Caros amigos, colegas e entusiastas pelo nosso vôo,
Passamos pelo Sul, Pantanal e a Amazônia nas estações certas, mas os ventos no litoral do Nordeste ainda não sopram ao nosso favor. Não conseguimos executar nossos vôos conforma nosso planejamento devido o constante vento sul – sudeste (proa) e rajadas ate 30 nos. Mossoró estava escondido atrás de uma cortina de chuva e a alternativa foi à praia. O segundo pouso alternativo para Touros do dia seguinte foi dentro de uma lagoa seca, desde que a praia tinha desaparecido na maré alta. A idéia é combinar o prazer do vôo de trike com os desafios das navegações. E lógico, a preservação da nossa vida e equipamento é mais importante que o desafio. Queremos em particular curtir o vôo pelo litoral. O tempo atual no litoral do nordeste não das condições. Encerramos então a 6e etapa na fazenda Bebida Velha (em Touros, na KM 0 do BR101). Nos estamos esperando o vento nordestino, que começa soprar a partir de Setembro, para continuar a 6e etapa ate Brasília.

Dear friends, colleagues and enthusiasts for our flight,
We flew passed the south, the Pantanal (Brazilian wetlands) and the Amazon rainforest during the best season of each region, but the winds in the north-east of Brazil are not blowing in our favor. During this time of the year, a constant head wind blows from the south and south-east at speeds up to 30 knots. Not to mention the dense clouds and rain showers along the coast. After 2 emergency landings due to weather, we decided to temporary stop our 6th leg. We have hangared the trike at a farm, near the start of the BR101 highway which runs along eastern coast of Brazil. Like the great early navigators, we need patience and shall wait until the winds turn north-east, expected by the end of September. We will then return and continue our 6th leg to Brasilia along the north-east coast, and back into the interior.

Professor James Lovelock, the scientist who developed Gaia theory (Gaia is the Greek Goddess of Planet Earth - Will) has said it is too late to try and save the planet.

The man who achieved global fame for his theory that the whole earth is a single organism now believes that we can only hope that the earth will take care of itself in the face of completely unpredictable climate change. He said that while the earth's future was utterly uncertain, mankind was not aware it had "pulled the trigger" on global warming as it built its civilizations.
What is more, he predicts, the earth's climate will not conveniently comply with the models of modern climate scientists.
As the record winter cold testifies, he says, global temperatures move in "jerks and jumps", and we cannot confidently predict what the future holds. Prof Lovelock does not pull his punches on the politicians and scientists who are set to gain from the idea that we can predict climate change and save the planet ourselves. Scientists, he says, have moved from investigating nature as a vocation, to being caught in a career path where it makes sense to "fudge the data". And while renewable energy technology may make good business sense, he says, it is not based on "good practical engineering".

At the age of 90, Prof Lovelock is resigned to his own fate and the fate of the planet. Whether the planet saves itself or not, he argues, all we can do is to "enjoy life while you can".

Sometimes we feel like we live a thousand lives while flying the trike around Brazil. We may stay only 1 day at a certain location, but it may be 2 or more days as well. In between the flights, on the ground, we actually take part in another life in terms of a new environment, a new rhythm and new people surrounding us. Usually we catch up with somebody linked to microlight flying which results in an immediate connection based on a shared passion. We get along as friends with people we have never met before. At times we are invited to stay at their place, and as such we get a glimpse of somebody else´s life (style) to which we adapt as we dance with the music. Apart from good fun, we also had nice conversations with refreshing thoughts or even inspiring ideas. But when it starts itching it is time to move on to the next life. We bear the new impressions in mind and process them for later use.

The night before a navigation flight to the next location is usually one of little sleep. We pretend to go to bed early but we can´t sleep because we are too anxious. Or try to visualize our next flight into the unknown. Or we are too bothered with the meteorology when we look outside during the night and see cloud cover or trees being moved by wind that wasn’t there before. We can´t drink alcohol because we need to wake up early and be 100% fit. Fabiana even can´t eat breakfast before the flight, and is usually starving after we take off.  The flight may progress down wind in still air over friendly and flat terrain with lots of landing options. Or the opposite, fighting against head wind in turbulent air and hostile terrain where you would rather not make a forced landing. And belief me, the experience of open-cockpit microlight flying is totally different than commercial flying.

When we arrive at our destination, we smile and are all happy. The adrenaline usually continues to run through our veins for a while, whereas our mind need some time to actually land. It´s like walking out a cinema, and being intrigued by a movie you just happened to watch. You may need some time to come back to reality.  Our reality at the new location is always a surprise, the start of a short and new life.

Down to earth, the reality is we only have 1 life. Lack of planning in aviation can be fatal. Therefore we plan our flights with military precision and we do not count on luck. We say “we want to go” rather than “we have to go”. If the weather is not favorable for our planned flight, we stay on the ground and enjoy another day.  If the weather during flight shows a negative trend, we land at first opportunity.

It is easy to think you are on your own while flying in the vast Brazilian airspace. However, it is a false sense of safety. The guys who rammed their business jet into a commercial airplane above the Amazons killing 180 passengers also thought they were alone.  We preferably fly low (1000 – 2000 feet  Above Ground Level), but there are times we climb to for example 6500 feet in search of smooth air or a tail wind. That´s when we get at general aviation altitudes where big and fast aircraft are flying. There exists a set of interesting flight rules that provides separation between air traffic, however too technical for this somewhat philosophic theme.  Anyway, applying these flight rules and reporting our position, altitude and course is another measure that contributes the safety of our flight.

We experience sincere support, enthusiasm and admiration from friends and family and people we meet along the route, which is fantastic. On the contrary, I prefer to deny the thought, but there are probably also souls that silently hope for something to go wrong. Or as Fabiana put it: envy is a very strong “macumba”.  We want to complete our journey and live a thousand lives.  As such we pray for protection and put our safety in the first place. Amen.

During flight we wear each a wind and water proof Ozee flying suit (excellent mattresses as well), a helmet and headset combination, and 2 life jackets when flying over open water. To prevent we're getting cold feet at high altitude, we use flying boots (or actually wind and water resistant snow boots…)

Our carry-on luggage is... Cover for instrument panel and trike itself, plus wing storage bag, Fuel transfer hose in case we need to get some automotive gasoline,  Small tool kit, and small reserve parts for instrument panel, trike and wing, Full set of spark plugs, oil filter, 1 liter semi-synthetic engine oil, WD 40 (good for everything!)1 light weight expedition tent, 1 sleeping sheet (like the one you get on intercontinental flights), 1 light weight nylon hammock,Set of cloths (jeans, t-shirts, underwear, socks, swim pants, bikini, bermuda), 2 pairs of Havaianas (of course), 2 pairs of tennis shoes,2 sets of light weight super absorbent towels,Small bag with toiletries for both of us,  Photo camera and accessories, torch,Garmin aviation GPS 296, a back-up GPS, and field compass,SPOT personal locator beacon, Cell phones, Ipod, Mormaii sponsored sun glasses, USB stick with aircraft and flight plan information,File with flight documents, aeronautical charts, pencils, liners, and calculator, and a First Aid kit.
Recently we added a jungle survival kit and a life straw (

Mud slides due to heavy summer rains have caused death and destruction in the south-east of Brazil. But the weather Gods were finally forgiving on the 1st day of the year. The sun returned to vaporize the tears of the suffering population.

We flew overhead the historical town of São Luiz de Paraitinga, which was flooded by the river Paraitinga on New Years night. Its level had risen by 10 meters and basically destroyed the whole town. After 45 minutes we made a safe landing in Pinda. Hit the toilet for a pee, checked all equipment secure and took off for the return flight. 

The beauty of the thick cloud hanging in the valley like a curtain was at the same time frightening thinking of how much devastation it could cause. 

On the way back we followed the Via Dutra (the main high way between Rio and São Paulo) east bound to the city of Aparecida, famous for its huge Basilica and a pilgrim destination for Brazil’s catholic population.  After having asked Maria for her blessings we turned right to Paraty, some 80 km away and 2 km lower at the foot of the Serra do Mar. 

The touch down on the tarmac of Paraty filled us with a feeling of confidence in the machine and our upcoming adventure to Foz do Iguaçu.

The 2nd simulation flight was a return trip along the green coast to Rio de Janeiro, partly in controlled air space. Our objective was a 25 hour revision of the Rotax engine at the maintenance shop of “Clube Ceu” . 

The engine was found to be in good order. The return flight was mainly offshore, going round Ilha Grande. Approximately 170 km over open water, of which 40 km without reach of the mainland… The total flown distance in 2 days was 600 km over terrain with mountains, forest, open sea and urban area: We and the machine had passed the simulation.

The ultralight or microlight aircrafts called trikes were first brought onto my attention in 1999 after seeing some awesome photos from the “South to South” expedition in a Dutch magazine. The imaginations and feelings I got just thinking of these guys flying free as a bird around the world just struck me. Two adventure pilots (Mike Blyth from South Africa and Olivier Aubert from Swiss) flew their trikes around the world from Buenos Aires to Capetown: 

“…The 1999 South to South Expedition holds the current World Record for the longest ever unsupported flight by trike. For 8 months in 1999 Olivier Aubert and Mike Blyth covered 43,000 km in a flight around the world that goes beyond the imagination. Also known as the Millennium Microlight Adventure, this flight was dubbed the 'last great flying adventure of the 20th century.'…”

These 2 pilots gained fame within the ultralight community all over the world and have ever since been an inspiration for many of us.The trike flown by Olivier happened to be French-made, and the model called “Voyageur”. I was impressed by its beefed-up appearance and the fact it did not have a control bar limiter in front of the pilot, giving the pilot an unparalleled suburb panoramic view.

A new job brought me to South-Africa, where trike flying appeared to be the national spare time activity. I signed up for flight training in a school on the coast of Kwazulu Natal and took part in various cross-country trips. Being amongst the most fanatic enthusiasts and best flight instructors, I gained a wealth of experience in trike flying between 2001 and 2002. Their instructions run still through my mind when flying in adverse conditions and help me to keep my cool. During an interval back in Holland I visited the ultralight airshow in Blois, France. It was there where I saw my favorite flying machine, the Voyageur, for the first time. If only I knew I would own one of these one day and fly it in Brazil...