"Flying priest" lost at sea

GPS World,  June, 2008  

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Oregon Man Plots Second Flight in Australia

Lawn-chair flying may not be a typical use of GPS, nor is it the safest way to fly even with guidance. But that doesn't stop the determined few.

In April, a Brazilian priest trying to raise money to build a rest stop and worship center for truckers has vanished along with his GPS device, reports the Associated Press and BBC News.The Rev. Adelir Antonio de Carli has been missing since April 20, shortly after he lifted off from the southern port city of Paranagua strapped to 1,000 helium-filled balloons.

Although equipped with flotation equipment, a satellite phone and GPS, contact was lost with him after he was blown off course. Before his disappearance, he told a Brazilian TV channel in a phone interview that he was having difficulty operating his GPS device. Before losing contact, he said he had to land in the sea as he was "losing height."

Father Carli's bundle of balloons was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean off Santa Catarina state, near where he last made contact with authorities on the ground. An experienced skydiver, De Carli wanted to break a 19-hour record for the most hours flying with balloons. He had previously flown 70 miles using the same mode of transportation.

In July 2007 in a more successful balloon flight, also guided by GPS, Kent Couch of Bend, Oregon, floated for nine hours toward Idaho in a lawn chair hooked to a cluster of balloons. The flight garnered media attention around the world. According to the Bulletin of Bend, Oregon, Couch is planning another flight this summer from Australia, site of the independent film "Danny Deckchair," about a similar flight.

RELATED ARTICLE: Running in Real Time

GTX Corp.'s GPS tracking system got a 26.2-mile test run in the 2008 Boston Marathon on April 21, reports Navigate!, GPS World's daily newsletter.

The MyAthlete tracking device is worn on a runner's belt and transmits his or her location via AT&T's wireless network to GTX Corp. servers, where it's transformed into a trail displayed on the MyAthlete tracking web portal. Viewers can access the website to track an athlete on a race course via any web-enabled device.

MyAthlete made its first-generation beta units available at no charge to a limited group of athletes competing in the marathon, including Team Hoyt, the father and son team of Dick and Rick Hoyt (see photo). Rick has had cerebral palsy since birth; his father, Dick, runs marathons along with Rick in a racing wheelchair to raise awareness of the disease.

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