Matevz has just started his most challenging stage of the GreenLight WorldFlight project - the  flight to Easter Island, where he is crossing the Pacific Ocean. This is very demanding stage, with challenging winds across the ocean. He will need to fly about 3700 km to the Easter Island , and this means being in air for more than 15 hours. Wish him good luck! It is going to be a long flight but we believe and trust a very successful one!

Good luck, Matevž!

GLWF team

Today is a day for service and Matevž is preparing his flight accross the Pacific. So far Matevž has flown 42.000 kms, which means he has already circled the World once. But we still have about 1/2 of the way ahead. Wish us good luck!

      

      

Last three days were really demanding as the future was always a bit uncertain and dependent of weather models and actual weather conditions. But with a great help of GLWF team especially Domen who devoted his 24 h a day to the flight and Jonathan Selby and Roxanna Diaz and a lot of luck we managed to finished Antarctic episode safely. Some delay due changing flight plan from VFR into IFR got me out over Beagle channel quite late. First part in between cloud layers avoiding ice was cold, but after I flew into the sun, life became more optimistic. Somewhere in the middle of Drake Passage Domen sent me METAR for Marambio which was in fog, so soon I decided to fly into my alternative Chilean military base Marsh Martin. The weather forecast for next day was very bad so I just extended my flight along the coast toward Deception and Elephant Islands and took some photos. Flight further on was blocked with frontal clouds, which were coming from SW. At Martin Marsh nobody was  expecting me due some misunderstanding between Argentinean and Chilean authorities but even that was soon solved out. Alejo Contreras legendary Antarctic explorer (Ice man) who has already spent 30 years on this frozen continent greeted me and showed me where my two drums of fuel, which were shipped by boat two months ago from Punta Arenas, were waiting for me. After we had dinner with commander of the Base and I really got a warm welcome from everybody. Thanks guys, it was great pleasure meeting all of you. The weather was going to deteriorate the next day in the afternoon so if I didn't want to be trapped in the Antarctic for another week I should fly back in the morning. After refueling with Avgas 100-130 which was not good for my engine but mixing with some healthy one was going to work, we pushed aircraft straight on the stony runway. I was soon cleared by excellent English speaking controller and headed out over freezing ocean staying low due clouds and later climbed to FL110. On the left side was a dark wall of frontal system so doors back to Marsh were closed. Right in the middle of Drake Passage there was a front moving to the east, so I managed to stay on the sun almost all the way to Tierra del Fuego where weather deteriorate. I had two options to try to overfly rising clouds and could get later in icy condition or going down to warmer air and looked for a window over Magellan strait. I decided for the second one, pulled brakes out somewhere over Cape Horn and got at 2000 ft bellow the cloud base and 2 deg. temperature. After slaloming between deep fjords, mountains climbing descending and finally got over the Magellan strait which I followed mostly IMC (thanks to great Garmin GTN750) to Punta Arenas where the weather cleared and I manage to land in sunny weather. With a great help of señor Nelson from DAP I prepared my flight over the Jelo Patagonico to Concepcion. Late departure due paperwork, refueling, and checking the carburetors (I found some leaks) got me out over the cloud deck straight to Torres del Paine. Amazing views were spoiled by engine problem, loosing some RPM and power so turned to Calafate. After several looong minutes engine sound got back to normal so I continued toward the glaciers Perito Moreno, Upsala, Viedma and Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy which were clear of clouds in almost no wind. Great views but a lot frustration as I was not confident with engine run and had a strong smell of fuel when I opened the window. Soon the clouds covered the glaciers and fjords and only highest peaks remained outside. At FL120 and -9 degrees would be a real challenge getting the aircraft down in peace in case of engine failure. It was time for some meditation and self realization that sometimes we should just believe without reason. Clouds and ice got higher, so I climbed to FL155 all the way to the coast, where Domen got me information that the weather in Concepcion is clearing. Evening landing in Concepcion which was stroked by earthquake and Tsunami just months ago, was a huge relief.

Matevz

After 7h and about 40 minutes Matevz successfully finished the long flight from Punta Arenas to Concepcion, Chile! The flight was demanding and quite stressful, but he successfully landed. Today is the day for service of the Rotax engine. It should work properly and double check before the Pacific crossing would be good. 

In the meantine please enjoy the photos sent by Pedro Skvarca of Matevz leaving El Calafate.

WGLF team

Many years ago, I read Matevž first book, "Patagonija - Smisel in spoznanje" (Patagonia - Sense and Realization) where he writes about his climbing in Patogonia. After 26 years he is there again, looking on these mountains from different perspective. 

Let me share some of his thoughts from his book here. They were taken from a book many years ago, but still very alive today.

“One who risks most, craves the most for life.” 

“The art of every act is in its beginning.” 

“For me the goal is always this, that man for a thing for which he lives, always tries to squeeze from himself every single trace of will and power. The goal should never be determined in advances, as it is sometimes not accessible. The will to reach it is too hard, too strong. Then the man can give from himself more than he is capable, the thin line of life become very very thin. Usually the best way is to grow the eager to do something, but for goal we set our own strength and capabilities.“

“But to climb first is very beautiful. The thoughts and desires of researchers keep you moving on, the consciousness, that nobody was there before you, that every new meter is the mystery for itself. You have the feeling of great satisfaction.” 

"Man with his way of live determines the time. What is the difference between shallow life of one year and one night like this, where you are aware of yourself, every single second of your life. You are aware that you exist and you know that you might not exist forever and that quite soon you might stop existing."

“Nothing in this world is greater than the joy of expectation. Everywhere, with every single desire is the same. You wish something very strongly, in great haste you expect it, well, in fact you only wish for expectation. The realization of the wish means the end of the secret passion.” 

“If I would know all my life so well, what I want, which of the many paths is the right one, as I know this on the beginning of the travel or climbing, then my heart would always be so light and happy.”

“Everything ends like in dreams; this is the reason why it is worth living it.

I wonder if Matevž flying around these big mountains like Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre ever thinks about what he wrote 20 and more years ago? I am sure some memories pass through his thoughts.

Petra, GLWF

After leaving Ushuaia yesterday Matevž had an incredible opportunity to fly to the »very bottom of the world«. He took off in Ushuaia in South Argentina and after about 5 hours he landed in Antarctica at the airport Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin. Today, after mandatory refueling, he took off again and flew towards continent to Punta Arenas, where he successfully landed after about 7 hours of flying! It is amazing achievement. We are very proud of you, Matevž!

Today the expected take off is at 10.00 UTC from Punta Arenas airport in Chile and he will fly to Santo Domingo in Chile. The expected landing is at about 21.00 UTC.
Wishing you a safe flight and good winds.

WGLF team

Yesterday, Matevz had an incredible opportunity to fly to the "very bottom" of the world. This adventure started in Ushvaia – he took-off in south Argentina. After approximately five hours of flight he landed at the alternate airport in Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin. The rest of the day and over the night he stayed at the airport and enjoyed the surrounding ice. Today he expects to take off at 12:45 UTC after a mandatory refueling - fuel was shipped by boat two months ago. Weather forecast over the Southern Ocean states moderate icing, he will try to avoid this. Also the expected wind is NW 30 kts, which will force him to fly longer than we expected on the beginning. The flight will be almost 7 hours long.

GLWF team

16th of February 2012 at 18:14

Matevz flew and landed with ultralight airplane in the Antarctic. This is really a remarkable success! We really must admit that only a few people can land on this truly special place with such a small airplane alone. Congratulations for this great success!

GLWF team