Publisher's Synopsis
There are a number of ways to travel around the world. One way is to do it the fastest in order to set a world record. Another way is to take your time and visit the parts of the world you want to visit. A married couple from Germany chose the "trip of a lifetime" route. (PSF Magazine, USA) Weltflug is an adventure story in the truest sense of the term, and will keep you gripped until the end. (Pilot Magazine, UK) Weltflug - The Gyroplane Dream: A true life story that lifts you into flight - literally. Take off to a fantastic world tour and fly through the most beautiful landscapes in Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the USA & South America. Imagine being a part of an 18-month airborne adventure that spans 5 continents. Feel the wind brushing against your face and exciting your skin. See yourself looking down from low altitudes, soaking in the awesome beauty of some of the planet's most fascinating destinations. And now, imagine that you are sharing this incredible adventure with your spouse - all from a 2-seated lightweight gyroplane! Impossible? That's just what everyone used to think. But Andreas and Melanie Stuetz were on a mission to live out their childhood dreams - and nothing was going to stop them... What is a gyroplane? First flown successfully in 1923, gyroplanes are types of rotorcrafts. Rotorcrafts utilize self-turning rotors to develop lift and motor-powered propellers to generate thrust. About the Adventurers: Andreas G. Stuetz In the seventies, as a young boy in West Germany, Andreas dreamed of being an adventurer, an inventor and a successful entrepreneur. He always wanted to fly and was fascinated with the WDR cult TV puppet series Robbi, Tobbi and Fliewatuut. The Fliewatuut was a vehicle capable of flight, floatation and terrestrial travel. He was stricken then with need to fly. Life progressed. In 2000, he was awarded with the highly prestigious StartUp price by Angela Merkel. Andy matured into the prosperous inventor and entrepreneur that he had envisioned - but something was missing. He still wanted to experience daring adventures in a Fliewatuut. Melanie Stuetz Like Andreas, Melanie dreamed as a child in East Germany, the GDR, of limitless travel, ideally as a cosmonaut in space. On October 1989 she and her father crossed as refugees the green border to Prague (CZ) to enter the first refugee trains, which lead to the Western Part of Germany, where her Mom already waited after her last visit without return. 20 years later Mel is closer than ever to her childhood dream. She was the first woman to pass the sport pilot licensing test for Xenon gyroplanes. After marrying, her and Andreas continued to plan for and train for the realization of their flight dreams. One day, while watching the James Bond movie, You Only Live Twice, they witnessed Sean Connery, as 007, performing a daring getaway scene. He soared away to safety, and to freedom, on a mini-helicopter - on a gyroplane! Let the adventure begin! Andreas and Melanie became licensed pilots and shortly thereafter launched their unified childhood dream of an unlimited world tour by the Fliewatuut-like gyroplane. It was a truly pioneering effort! Their astonishing adventure took eighteen months to complete and traversed five separate continents. This amazing book and accompanying video collection are the thrilling results of more than 3 years of work overall. Charity Terre des Hommes is an international charity dedicated to helping disadvantaged children. Mel and Andreas share a deep sense of gratitude for the fortune that they have enjoyed. For that reason, a percentage of all proceeds from the sales of the book & the Weltflug.tv series is donated to Terre des Hommes. But money alone is not enough. It is a dream that drives the life of a person. And that is the reason why Andy & Mel also asked the children about their dreams. It is important that children do have dreams to find their way in life. To make childhood dreams come true!
