Italian Red Bull pilot Dario Costa landed and took off his Zivko Edge 540 from a moving cargo train traveling about 120 km/h in Turkey, on Feb. 15. The maneuver involved approaching the train at a reduced airspeed to align before touching down on a cargo container and later departing vertically. The maneuver took less than a minute to complete.
During the final approach, the landing platform was not visible from the cockpit because of the aircraft’s attitude and the train’s dimensions, requiring continuous control inputs to maintain alignment amid airflow disturbances created by the moving train, according to Red Bull. The single-seat, piston-powered Edge 540 used in the operation retained its standard configuration, with adjustments aimed at improving low-speed handling, including added aerodynamic features designed to stabilize airflow.
world first: a landing no one has seen before
— Red Bull (@redbull) February 16, 2026
✈️: Dario Costa pic.twitter.com/iQeBKg2Q11
Preparation for the operation included aerodynamic analysis, simulations and training focused on timing and coordination, with additional testing conducted using a moving platform.
“Train Landing was one of the most challenging and demanding projects of my career,” Costa said. “Landing blind on a very small moving runway required complete focus on cognitive and flying skills. It was a complex project that required precision, teamwork and trust.”
Really stupid. Not impressed at all.
My Dad, the “OLD SARGE”, retired from the Air Force in 1963. A was part of group flying J3 Cubs that did Touch and Go’s on a freight train crossing the AZ desert near Tucson in 1947.
Add me to the “not impressed” group. Touching the wheels briefly on the top of a train car travelling on a long, straight section of track at a constant speed is not impressive. Sure, it requires superb flying skills, but any high performance, aerobatic show pilot is capable of doing the same thing.
I’m more impressed by the guy in a J3 that lands on a small platform attached to a pickup truck that is travelling down the runway. And the landing is to a full stop.
It
s neat to watch, Once. So, when I have my Zivco, am tired or bored Ill be able to pick-out a U.P. freight train, land and take a break while still getting to my destination.Go to Landing Cub on a Truck where I’m going through training to land a Cub on a truck. Not a big deal. A few unexpected things but otherwise a piece of cake. It would be a nothing process in a something like the Zivco on a platform moving that fast. Budd Davisson
On my weeklong 1979 Florida to Julian jaunt, it was the only way I could get across West Texas in daylight. With my 65HP Luscombe 8A flying into a stiff headwind, out of desperation I landed on a CSX westbound reefer boxcar of beef passing Kerrville at noon, stood on those Goodyear mechanical heel brakes at idle for 7 hours, and then rotated just before the first El Paso overpass. Tied down in Las Cruces at sundown. GS 80 vs 20!
Some of the Red Bull flying stuff is fun to watch, but I’m with the crowd here that this one is kind of ho-hum. I grew up in Omaha, and a lot of the little airshows at nearby strips would have “The World’s Smallest Airport” bit which was a cub landing on a platform welded to the top of a pickup truck. That was 35 or 40 years ago. Yawn.
You guys are hard to impress!
To the new generation, this looks like magic!
That is, unless someone posts something else, funny on Insta or comes up with a real issue in todays day and age.