The Challenge

My madcap brother David Goode decided that he wanted to do something for Save the Children and combine this with his passion for paramotoring (basically zipping around the skies in a parachute with a giant fan strapped to your back). If this is not crazy enough he is at this moment attempting to cross Spain in one of these things. But because my brother shirks the easy life, he is doing this solo with no backup. He can only carry what he is wearing plus a toothbrush, spare pair of pants (rumour has it he forgot his spare pair), some money, maps and his GPS enabled smart phone. He can only fly for limited periods before needing to find fuel.

He has modified the frame with a set of wheels so that he can find a field, land, wrap up his chute and then walk to the nearest garage for fuel.

He has no predefined route – he will start at the top of Spain and arrive at the bottom – hopefully! There are lots of mountains in the way!!

 

 

And some areas that are sparsely populated!! (which means less places to find petrol, to eat and to sleep).

 

 

 

He will need to find accommodation on the way and walk from a suitable landing site to get to it. I personally think he is completely mad but feel I should support him by trying to help him raise money.

In David's own words

"Fly across Spain? Why's that such a challenge?
I know. At first glance, this doesn't sound so hard does it?, after all, I have an aircraft, surely I just have to point it in the right direction, sit back and enjoy the view, right?
Not quite...

1. My ground speed is roughly 25 mph. If I'm into wind, this can drop to 15 mph! Yes, you could cycle faster!
2. Not being a conventional aircraft, I will not be allowed to land at airports so to re-fuel, I will have to look out for petrol stations with fields nearby and then carry my paramotor to the pumps.
3. Paramotor flying is extremely weather dependant. If the wind is too strong, or there is too much thermal activity, I'm grounded. This means that most of my flying will have to be done in the 2 hours after sunrise and 2 hours before sunset.
4. I will have to carry my paramotor from wherever I land to wherever I can find to stay the night.
5. I will have to avoid controlled airspace which means that I can't just fly in a straight line across Spain.
6. I will be flying unsupported, meaning no luggage. I have about enough storage space for a toothbrush and a spare pair of pants!

I hope this convinces you that it's a challenge worthy of a few quid sponsorship!
 
Thanks,
Dave"
 

He is trying to raise £5000 – if you can please help him reach his target by sponsoring him at JustGiving.com

 

CLICK LOGO TO SPONSOR DAVID