Not content with winning the Icarus Trophy in America, described as 'one of the greatest adventures on the planet”, Tauranga's David Wainwright is now planning his next extreme challenge – crossing the Tasman Sea on a paraglider.

David recently took out the inaugural long-distance paramotor race from Seattle to Sacramento after navigating 1200km on a motorised paraglider ahead of 20 other competitors.

Tauranga's David Wainwright is eyeing a place in the history books by becoming the first person to cross the Tasman Sea on a paraglider. Photo: Supplied.

Organisers of the event estimated the trip would take two-and-a-half weeks, but David did it in two-and-a-half days, and even beat the finish line equipment couriered to Seattle.

So what's next for the 32-year-old?

'I want to attempt crossing the Tasman on my paraglider,” confirms the Bay of Plenty man, who has lived in Australia for the past seven years.

'It's never been done before, and it's something that I've been thinking about for a while now.”

David, who lives with his wife and two children in Port Macquarie and runs Laurieton's High Adventure Paragliding, says he is still in the early stages of planning the attempt.

'The event I just did was a bit of a warm up to see what was possible,” he says.

'I believe it is possible, but it will be very weather dependent to make the long distance between islands.”

The adventurer says he would look at island hopping the 2250km route.

'It would have to be done be via Lord Howe Island, then Norfolk Island, before moving on to New Zealand,” he says.

'Obviously we can't just land anywhere out there, so there will have to be a lot of planning regarding how much fuel we can carry and where we can get more fuel from.”

David also hasn't ruled out the possibility of refuelling in mid-air, but admits: 'It hasn't been done before with this aircraft.”

He says he hopes to make the attempt in the next two years, but still has to work out the finer details of rescue equipment and several other things before he gets the go ahead.

But one thing he is sure of is where the finish-line will be.

'It has to be Tauranga,” says David. 'That's where I was brought up – it's my home town.”