moving pictures
Airplane Kiting the Exumas
Airplane Kiting the Exumas !
The video was produced and edited by my good speedflying friend Troy, using footage we both had shot mostly with GP3's plus a few GP2 shots + some still shots from various digital cameras.
This part of my 2013 FL trip was especially spectacular as we flew Troy's Cessna 172 from Lantana Airport in Boynton Beach FL to Miami then all the way to St. Andros (where we cleared Bahamas Customs - we landed on a jet airliner sized runway and found we were the only customers there - an almost spooky experience in itself ,-) and then we flew drug courier style (super low level ,-) to Staniel Cay / Exumas.
We choose Staniel Cay as our basecamp and thats also the hint to the slightly ... hmm ... lets say "questionable" ,-) choice of soundtrack - the video to that song (which hit the international charts exactly when we were there) was shot in the staniel cay yacht club only a short time before, and the bahemian residents played it every evening with almost patriotic pride.
On the way back we flew via Normans Cay (Carlos Lehders legendary cocaine smuggling base) and did a kiting stopover in bimini (land your plane, get your kitegear out, walk across the street and pump your kite on a giant sandy lagoon without a single person on it - I am spoiled 4 life.... Did I mention that airplane supported, self flown island hopping kitesurfing is the only way to go these days ? ,-) to Palm beach Executive Airport were we re- entered the US and then a short flight back to Boynton Beach's Lantana Airport
And in case you wonder why our boat is so small - well it had to fly with us (inkl. the outboard engine) in our 4 seater cessna (we removed the rear seats and converted it into almost a flying pickup truck ,-) from FL to the Exumas and back ! - all just to make sure that on return via Palm Beach Executive Airport we could easily outclass any other private aircraft incl. mister trumps 757 - cause they all didn't have a dinghi ,-))
two words: killer trip.
thank you troy, i'll be back ,-)
More footage to come.
Oldie but goodie
Tue Feb 12th 2008 - a short schnellcraft.com style Winter Climb+Fly Adventure on Lower Austrias highest Peak
I got there late and started around 11am in "Losenheim", took the lower "Grafensteig" and then soloed the "Nandlgrat" which requires some easy Rock- Climbing.
Spotted lots of "Gemsen" (chamois) during the beautiful ascent.
In the upper half of the "Nandlgrat" route I did put on my crampons and took out my Iceaxe as above 1500m there was lots of Icy snow and Rock covered with 10 to 20 cm of fresh snow that had been blown into the ascending north ridge of the Northeast Bowl - not to be underestimated with around 12 kilo of extraweight due to the glider + reserve + water etc.
With a few brakes to admire the landscape I reached the summit (Kaiserstein) at 3pm were it was bitterly cold and blowing 35 to 40 kph from SSE - wind was a bit on the high side but ok for a takeoff from the saddle between Kaiserstein and the "real" Schneeberg Summit with my small and fast 17sqm Wing
Due to the cold wind I prepared my flying equipment in the windshade behind the "Fischerhütte" (mountain hut, closed in winter) and another Mountaineer whom i had met on the summit watched in disbelieve as i pulled up my wing (he had never heard of small highspeed Paragliders, so he could not believe that it was possible to fly a Paraglider in these windconditions..)
With just a few slow steps I took off effortless in the compression zone of the saddle at around 3:30pm and headed for the north end of the plateau to catch the last rays of the already sinking sun.
From that point on the flight was pure magic - an inversion layer in apprx 1000hm was covering the lower peaks and plains of eastern lower austria like a silk blanket and the sinking sun added the perfect light to the scenery while i was soaring my wing above the "Fadensattel" ridge and the "Losenheim" valley.
The flight Time was around 20min by using agressive turns to loose height / shorten the flight.
I could have easily flown for +1hr but it was simply too cold as my leather mountaineering boots (including my feet) already started to freeze up.
It still feels great to look at the pictures and remember this fantastic day combining winter mountaineering and flying in such a perfect way in a Place just less then one hour by car from Vienna
The ultimate powdersliding movie 2013 / 2014
The best powdersliding movie of the 2013 / 2014 winter season.
The Plot: Easy Rider meets Vanishing Point on snowsliding devices in snowy Woodstock.
total masterpiece. period.
get your copy NOW. worth it. 100%.
The Ultimate Paragliding Takeoff Technique
For the ultimate paragliding takeoff technique see min. 2:35
Perfect 3-phased execution with a final 360 degree visual check.
The new reference method in takeoff technique.
The Origins of Speedflying
A true classic from the early 70ties.
Those guys obviously did not have the word "fear" in their vocabulary and make speedflying look like the safest sport on earth ,-)