In March 2023, Red Bull aerobatic pilot Luke Czepiela successfully completed a one-of-a-kind demonstration of aviation mastery: landing a Carbon Cub on the helipad of Dubai’s Burj Al Arab Jumeriah hotel, 212 meters (689 feet) above the ground. In Bullseye Landing, a new landing challenge available now, sim pilots in Microsoft Flight Simulator can attempt to replicate Czepiela’s ultimate landing mission!
The ultra-luxurious Burj Al Arab hotel as seen in Microsoft Flight Simulator. The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is visible in the distance.
This is just the latest example of taking sports aviation and aerial sports to the next level of creativity and innovation, where just recently we have seen supersonic freefall from the stratosphere, wingsuit flying, air racing, aerobatics, flying through a tunnel in Turkey, or precision formation demonstrations, Red Bull is there.
A selection of aircraft from The Flying Bulls, Red Bull’s fleet of demonstration aircraft in Austria. Photo credit: Red Bull Content Pool
Given the Burj Al Arab’s history of hosting global attention-grabbing events, it seemed like only a matter of time before one of Red Bull’s pilots had the idea to attempt a STOL (short takeoff and landing) flight to the helipad. Polish pilot Luke Czepiela – a 39-year old former champion from the Red Bull Air Races – decided he was up to the task. To gain a better understanding of the immense difficulty of the mission, Czepiela prepared for over two years and did over 650 practice landings before the Bullseye Landing attempt. While practicing, Czepiela aimed to stop his custom modified CubCrafters Carbon Cub UL by aviator Mike Patey, within the boundaries of a circle painted on a conventional runway of the helipad’s exact 27m (88.6 feet) diameter.
On March 14, 2023, Czepiela and his Red Bull team attempted the landing for real.
Pilot Luke Czepiela moments before touchdown on the Burj Al Arab’s helipad. Photo credit: Red Bull Content Pool
Starting today, pilots in Microsoft Flight Simulator on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox Cloud Gaming can try their hand at replicating Czepiela’s historic landing on the Burj Al Arab helipad. This special landing challenge, dubbed the Bullseye Landing, will see sim pilots attempt a high precision STOL landing of a modified CubCrafters XCub within the 27m diameter of the helipad. Should you need an extra boost of power to abort your landing and go around, the modified XCub is equipped with a small amount of nitro, just like in the real mission. The Bullseye Landing is available now as a free download from the in-sim Marketplace. The sky is calling!