Up, Up And Away

[Albert Tatlock]

You couldn't make this up: Brazil Priest Carried Aloft by Hundreds of Balloons Dissapears.

[bluemonday]

Nearer my god to thee.........

[jimbms]

All goes to prove religion is full of gas

[ans]

Nobody tell him Easter was last month?

[matty]

Heard the story on Radio 4 last night - definite contender for the Darwin Awards!!

[Minxie]

They have found his balloons, but not the priest so far clicky.

[Lonan3]

From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds [Psalm 18:12 ]

[Bombay Bad Boy]

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds -- and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of -- wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,

I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air.

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue,

I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or even eagle flew.

And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod

The high untresspassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

 

-- RCAF Flight-Lieutenant John Gillespie Magee Jr.

(1922-1941).

 

(FAA Supplement)

 

1. Pilots must insure that all surly bonds have been slipped entirely before flight is attempted.

2. During periods of severe sky dancing, crew and passengers must keep seatbelts fastened. Crew should wear shoulderbelts as provided.

3. Sunward climbs must not exceed the maximum permitted aircraft ceiling.

4. Passenger aircraft are prohibited from joining the tumbling mirth.

5. Pilots flying through sun-split clouds under VFR conditions must comply with all applicable minimum clearances.

6. Do not perform these hundred things in front of Federal Aviation Administration inspectors.

7. Wheeling, soaring, and swinging will not be attempted except in aircraft rated for such activities and within utility class weight limits.

8. Be advised that sunlit silence will occur only when a major engine malfunction has occurred.

9. "Hov'ring there" will constitute a highly reliable signal that a flight emergency is imminent.

10. Forecasts of shouting winds are available from the local FSS. Encounters with unexpected shouting winds should be reported by pilots.

11. Pilots flinging eager craft through footless halls of air are reminded that they alone are responsible for maintaining separation from other eager craft.

12. Should any crewmember or passenger experience delirium while in the burning blue, submit an irregularity report upon flight termination.

13. Windswept heights will be topped by a minimum of 1,000 feet to maintain VFR minimum separations.

14. Aircraft engine ingestion of, or impact with, larks or eagles should be reported to the FAA and the appropriate aircraft maintenance facility.

15. Aircraft operating in the high untresspassed sanctity of space must remain in IFR flight regardless of meteorological conditions and visibility.

16. Pilots and passengers are reminded that opening doors or windows in order to touch the face of God may result in loss of cabin pressure.

[Mission]

He

[Pat Ayres]

Good Riddance, twat.

[bluemonday]

They have found his balloons, but not the priest so far clicky.

Not doing a Jonah now is he?

I hope he makes it. This is the sort of lunacy that deserves a return match.

[monasqueen]

All goes to show that you should check the wind direction first, and have someone out in a motor boat to follow /collect you if you head out to sea. Sounds like the planning was not to good.

 

Wonder where he has got to....

[Albert Tatlock]

Wonder where he has got to....

My money is on: he got to 10,000 feet over the sea and became an instant frozen popsicle, dropped down, defrosted, and became fish food.

[DjDan]

You guys are heartless...

 

I don't see how the fact that this man may now be dead is actually funny?

 

He was trying to raise funds to provide a rest stop for lorry drivers in Paranagua, a major port for agricultural products.

 

He does something for a good cause... but because he is a priest, you all laugh about it.

 

Good Riddance, twat.

 

You'd say that if he was a member of your family?

[Ean]

I'm with djdan on this one. I think it's a little harsh to rip the piss out of him when he was doing it for charity. He had done it before and survived, and obviously if there's a record to break someone else has done it too.

 

I think it's pretty brave to do something like that. I doubt you'd all crack jokes if it was someone from the Island who was trying to break the record.