Sunday, 02 March 2008: DAMMAM - Amer Mohammed Aseeri, a professional paramotorist (powered paraglider), plans to set a new Guinness world record by foot-picking the smallest ball ever attempted in such a feat.

The ball would measure five cm. in diameter. Aseeri estimated that he would be traveling at a speed of approximately 55 km/hour in near ground-level flight when his feet would be within reach of the ball.

"This is my dream; I can do it," he said. "But I need a corporate sponsor who will help me fund this feat, which has never been achieved."

The stunt is arguably startling enough to attract a corporate sponsor and perhaps the interest of the Guinness Book of Records, which has a small, quirky section called Human Achievements.

Guinness editors have gone on record to say that their phones never stop ringing as callers attempt to make their claims to fame.

Examples of such Guinness wannabes include a woman who claimed she could floss her teeth in 20 seconds, a man from India who sent an X-ray film of his stomach that he had attempted to shape like a lion's head by starving himself for four days, a man who said he could do more consecutive belly-flops than anyone else, and what not.

But Aseeri's proposed feat is not quite of that category. He said that after years of practice he has perfected the pickup.

"I just want to formalize this achievement by participating in world paramotoring competitions, and to do that I need the support of a local company that will sponsor me," he said.

Paramotoring is a form of ultralight aviation where the pilot wears a small motor on his back and runs to create a lift from a paraglider wing. According to Aseeri, the aerial sport equipped with the safest flying vehicle ever known to mankind.

Aseeri is the leader of the five-member Firnas Flying Club of Al-Khobar, the first paramotor flying club in the Eastern Province, whose members have participated in many paragliding events in Saudi Arabia.  The club was named after the famous Arab scholar Abbas Ibn Firnas who was the first Muslim to try paragliding, according to Aseeri.

Aseeri, who is married with twin boys, trained at the famous Top Air School in France and was coached by Thierry Declemy, the French paramotoring champion.

A paramotor craft is capable of flying between 15 to 45 mph (25 and 70 km/hr) at altitudes up to 18,000 feet, although most flying is done under 500 feet. The craft weighs 30- 36 kg.

By Joe Avanceña

© The Saudi Gazette 2008