Overview
- Italian pilot Dario Costa touched down a Zivko Edge 540 on a cargo train in Afyonkarahisar on Feb. 15, then performed an immediate vertical pull takeoff.
- The train held a steady 120 km/h as the aircraft slowed to about 87 km/h, near its minimum controllable airspeed, to align for touchdown.
- The full sequence—approach, landing and takeoff—was executed in roughly 50 seconds along a 2.5 km stretch, targeting the train’s ninth container.
- Final approach was essentially blind from the cockpit and required constant control inputs to counter disturbed airflow from the moving train.
- Red Bull characterizes the maneuver as a world‑first; the Edge 540 remained largely standard with minor low‑speed aids, and preparation included simulations, cognitive training in Austria and moving‑platform tests in Croatia, with video footage published.