Hot air balloon flight

The ballooning season is starting.
I'm happy to fly again my old friend and recover my old job... drift with the winds is very different, special, magical... ballooning is a true adventure!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvk2C0b8MXY

Libye, part II

Here is the promised video: condensed emotions lived.
So many trikes at a time, so many pilots together! Not so long ago trikes did not even exist... a new story is beginning!

It confirms my impression that trikes, paragliders, power gliders are a true solution for the future!

I hope you'll like it!

Flying the Titan Tarancon Cuenca Espagne October

Titan Tornado

A charming light airplane. Very well known in USA, there are a lot of fans. It is a large small plane with a lot of space inside, excellent visibility and nearly nothing to spoil the view. Its shape is very clean and aerodynamic, efficient turn, nervous driving... noble. For the pilots looking for something different.
Charming airplane with character!

I'm working on improving my editions, hope you'll like the video.

Saludos everybody!

Paco Diaz

Tripoli September 09 What a show!!

We have flown for Gadafi's in power 40th anniversary and African Union 10th anniversary.

2 hours show by Martin Arnaud (Tajin project) and french organisation.
600 VIP (presidents...)250.000 people in the streets
120M covered stage, lights, water fountains, 300 dancers, fireworks, aerial show with power gliders...!!!

1.200 people... (and more data I will not mention) for Colonel Gadafi's benefit. 

Exceptional piece of work never executed before by Paraddax, with 22 trikes 6 of which tandem, many pilots... hard work!! 
What first seemed easy proved tricky: banner towing with the security system not always operating... a few scares including a pilot to the see!


...to follow.

July 2009 cold and unstable summer in France

Bad meteo in general... it's true the meteo is generally better in Sapin! Nevertheless when it's flyable you can fly longer hours here with softer thermals.

This time we are base in a stable... improvised workshop! We are working on improving joystick piloting; for the time being it is not precise enough to fly thermals with it. We are training to follow lines, roads, surveillance missions. Auto-pilot is an excellent system because no human being no matter how strong he could be, can stand more than half an hour piloting this thingy thing... and if you don't believe me just ask the french army special forces student pilots!
As a consequence we're piloting more and more with the joystick as if it were a video game... even for landing! I only get back to the brakes in case of emergency.
I must admit it is pretty scary at the beginning to let yourself be piloted by a machine! but like everything, you get used to it, it is just a matter of training. Now it is rather comfortable to let the computer drive the aircraft... I would never have believed that before!

As usual, thanks a lot for following this blog, it's a pleasure to share my adventures, moments of life with you passionate about flight.

Paco Diaz Salto

Strasbourg-Paris-Antalya-Madrid-Frankfurt May 2009

Twelve pilots, a ground team, a Palaca opening show in Turquey...

Vidéo des entraînements

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbjFhC2M39A&feature=channel_page

Antalya

City on the Turkish sea side , romantic place at night, slightly too many tourists in my opinion, but very quiet during the low season. In the distance you can see interesting nice slopes of a mountain range. The pilots would not stop watching it saying it was certainly a great place to paraglide! We'll come back under other circumstances to check that!
Native people are highly sympathetic, sweet mix between East and West!

When somebody asks me "is it danger fly?", I answer quickly that I highly prefer powergliding that taxi driving!! There is no adventure compared to give your life to a Turkish taxi driver! They're mad around here! We didn't stop telling them we were not in a hurry and they shouldn't go so fast, they would not listen!! You just had a look at the pilots' faces aboard the taxi!

Flying in luxury
Everything begun with a mistake! A bus was waiting for me at the airport. The driver rushed to take my cases that I would not let loose... in the end I surrendered. I was alone on the bus: one bus for my only self!! with air conditioning, and colored lights...Where are we going?? 
The bus stops just in front  of the white and gold majestic entrance of a palace hotel. There is parked a RollsRoyce... one of those few in the world with the logo on the wheel that remains fix when the wheel turns!
I walk down the long entrance hall until the reception along water fountains with thousands of lights... I could not believe it! That was a joke: a man in hat open the door and three fair-haired 2m tall girls (certainly Russians) were waiting for me: one with a glass of pink Champagne, one with a refresh towel and one... that kept following me around to collect the towel I never gave back after use (I didn't know!!!)
When they  offered me to sit in a luxury sofa I started to be sure it was a mistake!
After so much light, gold and crystal, princess stairs all around... back to reality... my reality! slightly less glamour: a very nice man accompanies me back to the very same bus that had brought me here. This time the driver let me at a good distance of my hotel and let me take my case without getting down, and walk! No pity for the unknown! Back into my world!
I won't miss the Palace. Life in there is not the same as the average. Thanks to them I've got work and keep in touch with realities of "true" life. I preferred the drive in bus with doors opened as air conditioning and the plain smile of people around here. Usually one hour bus is a bit long; this time not!

Photos:
http://picasaweb.google.es/pacovuela/TurquiaFrankfurtII?authkey=Gv1sRgCNC43vHtxcC9aQ#

In april, flights by thousands

Special lessons for special trainees: the french army special operations commando...
From parachute pilots to robot pilots? flying tandem, single and eventually the FR-102 robot, with a touch of night ballooning, three axis microlight and skydiving interludes!!
Thank you very much to everybody in the team, thank you FlyingRobots... we are now 5 pilots for the robot; I'm happy and relieved to eventually have fellow pilots involved in this great project.
Numerous flights, good friends, united and sympathetic group. It was a pleasure to fly with good pilots

Thanks everybody!