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Lankan makes waves in the skies
By Roger Thiedeman

Adventurous duo: Laksen Sirimanne and Assaf Stoler

On Thursday July 17, at 12.30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST), two men in a small four-seater, single-engine airplane took off from John Wayne Airport, Orange County, California and headed east. Nothing seemingly unusual about that. But some 17 hours later, when the sleek little Diamond Star DA40 touched down at First Flight Airport, Kill Devil Hills in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, it had broken aviation records within a context of considerable significance.

Most significant, perhaps, for readers of The Sunday Times is that one of the two pilots-indeed, the one who did most of the flying-was Laksen Sirimanne, 38, a talented, versatile and adventurous Old Josephian who has been living, studying and working in the USA since 1983.

In a broader aeronautical perspective, the duo set new US and World speed records for a transcontinental flight by an airplane with a takeoff weight not exceeding 2,205lb (1,000kg). But the icing on the cake was the final destination of the DA40 and the year in which the record was achieved. Kill Devil Hills is the site of the Wright brothers' historic first powered flight of December 1903, nearly 100 years before Laksen Sirimanne and his co-pilot, Assaf Stoler, landed there at the completion of their own epic journey.

After graduating in Physics at the University of Southern California in 1988, Laksen has worked as a research and development engineer in the field of medical research and technology, designing heart valves and mechanical hearts. More recently, he obtained his second Master’s Degree, this time in Aerospace Engineering, with a specialization in Astronautics. Combined with the Private Pilot's Licence he obtained in 1992, that makes Laksen arguably the closest thing Sri Lanka has to a potential Space Shuttle astronaut. In fact, he has an application pending with NASA's astronaut candidate selection programme.

Far from being a nerdy bookworm, Laksen Sirimanne has successfully combined his stellar academic and professional careers with a host of adventurous and exploratory pursuits, which include mountain-climbing, sailing, canoeing, hang-gliding, hot-air ballooning, bungee-jumping and photography. In 1994 he climbed the Himalayan peak of Kala Pattar (18,200ft/5,547m) with a multinational group and planted the Sri Lankan flag. On another occasion, having been refused a visa by the Chinese authorities, he 'smuggled' himself into Tibet and trekked through a 19,200ft (5,852m) pass.

That same year, 1997, he went to Irian Jaya (West Papua), and also visited a primitive tribe on the island of Sulawesi (Celebes). To get to Sulawesi from Surabaya, Laksen hired a light aircraft and, with a daring Indonesian pilot, flew there despite dense haze and smog from the Sumatran forest fires that had begun that year.

Apart from a safari in Africa-where he reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro-and a creditable one-day climb of California's Mt. Whitney, Laksen lays claim to being the first Sri Lankan to set foot in Antarctica after travelling there aboard an ice-breaking ship in company with a team of Russian scientists. At the opposite end of the globe, he parachuted onto the North Pole and, again, hoisted the Sri Lankan flag to honour the land of his birth.

Undoubtedly, a passion for aviation runs through Laksen's blood. His father, Don Lionel ('Siri') Sirimanne was one of the first onboard radio officers hired by Air Ceylon at its inception in 1947. Siri was later seconded by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to serve on its international route network. Similarly, Laksen's mother Olga (née Gunasekera) was an Air Ceylon pioneer, being amongst the earliest flight attendants (or 'air hostesses', or 'stewardesses', as they were known then) recruited by the fledgling Lankan airline.

When Laksen learned that a new transcontinental light airplane record was up for grabs, he approached Sunrise Aviation, a flight training and aircraft rental company in Southern California. Laksen not being an airplane owner himself, Michael Church of Sunrise helpfully introduced him to Israel-born software engineer Assaf Stoler, the owner of a Diamond Star DA40 registered N559DS.

Laksen soon discovered that he and Stoler have much in common. Both are graduates of Sunrise Aviation's flight school, they nurture an adventurous bent and possess similar intellects, and are new fathers too. They 'hit it off' straightaway. Stoler agreed to allow his airplane to be used for the record attempt with the stipulation that he would go along as second pilot and look after such tasks as navigation and engine and fuel management, while Laksen did most of the pilotage.

Although a high-performance airplane, the DA40-of Austrian origin, and built by Diamond Aircraft Industries of London, Ontario, Canada-lacks the range to cross the continental USA nonstop. So, Laksen and Assaf began planning fuel stops on their west-to-east route. They selected St. John's Arizona; Amarillo, Texas; Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Sparta, Tennessee. Next, there were a few logistical problems to overcome. Their estimated time of arrival (ETA) at a couple of those airports was scheduled for ungodly hours, notably at Sparta where they were due to land at 4.00 a.m. Fortunately, a kind operator there promised to wait up for the DA40 and its two intrepid pilots, so that he could refuel the airplane and send them on their way with minimal delay.

And so the day of departure arrived. The airplane was loaded with only the minimum of baggage, consisting of navigation charts and maps, sandwiches, and bottles of water. Nothing else. Extra clothing, for use when Laksen and Assaf arrived in North Carolina, and for their return flight, was sent ahead by FedEx courier.

Amongst the small crowd of well-wishers to see them off were Laksen Sirimanne's wife Mai and their three-month-old daughter Kaitlyn, as were Stoler's wife and their baby. Lifting off from John Wayne Airport's Runway 19L with Laksen at the controls, N559DS turned in the direction of its first stop. Replenishing fuel tanks at St. John's, the DA40 continued past Albuquerque, New Mexico as dusk fell, proceeding just south of the Rockie Mountains. But even though the little airplane now droned through night skies, it was clear of any dangerous high terrain.

All fuelling stops were accomplished with perfect precision. Arriving at each location within ten minutes of ETA, one of the pilots would supervise the refuelling process while the other headed for the rest room. Then they would switch roles, with the 'rested and relieved' pilot continuing the pre-flight check while the second one took a rest break. Within a few minutes, the DA40 was back in the air, on the next leg toward its North Carolina goal.

Finally, after nearly 17 hours of uneventful flying, at around 9.00 a.m. local time (6.00 a.m. PST) on Friday July 18, Laksen, Assaf and the Diamond Star landed at Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk-surely the most historic airport in the annals of aviation-to create their own small piece of history in the centennial year of Orville and Wilbur Wright's momentous achievement.

To their delight and satisfaction, Sirimanne and Stoler learned that they had set a new US and World record-ratified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)-with an average cruise speed of 159mph (138 knots). There was further elation-perhaps tinged with annoyance-with the discovery that they had even beaten the FedEx delivery of their clothing to Kitty Hawk!

Whether this record lasts for only another four months or four decades, as Michael Church of Sunrise Aviation puts it, "...the point will be the same: the flight was well planned and executed, and will be a lasting accomplishment and source of pride for its two principals."

And Sri Lankans everywhere, whether aviation enthusiasts or not, could also be justifiably proud of this latest achievement by Lankan-born academic, scientist, engineer, pilot and adventurer, Laksen Sirimanne.

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