Round the World in a Microlight

Some of you may remember the now de-commissioned breakfast show on Channel 4 - the Big Breakfast? Well it was essential viewing for me around 10 years ago while eating my Corn Flakes, before setting off for another boring day in work. Although it was quite funny and a young Denise Van Outen was good to look at, I didn't think it would change my life quite as much as it did.

Around the end of 1998 they wheeled on a short, posh and rather austere little man dressed in a fancy boiler suit, pointing out to the presenter where he had just flown his open-cockpit Microlight. Tales of crossing the alps, being buzzed by Mig fighters and flying across the North Atlantic seemed unbelieveable. I found the whole thing absolutely fascinating, in fact I must have talked about it so much that someone bought me a lesson - and the rest is history. Little did I know that this odd little man would inspire me to take up flying Microlights!



The Video is one of Brian's promo vids that he created when trying to sell the story to TV stations round the globe. He has just published a lot of his video material on his website, really worth a good look. And his book of the adventure is well worth a read.

Regards, Victor
www.flyni.co.uk

Aerotrekking

Most of you will know of Anti-Virus software, in fact if you are sitting at a PC chances are that your machine has some installed.

John McAfee was one of the first pioneers of AV software, with his company McAfee being one of the market leaders in the AV industry. He sold his stake in the company years ago and went off to do other things.



With $100 million in his back pocket he has decided to buy a bit of land in americas southwest and form a band of aviators known as the Sky Gypsies.

The National Geographic Article in the June/July Edition details what you can do with a spare $100m in your back pocket ;-)

Probably the best quote that John made in the article that defines what is different between Microlight and 3-Axis aircraft is:

"I learned to fly in a Cessna back in the mid-seventies and it didn't turn me on," says McAfee. "It was like flying a tin can. But when I flew a trike, I thought, OK, this is what flying is supposed to be about. I could feel the air, I could smell the vegetation. It's as close as you can come to being a bird."

And of course...their recent PR exercise seems to have sprouted a video...



By the way...for those of you that didnt immediately notice, John is in his sixties and has a girlfriend in her twenties. I dont think he will be reaching for his pipe and slippers just yet!