Brazilian pilot lands in Salzburg on round-the-world flight

A Brazilian pilot flying a single-engine plane around the world landed in Salzburg on Friday, after travelling thousands of kilometres across several continents. ORF Salzburg reported that Mário Jorge Filho is making the trip in a 1993 Beechcraft Bonanza F33A.

His brightly coloured aircraft, named Brasileirinho and decorated with the Brazilian flag, is part of a planned journey of about 45,000 kilometres through five continents and more than 45 countries. The trip began in Brazil in July and has taken him through the Caribbean and the United States before continuing to Europe. Salzburg was his first stop in Austria, following a leg from Germany.

At Salzburg Airport, Filho parked his plane in front of Hangar 7, an airport hangar, at the invitation of the Flying Bulls. He said he had long wanted to visit Austria and described landing beside the hangar in his own plane as “incredible”. During a stretch of the journey in Britain, a Spitfire, a Second World War fighter aircraft, escorted his Bonanza for part of the route.

The aircraft is also Filho’s home and workplace for the journey. He said he packs lightly and can spend six to nine hours at a time in the cockpit, which he calls his office.

Being away from his family is the hardest part of the trip, he said. Filho is married and has a three-year-old child, and uses FaceTime to keep in touch. He is sharing the journey on YouTube and Instagram, where more than 1.5 million people follow him. His main goal, he said, is to return safely to his family.