When dreams become true...
After so many sacrifices and hard work, so many exhausting hours flying... I can eventually say it was all worth it! Every day we go a bit further ahead and eventually make a foolish old dream come true: make that a paragliding machine takes off, flies and lands on its own! For legal reasons I must be on board at any time to control, but now it's the artificial intelligence (I, we taught to fly) that flies me around.
I no longer have to put all my strength and energy in piloting. I can now observe and study how the robot pilots and reacts. It is now able to pilot like I do.. or even better sometimes.
I've had to bear a great deal of criticism, incredulous and disillusioned comments toward the project. I've learnt a lot listening; I've learnt patience, I've learnt dreams don't come true in one day, that you have to put all your heart soul and energy to overcome the difficulties without losing faith.
Great thanks from deep in my heart to all that have followed and supported us, for those who have bet on a few foolish guys with foolish ideas, backing us day after day, failure after failure... one day you reach the goal... it would not have been possible without them!
Thank you to my family, friends, trainees, clients who have had the patience to bear me like I am, always out, far away, here and there, from an hotel to another like an uprooted no family, you've always been beside me in my loneliness.
Now we keep on dreaming, making new plans that could write aeronautical History on day. Who would have guessed I would be in the magazines my father use to buy on Sundays when I was a child and dreamt maybe I could fly one day too. Thanks to my father's courage and enthusiasm, I was able to start flying early and get prepared for this maverick unique job I'm passionate about.
From China
Paco Diaz
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3HK6FQOjUM&feature=channel_page
Photos:
http://picasaweb.google.es/pacovuela/ChinaI?authkey=Gv1sRgCJemzN2WvoCrSQ#
http://picasaweb.google.es/pacovuela/ChinaII?authkey=Gv1sRgCM3FjryPtd3P0QE#
