We've had several experiences like that, where you just leave your own common sense at home during a supervised flight and then you just think, well, okay, someone says it's fine, the weather is good, you can take off now, everything's great, do this, do that, why don't you try this, and you just stop using your own brain.
Podz-Glidz, the Lu-Glidz podcast,
Stories from the cosmos of paragliding, today with Eva
Wojtun and I am Lucian Haas.
Probably everyone here has experienced this at least once while paragliding. You're standing at the launch site, and your gut feeling tells you something isn't quite right. But the flight instructor, the experienced club mate, or simply the next person in line signals that everything's fine. Whoosh, your own perception is overruled, your common sense switched off, you swing into the air, and from that moment on, you have to deal with whatever comes next. Eva Wojtun had this experience too, and painfully so. The 53-year-old from Biberach crashed during a simple flight maneuver during a guided trip in the summer of 2022 and only survived by luck. She hadn't followed her intuition.
I still had to adjust the brake line before takeoff. However, this 116th episode of Podz-Glidz is less about the sequence of events of the accident. Much more interesting are the thoughts and dreams that Eva occupied herself with during the long time in the hospital bed. And so we talk about, among other things, personal responsibility, error culture, self-hypnosis, and the causes of luck and misfortune in flying. If you enjoy the podcast, please support my work on it as a patron. You can find out how easy that is on my Gleitschirm-Blog Lu-Glidz, specifically on the "Fördern" page.
Eva, how was your vacation? Did you get some flying in?
Oh yes, despite the miserable weather in the Alps. We retreated to the southern side of the Alps again, sort of like "Basano always works." We started there and managed to get some flying in accordingly, and then did the loop over Meduno. After that, we were at Bischling and finally at Hochries. So, I got some good flying in. Not anything mind-blowing, but it was good.
That means you're flying again, too.
I'm flying again. Yes, it's actually incredible. I didn't think I'd be flying again so soon.
Flying like that again so soon. Just a quick recap: about a year ago, you had a pretty serious accident. Tell us, how did that happen?
Yeah, I was out in Piedmont with a group of girls and it was a gorgeous day. Still in the evening, basically not a glider. It was still going for a long time in the evening, but the conditions were totally calm.
And I had a glider, I'd bought it used, only flown it four times. Well, anyway, right above the landing field. At about 300, 400 meters high, the girls radio in. We want to go to the bar now. You're the last one still up there. And then I just simply wanted to glide down. Not even a wing-over, just a simple glide down. And yeah, I obviously pulled the glider back, so it pulled away on one side. Then a backward track. Then a backward spiral. And yeah, I'd say, sure, some acro pilot would have fun re-orienting that thing.
My only thought was, this is the case for the rescuer. And you always hear so much about, yeah, just don't throw the rescuer out too late. And yeah, I was somehow completely... I was also still, well, at least that's how I remember it, that I said, okay, the rescuer has to get out now. Only that didn't work. So for whatever reason... it kept jamming, probably just because of the centrifugal force I couldn't get out of or pulled upwards. I can't tell you. Well, in any case, I slammed into the ground without the rescuer throw.
In that rotational movement, right? In
this rotational movement. That was probably also a stroke of luck, yeah, because it just took away a bit of the momentum, since the vario had shown twelve meters per second when I landed down there. Yeah, and accordingly, I hit the side.
And well, I can't remember any of that anymore. That's probably also the big advantage of why I'm flying again now. It's all erased. I only know everything from my friends, whom I basically fell at their feet in front of at the landing field. So it was a real horror for them too. And accordingly, the rescue chain started... it started quickly. So that the helicopter from Turin was there within fifteen minutes. I was probably conscious, still diligently giving the rescuers instructions.
Yes, it was really severe. I mean, my pelvis was completely shattered, my femur, my neck, my elbows. The worst part was that all my ribs were broken and were sticking into my lungs. All of them.
Ribs? On one side or both sides? No,
on both sides. Wow.
Yes, well, it was thorough. It was thorough. Yeah, and then basically, for three days, it was a matter of life and death. They put me into a coma and said, "Okay, everything's repaired now, but we'll have to see if the body can handle it." Yeah, and then I woke up from the coma again. And the first thing was that I moved my toes. And I thought, yes. The toes are there. That's a good start, yeah.
But the rest of it took a while before he could move properly again. Already. However, I don't want to go through a whole medical history with you now, like which bone healed when or anything like that. But one thing does interest me. You just told me you're a glider pilot. And while gliding, you had your glider ripped off. Torn off. Everyone, I mean, you immediately think, what kind of crazy pilot is that? How can you have your glider torn off while gliding? I mean, how can you have your glider torn off while gliding, Eva?
Yes, believe me, that was also—exactly, that's what really bothered me. And I thought, this can't be true. I've been paragliding for twelve years.
How can you, I mean, yeah. Yeah, that's exactly how it went. And it really, really, really bothered me. Of course, the glider was sent in afterwards. And it was checked. And at least that's what came out first. Yeah, so the brake lines were borderline short. So, okay, borderline short. But because of that, you don't have to tear off during the landing yet.
And actually, the revelation. The revelation only hit me when I read the article by Till Gottbrat. Where was it? Free, what's it called? Free Arrow or something, right? That thing, yeah. Anyway, that online paragliding magazine. And Till had written an article, sort of along the lines of, watch out with the twisted brake lines. And they had done tests, apparently at Nova, where they proved that if it twists sufficiently—you know, gets tangled like a climbing rope—that it can really lead to massive shortenings.
Yes, and that's when I suddenly had that "aha" moment. Namely, I could remember that this glider didn't have loops on the brakes. Not like I was used to. And honestly, I didn't even know that such a thing existed.
And I had, during the flight before, I was still at the launch site, before the back launch, right, looking at my brake lines and seeing that they were totally tangled. Yeah, there was even someone from the flight school standing next to me then, right. And I say, that doesn't look good at all, right, with those twisted lines. One of the girls even said, come on, I'll help you untwist them first and all. And then I said, oh, nonsense, they'll untwist while flying, it'll work itself out, now just launch.
That's what the flight instructor said, right?
And well, to be honest, I didn't take it that seriously. I said, oh well, then it can't be that crazy. And I didn't deal with it anymore. And in the long run, yeah, that was it. But then actually, the decisive little bit, probably what led to the brake lines simply being so short that I ripped the thing off during that nasty downwind.
I read this article in Friaero as well. And two figures basically stuck with me. One figure was those tests you just mentioned that were done at Nova. The other figure was that 60 turns on such a brake line results in a shortening, a shortening of 10 centimeters.
100 rotations, and it just keeps twisting tighter and tighter. And 100 rotations—I mean, it's not even double or anything—already result in more than 30 centimeters of shortening. And that's already a significant amount. Because at 30 centimeters, when you take off and depending on how you handle the brakes, you quickly end up with just one, two, three, or four more rotations added on. And if you don't twist them out and then grab the brakes again, we're back at the next one. Then the brake flight is five rotations further ahead. So the distance from 10 centimeters shortened to 30 centimeters shortened isn't that far at all. Or the time in between isn't that far at all. At 30 centimeters, that's obviously a significant amount, where it can probably become quite dangerous pretty quickly. Or, as in your case, where it really knocks you down.
Yeah, exactly. Why, can you still remember? I mean, you say you can still remember it. Can you also remember why you didn't stay with it in that moment and say, "that looks weird"? Why did you trust that flight instructor so much?
I asked myself that too, honestly. And that's the story that really made me think. I wondered, was this the first time it happened like this? Or has it actually happened more often? It's just that something happened this time. And then I got together with my husband, and we were thinking about how we've had so many experiences where you just leave your common sense at home during one of these guided flight trips. And then you just think, oh well, someone says it's okay.
The weather is good, you can take off now. Everything is fine. Do this, do that. And then you think, okay, he has some kind of training and doesn't really use his own common sense anymore. And the thing is, the flight instructor doesn't really know you. So often on these trips, I'd say, you participate in some trip. And it's someone who knows, yeah, you have 800 flight hours on your logbook, and you fly this or that stuff, you fly this or that glider. But he doesn't really know anything about your actual skills.
You know them better.
If you hear it that way, would you say that flight instructors are taking on too much?
Or do passengers who take part in these "supervised" flights simply give up too much responsibility?
I think it's a combination of both. Yes. So for sure, at least for me—I can only speak for myself—for me it's definitely clear as a consequence that I have to say, that's a mistake, switching off your brain like that. I am responsible for myself and not some flight instructor is responsible for me. And I'm not making an accusation or anything from my own experience. It's just not convenient. I should have known better. And yes, I should have followed my intuition. So I do believe that it's a matter of being able to be quite a bit more critical yourself and, above all, listening to your gut feeling.
You just know yourself best and you know what you can and can't do. That's one side. The other is, well, I'm also out in the mountains otherwise, I'm a ski touring guide and such. So from that perspective, I also know this guide situation from the other side, that you basically have to be a bit more cautious, especially when I don't know the people well enough. So, different story, but there, people had people practicing their flap technique for flight participants right over the landing field.
But then, yeah, unfortunately, the speed bar was set a bit too long, so there wasn't enough full throttle. Even so, they said over the radio, yeah, pull the brakes lower, it needs more power. And bam, the thing just ripped off and crashed, yeah.
By flap technology, you mean this combined use of speed bar and brake, where you create a hollow profile and then actually want to have a relatively stable wing. Exactly. Only then the ratio of how much speed bar and how much brake you give should be roughly balanced.
That should work, yeah, exactly, that should work. And basically, with something like this, you can also—I mean, I see it in the profile deformation or how the profile reacts. Is it really fully on the speed bar or not? Yeah, can it pull more brake now? Yeah, so I think in those cases, you can definitely be more cautious if in doubt. I really think so.
That means, as a student pilot, you say, "Look, I don't quite trust this thing yet, I'm not doing it now." But at the same time, I mean, you want to learn something or you think, "Yeah, I can learn from this." How can you basically overcome this slightly difficult psychological situation?
Yes, of course, if you don't step out of your comfort zone somewhere, you can't learn anything. That's clear. But I just think, yeah, maneuver flying stuff, where there's simply a risk of a stall, things like that belong at least, at least when you're doing it for the first time, simply in SIV training, yeah.
That means over water.
A, staying above water, and B, also with someone who has a lot of experience with that specific story. I mean, I don't know anything about flight instructor training at the DHV, but I just think that the normal flight instructor training for people who do beginner courses and such is vastly different from what someone with experience conducting SIV training has.
You've experienced some examples of that yourself. Do you also notice that things like this are discussed openly among course participants or something? Or how is it handled?
Well, the point is that, thank God, in the vast majority of cases, everything goes well. Yes, and if someone managed to pull something off and learned something new and everything went fine, then that's great. Yes, and it's also the case that flight schools that are too defensive are often mocked in aviation circles. I've noticed that too. Yes, like, "Oh well, you can't get anything done with them. If there's even the tiniest cloud in the distance, they won't let anyone take off."
So I think you probably know those sayings too. I find it difficult for the flight schools as well, because the participants naturally demand to fly in marginal weather conditions and things like that.
That's exactly the case with these flight trips. Yeah. I know this too, where people say, okay, I have four weeks of vacation a year. I have to spend two of those weeks with my family, no matter what. I have those obligations. And now I have one or two weeks left that I'm packing into two flight trips, once in the spring, once in the autumn, or whatever. That's my time. And I want to get into the air then, because I usually don't have much time to fly anyway, especially because of family and other things. And then there's this big expectation: flight instructor, I'm coming here with you now, you have to—you have to sort of get me into the air. And then the incentive for the flight school that organizes it, or whoever provides the supervision there, is probably also to say, I want to enable the people to have the maximum amount of flight time possible.
Yes, of course. And
...might overlook some borderline cases and think, the cloud looks dark, but not black yet. And it'll probably still work out. And I tell the people, yeah, if it gets a bit darker, then we just land. But sometimes they might not be able to judge that themselves, or it develops much faster. And then for these inexperienced pilots, that knowledge and the technique, like being able to descend quickly or something, just doesn't fit at all.
Exactly. I mean, it's a massive difference whether, when it gets really nasty, it's not like in SIV training where I'm spiraling down in calm air, but then it becomes significantly, yeah, meaner. And that's a huge difference between someone who can just barely manage to tuck their ears in under those conditions, or someone who can actually spiral down routinely in the harshest conditions at 20 meters per second. That's a huge difference. But I have that, I mean, the flight instructors are really under massive pressure from the people who are riding along with them.
Exactly, yeah, also travel participants who might be better at it, who have those skills and have it under control.
And, but I've experienced things where they were like, after that, it was pitch black, yeah. Yeah, it'll still work, it'll still work out. Yeah, we had hailstones on the glider during the final approach.
Yes, so we really gathered the gliders quickly in the hail so that we didn't get any holes punched in them. Yes.
Did you guys, in a situation like that, for example, do something like a debriefing afterwards and say, okay, we ended up in a situation that could have gotten hairy pretty quickly? No. What could we have done differently? Or where was the decision-making error or something like that? Did anything like that happen?
No, but really, zero. We basically just laughed about it, right? Like, well, we just barely made it in time, yeah.
Joke. And we also said to each other, well, we ourselves would never, ever have made it out. That was actually reflected on too. But otherwise, yeah, like I said, it went well. And because of that, yeah.
How would you imagine a, how should I put it, a healthy error culture in the paragliding scene?
Yeah, I think everything that's sketchy, those near-misses, people don't really talk about them at all, do they? At least that's the impression I get. So that after a situation like the one we just had, you just... you just don't really...
But you'd also have to admit, yeah, that it really wasn't a walk in the park, yeah, that we still sent you guys out there. I mean, that was really on the edge, yeah. I think that's difficult for a flight instructor to admit. But it's not just about what, where flight instructors, where flight instructors mess up some nonsense, but also overall these near-misses, where you're out there with a group, and you have the opportunity for a good reflection, yeah, you take that and sit down again in the evening and say, well, hm, that all went well, great, wonderful, yeah,
but now let's look at the worst case, how it could have gone, where it went wrong, what should have been done differently beforehand to avoid this risk potential. But it's also very common for reflection to go in a way where other pilots just say, "Well, you should have just, it's quite clear, hands up, you could have diverted that, easy," from people who have never been in such a situation. Sure, in SIV training, you can get a lot done, yeah,
but in real life, things look quite different, and in
a glider with maybe 30 centimeters shortened brake lines because they're twisted, in that case, putting your hands up might also help, because after a stall you can no longer
doesn't go that much. No more.
so much that he then starts off again that quickly or something. I don't know. A bit difficult.
Well, probably a more routine, a more experienced pilot than I would have probably managed it, but yeah, I
Well, no. How did you actually process this for yourself after that accident, so that you can say today, "I can go flying again"? Because I know many—or well, I don't know that many, but I know a few people who, after maybe not such, but stupid experiences, really say, "I'm quitting flying now, it's too risky for me. I experienced something that was beyond my control, and I'm stopping because of that. I'm very sorry, but I just can't handle it emotionally anymore." How did you manage to be able to fly again today, despite such a pretty heavy accident?
Yes, well, I just had really good support. I think it's several points. Clearly, one major point was that I was able to figure out for myself what the cause was. So, if it had just stopped like that—yes, I lost the current while rafting—I think I wouldn't have flown again. Then, every time I went rafting, I'd be thinking, for God's sake, that could happen to me again. So that was very essential. First, to clearly identify the cause. Then, another major point was that a year before...
completely independent of flying, because of a completely different personal issue, I worked with Katrin Ganter. So, we did a kind of hypnosis therapy.
I think she was also on my Podz-Glidz, I believe. One of the first episodes, it must have been number three or four. I'll definitely link it at the end. But tell me about Katrin Ganter, what did she do with you?
I met Katrin at some women's flight event in the Vosges, I think, and yeah, as I said, it was personal problems I was having. It had nothing to do with flying at all. And then I did this hypnosis therapy with her. And the thing about Katrin is, it's not like she, yeah, well, she does something *to* you. You've also had someone on the podcast who did some kind of hypnosis therapy, somewhere in Ulm, with that guy... what's his name? Ramadami or something?
Yeah, I think so. And
...but that's a different approach that Katrin takes. And the thing about her story is that she gives you the tools yourself, so to speak, with which you can perform hypnosis yourself. It's super sustainable, just this story with Katrin. It's not like, well, I'm doing two sessions with you now and your problem is solved, but you have a sustainable tool. And that has...
helped me tremendously. So, I have
In... In what form? Can you give an example? I mean, what did that involve, what kind of tool did you use to deal with this, with this accident?
Ha, that sounds a bit weird. You go into your inner world. That means you're basically tapping into your subconscious, yeah, and you can work with your subconscious. So on one hand, you can question it, so to speak, to ask for advice. But you can also train ways of thinking, so to speak, or play out scenarios in your subconscious—images that will then help you afterwards. And the first thing for me to clarify at all was: is it right for me to go flying again? Do I really want to do that?
Or
It's also easily influenced by that—my husband flies, many of my friends do—so is it more of something coming from the outside, or is it really, do I want to fly again and is it right for me? And that's why I did this self-hypnosis to get that clear. And I had images, like, sometimes you go into the animal world or something. I was like a golden bird that took off. And when it rumbled in the air and then a cloud wrapped around me, protecting me, yeah, and also right at the very beginning, when it wasn't even about flying yet, just being able to walk, to get back on my feet, yeah, I was just...
where I was tied down on the bed, yeah, could only lie on my back with this huge fixator around my stomach. And then I did mountain hikes, yeah, I did hike and flies,
Dream journeys. And it's also been proven that this actually engages the muscles, yeah, these dream journeys, if you do them virtually, so to speak.
That means the signals reach the motor center in the brain, even if his muscles aren't twitching or making actual walking movements, but at least the brain maintains the corresponding nerve connection or activates it.
I already started training for that in the hospital. Well, and then, okay, I've been until,
So, relatively quickly, by January I could walk properly again—well, relatively properly, I'm not talking about running, but walking happened in August, so that was quite fast. Oh, and then the next point was, of course, I got rid of all the equipment involved in that accident. Everything? Everything. Everything. The harness too? Everything. Everything. Everything. I said nothing, nothing can have anything to do with it anymore.
That means, somehow, I don't trust it—like, the rescuer didn't come out or something—I say, everything where I might have a lack of trust, I'm getting rid of it and getting myself completely new equipment. So now I have... I don't know if it's better, but at least it doesn't have that flaw, the one I crashed with.
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And first, I got a nice, tame glider, and now I'm flying with two rescuers, which is just really good for my peace of mind to have two rescuers with me. And in this configuration, I did my first flight at Easter. And I really did it like this: first, at the launch site, those images came back to me, and I said, well, either I feel comfortable out there and it's going to be good, or if I'm just terrified, then that's it for flying. And it was seriously awesome, at that exact moment,
this moment of taking off, I thought, how awesome is this?
Great, great.
It means you knew immediately, this is really mine again. Yes. Yes. What does flying mean to you? Yes. That you stick with it, or rather, you say, okay, it took me nine months to get back there, to get my body back to the point where I can take off. Then I start out again and say, really, after the first step, yes, this is it.
It's somehow, yeah, this lightness and I think it has something,
something sublime, just that you rise above your, yeah, it's actually a bit like rising above normal human existence. That sounds gigantic right now, but yeah, but that's how it is, yeah, just rising above everything and leaving everything else below. This possibility, I just find it a godsend to be allowed to practice this sport. That is, yeah, a gift.
Is this leaving everything below perhaps also a reason why people sometimes underestimate the risk? Or block it out because you say, okay, by leaving everything below, I'm also leaving those thoughts below—the brake might be twisted or too short or something, or I'll just leave it at that. Once you're up in the air, everything is safe. At least, it feels that way, even if it might not actually be.
It's possible, but for my own flying, I actually have to say that I've never really been carefree, yeah, when it comes to my own flying. Neither in terms of conditions nor in terms of equipment. So, no, I can't really say that for myself.
That means you've reflected enough on the ground to then take off safely, so to speak.
Yes. In order to
you can then enjoy it in the air without any worries.
Yeah. Well, okay, that means of course if you go on a route, logically, you don't always know what's waiting around the next corner. And that you might just have to make different, new decisions, that's clear. Yeah, as far as conditions are concerned. But at least regarding the whole material situation, I mean, that has to have been clarified so carefully on the ground that you don't have to worry about it anymore.
You've been flying for twelve years now, you said. That means you probably started—let me do the math quickly—I think you're 40 or 41 now, so you started flying at that age. I mean, it's probably average, but still relatively late. How did that happen? A late calling. Yes, how did it happen that as a woman at 40, you're like, I still want to fly?
Yeah, no, I didn't know anyone who flew or anything. But I, well, I lived just ten minutes away from the Wasserkuppe. Well, you see them all the time there. You see them all the time. And even so, I always said, no, I don't want another sport. I mean, I do mountain sports—basically everything you can imagine. Climbing, mountaineering, skiing, and of course all the snow sports. And I said, no, I don't need to add anything else to that. Yeah, and then, well, originally I was an architect, I was self-employed back then, and I built the owner's house for the flight school.
And he invited me to a trial course. And that was it. I mean, it was immediate; I was instantly mega-infected by the flight bug and yeah, then I went full throttle.
So, like after your first flight after the accident, where you said it was a step into the air—you said that's it—was it like that for you already during the introductory course too?
Yes, yes, that's true. That's true, yeah. Well, it's even in our family, the flying gene—even my grandpa flew in the war, and my father flew, and my sister is a glider pilot, and everyone in the family was happy. Like, "Oh, great, someone else is flying again."
That means you didn't hear any criticism, but just had support at that point.
Even now after the accident, I mean, many people could have said, "Yeah, do you really have to do that again, especially now that it's hit you so hard," but no, they all supported me completely.
That's good. Eva, to wrap things up, tell me one more thing. I looked at your Facebook account and pictures of a mountain beaver plushie keep popping up. What's the story behind that?
The mountain beaver?
So, we live in Biberach, right, and in Biberach, the beaver is the coat of arms animal. And my husband gave me this beaver right at the very beginning. But the story with the Bergbieber is different. We were in Zermatt together. Oh, in Biberach there are also fountains with beavers on them, yeah. And in Zermatt, right in the middle of Zermatt, there's also a fountain. They're actually marmots. But if you look at these beavers and marmots, they look incredibly similar. And my line was, when we were in Zermatt, I said, "No way, they have a beaver fountain here too."
And ever since then, they've been the mountain beavers. And, yeah, and then that happened, it somehow became a cult, so we took the mountain beaver with us everywhere. It gets photographed everywhere and there's always a calendar that family and friends get with the little beaver and his adventures.
And he's always with you when you're flying too?
Not always, he doesn't like flying thermals. So for him, cross-country flying and thermals are a bit exhausting. He's actually always there for hike and fly. In calm conditions, he likes to come along.
Did he witness a crash there? Yes, he did. And is he not mad at you for taking him along again?
No, he's not mad at me. Thank God, he was always by my side in the hospital and gave me strength, and you know, he's always trying to pull himself up over those Hochtühinger beds, right? And he really put his heart into it and said that next up would be dragon flying.
Yeah, well, you've still got a task ahead of you there.
Yes. On Facebook.
I also found that on your Facebook account, and you posted it in June 2022, just about a month before your accident. And there's a quote: the causes of happiness are least found in external circumstances, the causes of misfortune most in the belief in the power of external circumstances. It was almost like a prophetic gift you had, because in the end, that was also perhaps the trigger for your accident, wasn't it? To say that the causes of misfortune lie most in the belief in the power of external circumstances. And from that perspective, the external circumstances were...
in the end, maybe it was the flight instructor who said it was already dragging on. And you just gave in to it.
Wow.
Respect for your research.
Yes, actually, that has a wow, a prophetic quality. Yes, but on the other hand, in the sense that, yeah, I'm not somehow bitter about things that happened externally, but I'm just super, super grateful and very, very happy.
Now that you're saying you're very, very happy—what would you say was the positive side of your accident for you and for your flying?
I've significantly dialed back my ambition, so I don't have to feel like I have to prove something, like I have to fly this or that route, or this stress at the launch site, like I have to perform here right now. I've become much more relaxed and I allow myself to not go out to land if I'm not having fun anymore. Incredible, right? Because people say it's all about having fun and
don't have to prove anything. And that is really, really pleasant for my flying. I'm enjoying flying more than ever.
Really. That fits the first part of that saying again. The causes of happiness are least found in external circumstances. So, if the others are still flying along nicely, but you say, I don't feel like it anymore or the conditions aren't right for me or whatever, you go down and you're happy from within.
Yeah, I can do that now. I couldn't do it before; I'd go crazy because I'd be standing below. Or I'd keep flying with the knife between my teeth.
Maybe it's a shame that you need accidents to get there, but it's nice that you can see it that way today. Eva, thanks for the conversation.
You're very welcome.
I think it's great how you and how you've framed it, that you can say today that you can go flying again with feelings of happiness, and that everything is correct. And I wish for you that it definitely stays that way for a long time, and above all, that you continue to listen to your inner, well, how should I put it, your inner feelings and your inner rider, which tells you where it should go long ago, and don't listen so much to some flight instructors who might give you the wrong tip at the wrong time.
Thank you, dear Lucian Haas, I'm very happy, it was also fun and as I said, it's not that I want to undermine the trust in flight instructors and I'm going back to SIV training now. I have complete, total trust in that. But yeah, just don't leave your common sense at home.
A nice closing word. Don't leave your common sense at home, let's just take it with us. Thanks, Eva, and all the best. Thanks.
That was Podz-Glidz episode 116 with Eva Wojtun. As always, you can find some additional links in the show notes for this episode. I'm Lucian Haas, and the producer of Podz-Glidz and Blueglides. The podcast and blog are passion projects for me. However, as a freelance journalist, I also make a living from these offerings. That said, I deliberately avoid compromising ads, annoying paywalls, or subscription models for funding. Instead, I rely on the fact that, just as nature gives me lift while flying, you as an enthusiastic listener and reader give me financial lift. As a supporter, you can give as much as you want, or decide for yourself what such an offer is worth to you.
A commonly chosen contribution is 60 euros a year, or about 5 euros a month. But no matter what you pay, every amount contributes to the sum that allows me to continue operating and developing Podz-Glidz and Lu-Glidz for the paragliding scene in the future. You can find all the necessary information on how your contribution reaches me at www.Lu-Glidz.blogspot.com. There is a menu item called Support. Lu-Glidz signs off as Lu-Glidz. Don't twist your brake lines, don't fall from the sky. Ciao.