”Farewell paramotor”

Tomorrow I will sell my old paramotor trike. It is more than three and a half year old now. It has a Yamaha motorbike motor of 150 cc.

In about one month I will have a new one. I change because of security reasons. You never know with these homemade paramotors if something will happen. Sooner or later there is surprise, surprise!

”Can we (homo sapiens sapiens) perform better?”

Atle won’t give any answer.

Which means it is up to you who are reading these words to find the answer. Atle guesses you have an inkling about your own abilities, what you can do, and what you can not do.

Right or wrong! Most of us have an inkling about what we CAN do. Don’t waste your time about pondering about all the things you can not do – this is a quagmire, and a deep one, too. Keep away from that quagmire before it swallows you.

Think about the things you can do better. And choose a few of them which you know you can improve. Maybe there is even someone who wants to help you? Have a try. Good luck!

Which leads to a far-fetched digression: On the Nullarbor Plain in Australia there are many caves, holes and cavities. You cannot peep into every one of them.

Which leads to one more digression (Atle loves digressions): If you want to have a look into the unknown spaces, click the link below.

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/ 

One last digression: What is beyond on both sides?…

”PPG-meeting in Khon Kaen”

Last Saturday our club went to Khon Kaen. 75 pilots arrived. There was quite a lot of action. Too much for a timid Norwegian. Only a few of the pilots used helmets. Mai pen rai as they say here – no problem…

Sunday morning there was cross country flying to Ubonrat Dam, some 40 kilometers away.

Impressing arrangement: Food to eat, music and entertainment in the evening, and breakfast at Ubonrat Dam.

”Hanggliding at Khao Sadao”

or at least I tried to. Tailwind on Saturday (photo 2), but weak headwind a few hours on Sunday.

The grass is now cut in a wide area on the start. It seems that the wind direction has changed now. Hopefully there will be a new start at Khao Phrik not to long from now. There will probably be a road up to this area, too. Some time in the dry season…

”The Imploding of Homo Sapiens Sapiens?”

Sometimes Atle wonders if that is what we are experiencing these days. The Internet, Ipads, Iphones and so on. All these devices that keep us in touch with the cyberworld and (maybe) each other. Personally Atle thinks all these devices which free you from the bothersome speaking directly to other real persons are not social media at all. They just pretend to be. They are only the INTERFACE between you and the social world. And we tend to express ourselves as brief as possible.

If you read books written some centuries ago, you will see that the sentences are quite complicated. Quite different from the meanings you create with two thumbs and index fingers on the minute keyboard of your intelligent (why ”intelligent”?) phone. If you don’t know the tribal language you will definitely have problems…

By the way – the other day Atle met an Englishman who introduced himself as Ian. Atle did not catch the name and maybe looked like a question mark. ” – Ian as in intelligent,” he said. Atle felt stupid and dumb.

By the way – one more time. Have you ever heard about homo sapiens sapiens? Guess not? You think homo sapiens is the name? Or homo?

Hoho!

”Khao Sadao – cutting grass”

The wind did not cooperate on Tuesday and Wednesday. Instead I cut grass and bushes in the launch and top landing area. My hips on both sides got bruised from moving the grass cutter from side to side in addition to some blisters between the thumb and index finger on both hands. Hope for southerly winds before the rainy season is finished. On Wednesday after three tanks of gasoline I had to empty my rubber boots for some deciliters of pure sweat due to a relentless sun.

”New Hangglider launch Wat Sap Pong Pot - more info”

Yesterday we climbed up to a possible hangglider launch. The site is a spectacular cliff on top of an impressing sitting Buddha carved out in the mountain side. Quite narrow as the overhanging cliff right above the Buddha is only a few meters wide.

More info for pilots on

http://no.flightlog.org/fl.html?l=2&a=22&country_id=209&start_id=5435