No beef no lamp

Going to Bangkok is always an adventure, food wise and weather wise. It was pouring heavy huge rain drops down and within minutes the streets were flooded when I was on my way to the weekend market. At least it was not cold like here in Germany, a pleasant 27 C.
Luckily I had put on a short skirt and outdoor sandals - I was wading through the muddy water up to my knees, learning that the huge cockroaches can´t just fly, but also swim! They floated all around me, yuck. A few meters further, on the market, they were already fried or grilled and set up neatly in pyramids. Grasshoppers here, roaches there ;) not my piece of cake.
Walking down Silom Road, I felt like "I have a hang over"... famous Scirocco building from the movie just there.
Beautiful flowers everywhere, great very spicy curries, foot massages - I like this busy place!

Wilder Kaiser

One of the nicest flights this summer, when I met Tom Weissenberger at the beautiful mountain range of "Wilder Kaiser", the "Wild Emperor" in Austria. Can´t wait for next spring to get back there!

Matthias Dolderer is the German voice of "Echo" in "Planes"

Matthias Dolderer, Red Bull pilot and with his sister Verena organizer of Germany´s largest fly-in Tannkosh, is the German voice of "Echo" in the new animated Disney movie "Planes"! Finally somebody who knows what he is talking about ;)
When I went to the Tannkosh meeting a few weeks ago, I saw this banner and had to take a photo for you. "Touch Heaven - kiss a pilot" I love it!

Red Bull Zero Calories

A mysterious but quite beautifully decorated parcel arrived for me today. I unwrapped a new product - Red Bull Zero Calories! I chilled some and tried it. Very nice design, very good new taste. Very light new wings!

Kössen

After flying in Kössen yesterday with Lisa and Jens, we visited Tony, Iris and Jakob. The crow chicken that had fallen on their car at the camp site in Annecy has grown significantly. Since new, bigger feathers are growing at the moment, Jacques looks a bit like a vulture at the moment. He loves to play, cheeky bird, and the nicest thing - he is free all the time, free to fly whereever he wants! And no worries about him being chased by cats - they have big respect for his beak!

Shanghai surprise

It´s always interesting to see the fast development of Shanghai. I guess it´s the worlds fastest growing city with amazing architecture. Only a few old temples and tea houses in the tourist areas are left in the original Chinese style, and even most of the Expo buildings have already been ploughed away.
I like the "bottle opener" building with the big hole for the dragon to fly through. I wish I could fly through it with my dragon! I was lucky to experience the clearest air Ive ever seen on any of my trips to China. Beautiful to see the Pearl Tower´s changing colours at sunset!
Back at the hotel room, a lot of loud music made me curious, so I went to the park opposite the hotel. Have you ever experienced Chinese Karaoke? Some guys had carts with huge sound blasting machines of almost "Trio electrico" size, and women and men were singing the lines shown on small screens.
On the other side of the park, there was a public outdoor ballroom dancing going on. I recognized a Waltz and some other steps, but because it was all danced to Chinese music, it was really confusing. Kind of like a mix of Brasilian Samba with Gangnam Style ;) Some couples had loud discussions about the correct steps, others swept over the ground perfectly - just their faces never changed a single bit, it all looked like very serious business. At about 11pm the party was finally over, but everybody met again at the next evening. No matter whether week-end or week day!
Of all the cities Ive seen in China, Shanghai is definitely my favourite.

Kompendium der Luftfahrt

I just got a very interesting compendium - all the technical terms concerning flying, both motorized and  non-motorized, the 3- and 4-letter-codes of airports, the history of aviation, the manufacturers and models... for the next long trip to Australia, or for some rainy days ;)

Brasilian Nationals Day 3: 110km um 4 Wendepunkte

The day looked just amazing today, with beautiful clouds in the sky above Brasilia. Unfortunately the wind was really strong again too, so the task was still difficult and only 6 pilots made goal.
Andre Wolf won the day, also Konrad Heilmann and Eduardo Fernandes, David Filho and Ari Fossa in goal. Jonny got in as 4th pilot, so overall he is leading the comp, as Glauco landed short today. Many pilots decked it on the difficult head wind leg almost in the end of the flight. The very last part was easy with a good tail wind, but not many got around the last turnpoint. Even the guys who made it to goal said they were almost on the ground.
I decided to just try to fulfil my dream of landing in Brasilia at Esplanada, the main aisle of the Brasilian capital city. I had a good run along some beautiful clouds, but it wasn´t easy to crab against that really strong cross wind. I was superhappy when I made it! So exciting to land into this bubbling city, loads of cars everywhere, high rise buildings, and famous Oscar Niemeyer Architecture! A real highlight and unthinkable anywhere else in the world! Just imagine you tried to land on the mall in front of the White House in Washington D.C.... ;) that´s what I love the Brazilians for - relaxados!

Unfortunately I have to leave and go back to work, flying to Germany tomorrow. I had a great time over here with amazing flights and meeting good friends.

Best friends forever!

... and today we fly together to Esplanada!

Live from the Brasilian Nationals, Brasilia Timezone GMT -3

After a change in my work schedule, I arrived in Sao Paulo early this morning and got on the first flight to Brasilia. My friend Claudinha picked me up at the airport and took me straight to take off, an hour drive and 70 km north of Brasilia. Konrad Heilmann had already brought a Litespeed 3,5s, thanks to Moyes and Nixon I only had to bring my harness to fly in this beautiful country!
The task took the guys and Patricia on a 108km task with lots of headwind legs. Except for Jonny, the whole leading gaggle decked it, doing the Yoyo at the last turnpoint! Nene, Andre, many other "Feras" (animals) didn´t get to goal today. About 7 were in, with Glauco Pinto and Eduardo winning the day - and a very happy Betinho, because both these guys are in the group that he is mentoring in this comp! He is doing really well, so are his pilots, with Glauco leading the comp at the moment.

The wind was really strong and even though Cris Lawry had testflown my glider yesterday, I wanted to make sure not to do any mistakes after having worked long hours last night, so I waited until the wind dropped down a little and flew directly to goal to wait for the leading guys to arrive. And to socialize with friends that I hadn´t seen for a really long time.
Congratulations to the guys who made goal today, it was really hard work. When I took off, the wind above launch went up to 35km/h and wasn´t exactly on course... I hope we can fly to Esplanada tomorrow and land in the centre of Brasilia. There were still some tents set up today after an event yesterday, so we unfortunately couldnt go there today. Everybody is keen though for tomorrow.
And yes, Red Bull and a great little flight drove jet lag away. It´s a great crowd here, lots of fun with good friends and great pilots! About 55 in the comp. Results of the comp here.

Forbes Worlds - the film!

You can find a great film about the Hang Gliding World Championships in Forbes on the adidas outdoor sports homepage now!

Miami, Timezone GMT -4

Yesterday I learnt that "dry air" in Florida just means "no rain", but not necessarily "low humidity"... I had one luxurious free day on a work trip to Miami, but we are staying almost in Fort Lauderdale, so I brought my inline skates and decided it is time for some training. It was a bit further from Hollywood (FL) to South Beach than I thought, about 30km I guess, but all the way was lined with a smooth and nice sidewalk! It was about 35C and humid, so in the evening I was exhausted.
Very nice villas along the waterways, and I really like the old Art Deco style buildings in South Beach. They should start with some renovations soon though...
I will skate a little bit to the north today, not much time before I have to work on the flight home.
Oh and I learnt something else - if you go to the pool before 8am, you can swim laps, as there are no kids yet ;)

Impressions from the German Open Berlin

Last day German Open and results

Results for Class 1 here
for Class 5 here.

With a front approaching, the NW winds picked up significantly. Katharina towed this morning at 10am, and she didn´t get high above the ground... Not because of lack of expertise of herself or the tug pilot - with this wind direction, we are in the strong rotor of the forest north of us. The day was cancelled because of this turbulence, and since 1pm a cloud cover already shades the airfield, the gusty wind is slightly cooling down the 37 C... Even without the wind, today would have been a game of luck.
Congratulations to Christian Zehetmair for his first German Champion title, to Primoz Gricar (those two flew always together in this comp and helped each other), and to Hans Kiefinger in 3rd. I was the first "North German flatland pilot" in 4th place, and I am the German female Champion.
Also congratulations to Jochen Zeyher for 1st in rigid class, to Tim Grabowski for 2nd  and Dirk Ripkens for 3rd.
Big thanks as well to the tug pilots who got us into the air safely, and to all the numerous volunteers who did an amazing job preparing for this event. With 72 pilots in the comp, this was the biggest hang gliding event so far up here in Berlin.
The awards are tonight at 6pm, I will post the pictures.

German Open Task 2: 95km around 2 tp

The triangle was shortened by 1 tp to 95 km, and it was fun to be first at the 2nd turnpoint, meeting the leading gaggle of the rigids who didnt know that we had 1 tp less than them ;) they were surprised to see me there!
From the last turnpoint, I had a great flight to goal with Tim Grabowski, sometimes finding lift for him, sometimes he found a thermal for me - I was first flex wing in goal, but took a very early time, Im sure Primoz and Christian, the other class 1 gliders in goal, overtook me by two times at least. About 8 rigids made it and the 3 of us, that´s it. Difficult conditions, very strong southerly cross wind and long lines of sink.
Thanks to Harm for a nice tow with the Dragonfly again! The whole crew here is incredible - they are running after the carts, as there are no quad bikes here, and in the sun it got really hot today. Tomorrow this will be the hottest area of Germany, up to 37 C, with storms approaching us from the west in the afternoon. Tomorrow is the last day of the German Open, the awards will be held on Sunday morning.

German Open Day 4: 117 km east to Wellmitz

Today our flex group was first for take off. I had a nice tow with Harm and the Dragonfly, right into a good thermal. It was elapsed time and I didnt hesitate to go. Primoz and Christian dropped me already after one cloud, and I was on my own ever since.
14,5 km out, the clouds had spread and the shadow as well. Only 3 pilots of the flex group made goal - Hans, Wolfgang Aumer and one more pilot. The rigids took off later and found a better route, they had 16 in goal.
Forecast for tomorrow is for less wind and blue, so we might get back to the Altes Lager airfield. No results out yet for this task.