Its unmistakable profile in the shape of a sail unfolded in the wind has made the Burj Al Arab, one of the most luxurious hotels in the world, an emblem of Dubai. Built at the initiative of Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktum, it was inaugurated at the end of 1999 with an abundance of opulence that forced it to raise the bar for the most select hotels on the planet up to that time.
Design; the location –it is built in the sea on an artificial island and linked to the city by a bridge-; the height -321 meters-; the materials used – concrete and steel, covered with glass and Teflon; the interior decoration -dominated by Carrara marble, velvet, hand-woven carpets and gold-: the technology -it is an ultra-technological palace-, and the services, which include any request made by the guests, has led to being known in the five continents like the seven-star hotel.
An establishment of these characteristics had to facilitate access by air to its select clientele, so it also has a small private heliport on the 56th floor. The facility, habitually used by helicopters, has been converted on several occasions into a golf course, ping pong and tennis courts -stars like André Agassi and Roger Federer have played exhibition matches here- and the race track, have just surprised the world once again.
Last Tuesday, the Pole Luke Czepiela made history by becoming the first pilot to land a plane on this unique runway, a space just 27 meters in diameter. Aboard a converted Red Bull Piper Cub single-engine, he only needed 21 meters to successfully crown the Burj Al Arab. The maneuver was not accidental. As published by the aeronautical consultancy AirlineRatings on its website, Czepiela, a commercial pilot by profession -he captains an Airbus A320 for the airline Wizz Air-, had previously completed more than 650 test landings.
The video published by Red Bull shows the maneuvers carried out by the pilot before landing on top of the hotel, an objective exceeded on the second attempt. The images fly over a city dotted with skyscrapers and monumental buildings, with the Khalifa tower, the tallest building on the planet for 13 years -it reaches 828 meters high and has 163 floors-, on the horizon.
But the list of gigantic constructions in this city in the United Arab Emirates characterized by excesses is endless. A spectacular Ferris wheel that reaches 250 meters -almost double the height of the London Eye-; a fountain -the Palm Fountain- that appears in the Guinness book as having the largest planetary dimensions, or a city submerged in the deepest pool on Earth -Deep Dive Dubai- are just some of its iconic creations.
From now on, however, Dubai can add a new record to its endless list: that of having been the scene of a plane landing on the smallest airstrip in existence.
