One of the big problems in making a paramotor flight over Everest is that the wind is normally much stronger at higher altitudes. It may well be completely calm at the 4200m launch site but at 8848m the jetstream could be creaming the summit of Everest with 170 - 200k winds. To ensure we only attempt the flight in survivable conditions we will launch radiosonde balloons that can fly virtually, to the edge of space carrying an unbelievably small electronics package.

French company Meteomodem, have packaged a UHF radio, GPS, temperature and humidity sensors into a tiny 250 gram package and have trained me to use this vital equipment so that we can determine viable conditions for the flight before Bear and Gilo launch. The telemetry we will receive as the sonde passes up through the troposphere will give us a realtime 3 dimensional graphic of the windspeed, direction, temperature and humidity at all levels. From this telemetry we can make a go, no go decision based on solid data rather than just inspired guesswork and visual observation.

Additional to the technical aspects of the mission I too have been trying to get as much altitude training as possible, for me this means flying paragliders in and out of thermals at over 3000m each day over the French Alps - It's tough, dirty work but someone has to do it!

Hi Lynn, You can contact Gilo directly on his return from Everest via the Parajet website. It would certainly be possible to purchase one if required. He has been very successful at achieving high altitudes with the Everest machine and is hoping to go even higher!