BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A Scottish glider pilot said he set a world speed record by traveling nearly 112 mph during a flight in Argentina.
The (Scotland) Herald reported Friday while pilot John Williams' record had yet to be officially confirmed, the pilot from Fife, Scotland, is convinced he topped the previous world record during a 982-mile flight above the Andes mountain range.
"It's pretty wonderful that an old fart in his 50s can have a crack at a world record, though. There's not many sports where you could say that," said Williams, whose age was not released.
Williams said he decided to attempt his lengthy flight in Argentina on St. Andrew's Day, which takes place on Nov. 30, because of distance constraints in his homeland.
"On Easter Sunday 2007 I did a flight up to Callander, and to the far north, which broke the British distance record, but then I ran out of country, because Scotland is geographically quite limited," he told the Herald.
"At that time, I looked for other places to fly, and the Andes are just unbelievably long. Argentina alone is 35 times the size of Scotland."
