. Full IMC conditions — clouds, rain, turbulence. Continuous active piloting. No margin for error.
The Garmin inReach tracking team followed every mile in real time… but until land appeared on the horizon, tension remained high. And yet — the winds performed exactly as forecast. The planning held. The systems worked. The mission succeeded. The Achievement This wasn’t just another crossing. This flight accomplished: • First international foot-launch paramotor flight to a foreign country from the USA — and back into the USA • Longest unsupported foot-launch paramotor flight over open ocean • Flight through full IMC conditions (clouds, rain, turbulence) • Multiple international unsupported ocean crossings Many pilots achieve one defining success.
This marks Harley’s fourth major long-distance extreme adventure — following: • Guinness World Record: First paramotor flight in all 50 U.S. states • Fastest coast-to-coast paramotor crossing of the USA (~2,200 miles in 8 days) • Unsupported Sonoma to Oshkosh mountain crossing (~1,900+ miles) And this may not be the last. An FAI record attempt and a 50 countries / 6 continents tour remain future ambitions. Flight Stats Distance: 195 miles (313.8 km) Straight Line: 187 miles (300.9 km) Time: 4.01 hours Average Speed: 49–52 mph (79 km/h) Top Speed: 62 mph (100 km/h) Average Altitude: 5,346 ft Max Altitude: 8,580 ft Fuel Burn: 4.7 L/hr (2.5 GPH) Start Fuel: 20 liters (5 gallons) Landing Fuel Remaining: 2.5 liters (~30 minutes) Ground logistics: 7,000+ miles driven 136+ hours in the truck Safety & Redundancy Emergency Planning with Airboss + Methodologist Monitoring Satellite Tracking: Garmin inReach, uAvionix ADSB Flight Logging: Gaggle, xcNav, ForeFlight Emergency Equipment: • Drysuit + Lifevest + Paramotor Floats • Aviation & Marine Radios • inReach + Marine PLB + ADSB • DyePack, Strobes, Mirror, Reflective Warming Blanket • Food, Water, Chemical Warm Packs Months of physical training, testing, and contingency planning went into this 4-hour flight. Equipment Paramotor: Limitless Paramotor with Dudek Harness Engine: Corsair Black Devil Prop: Helix Propeller Throttle: Offgrid Aviation Cruise Control Wings Used: • DaVinci Disco 22m (Nassau) • Dudek Snake 4 22m (Grand Bahama) • Ozone Viper XC 22m (Testing) Comms: MicroAvionics, Yasue, Custom Antenna Strobes: Hunter Strobes Sponsors & Support Aviator PPG Corsair Motors Helix Propellers uAvionix Offgrid Aviation Hunter Strobes Jeffrey Miller Nick Garner Bill Muir London Ivey John Ripa Harley is expected to be featured on the ADSB Podcast and in upcoming aviation publications.
This isn’t just a flight. It’s a statement about preparation, resilience, and calculated risk. If you believe ultralight aviation still has frontiers left to explore — this is one of them. Subscribe to follow the full story.
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