My Flights

Archive for the ‘Accessories’ Category

The call came in the other day "Franky, your new custom wing has arrived" Well, I was happier than, ...than. .. well I was happy, real happy, I was so happy you could even call me Ken (Now thats happy). The next thing was to plan the escape from the misses for two days while I went to Laurieton to get my new pride and joy. Read the rest of this entry »

People think running off a cliff is dangerous at least were under control

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGzpNBopfNk&feature=fvst[/youtube] This guy just fly's with such confidence, watch how he makes small adjustments during the tumble.

Get the weather from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) on your phone via SMS.  You need to be allowed to send Premium SMS's.  It is on by default however some older telstra plans aren't activated.  If you have an issue you just need to call their provider and get it turned on.  90% of people don't have to do anything. Read the rest of this entry »

Yes. Fishing marlins from helicopters. It may sound boring, but seriously, you won't believe your eyes. If your jaw doesn't drop after watching this, I'll post pictures of myself naked. Update: do you think this is real or not? I think is is, but you can tell us you opinion in the comments. I've seen similar things before, with other fishes and from boats. In this case, it looks absolutely real: it's definitely not 3D or an animatronic--look how it swims away. I'm sure they tried a few times before actually achieving it, then edited the whole thing to make it appear as a single try. You can also keep the marlin around with food and, like other fishes, they won't run away from you unless you try to approach underwater. And finally. technically the video is impeccable. Maybe that's the trick, and it's fake after all, but I'm inclined to believe that they got it after some hard work. [Gizmodo]

Wind powered maritime travel isn’t exactly a new idea. Actually it’s a really freakin’ old idea. So it’s easy to make fun of the “breakthrough innovation” of SkySails.

SkySails has been adding giant kites to the front of barges in order to reduce their fuel consumption by as much as 20%. The systems pay for themselves quickly, and could potentially save massive amounts of fuel…but are they better than regular sails? Turns out they are. Per square meter of sail, they produce five times more energy than traditional sails. Depending on wind conditions the 160 square meter kite can generate about as much force as an Airbus A318 jet engine. That’s pretty awesome. Of course, the more sail you use, the more energy you get, but getting the sail up and away from the turbulence caused by the body of the ship is certainly worth the effort. Of course, now we’re just waiting for them to get the systems installed on a significant percentage of shipping vessels. And, well, we might be waiting a while. [Icon Today]

For extreme sports types or those who just like to take every precaution, Swiss company Snowpulse developed Lifebag. Like an airbag, it's designed to protect the head and thorax while keeping you afloat during an avalanche. I was thinking that a Paraglider or Hang glider might find it useful in those last moment of a full collapse. Manually deployed similar to a parachute, the 150-liter shield inflates in less than three seconds and deflates after 90 seconds. Should you get buried, when the bag deflates you'll at least have a small air pocket to breathe, scream and hope to be found. Though it's hard to take seriously from the looks of it, it has reportedly saved dozens of lives already. All it requires is the presence of mind to find and pull the handle while it's all going down. The Lifebag costs $1,100 and won't be available in the US until December 2008. [Gizmodo via Snowpulse via Cool Hunting]

  Attention geeks, nerds and flying nutters, here is the mouse for you. I couldn't find one that looks like a hang glider or paraglider but the jet theme is cool. No info on the price but if you have to have it .. who cares what the price is..ha ha [Geekalerts]