Sir Richard Branson – Take off with Natarajan

Isley Hermansen has dyslexia. Her video about the condition inspired billionaire Richard Branson, who also has dyslexia. Source: Supplied

WHAT does this 12-year-old girl from northern NSW have in common with Sir Richard Branson, the charismatic entrepreneur with a net worth of $US4.9 billion?

They both have dyslexia.

It’s an unlikely pairing, but Isley Hermansen caught the attention of the Virgin Group founder through a heartwarming video she made about the struggle dyslexics face.

Isley started high school this year and was struggling to keep up in class, her mother Julie Hermansen told news.com.au.

“She was suffering a lot from anxiety, which goes hand in hand with dyslexia, and I was trying to think of a way to build her self esteem and empower her,” Julie said.

One Saturday afternoon, Isley Googled ‘famous dyslexics’ and discovered a long rollcall of high profile men and women, including Stephen Hawking, Cher, Roald Dahl and Jamie Oliver.

“She decided to put all these famous faces together in a PowerPoint presentation. She did all the animation and everything on her own, we found a powerful song and we put the video on YouTube,” said Julie.

In the video, Isley explains what it’s like to live with the condition.

“Right now it seems like you have got it all over us … because being in a classroom is not our strong point. Sitting for tests, writing essays and reading are all a struggle for us. You don’t see us put our hand up for answers much, and we might try and hide in the classroom,” she writes.

“One day I’m going to fly like a dyslexic,” the video says, accompanied with images of Branson and other dyslexic celebrities including Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom and Michael Jordan.

Julie shared the video on a dyslexic support Facebook group and was overwhelmed with the response.

“We were contacted by other families who said they cried when they saw it. It got shared in the US and the UK. We got so much feedback from people saying they found it inspirational and from teaching advocates who wanted to use it in schools,” she said.

Sir Richard Branson is the UK’s seventh richest man. Photo: Rob Kim. Source: Getty Images

Julie and Isley then went “went straight to the top” and contacted Branson’s team around five weeks ago.

“We didn’t think we’d get anywhere. We thought, ‘Oh well, we tried’. But then last week I received an email from Richard’s team and it all spiralled from there. It’s incredible to have his support and to have the issue out there in the public eye.”

Branson shared the video on his Facebook page and wrote a blog post about Isley.

‘Every now and then you come across something so inspiring that you can’t help but share it. This was certainly the case with this wonderful idea from 12-year-old Isley, who has severe dyslexia,” Branson wrote.

“Isley’s mum wrote to me saying that one of the main problems with dyslexia is a misunderstanding of the condition, which leads to people feeling ashamed to be dyslexic.

“She said that some kids prefer to fail rather than admit to the shame of being dyslexic. While awareness about dyslexia is growing, it can still hold so many people back.

sley’s letter to Sir Richard Branson. Source: Supplied

“But with videos like Isley’s, the word is spreading that dyslexics can ‘Shake the Shame’ and see all of the positives of being dyslexic. I see my condition as a gift, not a disability. It has helped me learn the art of delegation, focus my skills, and work with incredible people,” he wrote.

Isley says she’s stoked with the worldwide response to her video.

“It makes me feel very special,” she told news.com.au. “She’s really happy,” her mum added.

Julie says dyslexia is a “hidden disability”.

“There’s no funding for it. Teachers aren’t trained to deal with it and they don’t know how to identify it.

“It’s got nothing to do with intelligence — Richard Branson is a highly intelligent man. It’s just that dyslexics learn differently. They need to be taught differently and we need the school system to change,” she said.

Dyslexia is hereditary and affects an estimated 10 per cent of all Australians, according to the Australian Dyslexia Association.

Source……..www.news.com.au

natarajan

THE pilot who miraculously survived the Virgin spaceship disaster has revealed how he was blasted from the wreckage of the disintegrating rocket ship and plummeted nearly ten miles back to Earth.

Having suffered serious injuries, the experienced test pilot only regained consciousness halfway into his fall but was composed enough to give a thumbs-up to colleagues in a passing aircraft to show he was alive.

Peter Siebold spoke for the first time about the tragedy that killed his close friend, copilot Mike Alsbury, revealing he blacked out as the craft broke up around him at 50,000ft but was saved by his emergency parachute.

Siebold, 43, a married father of two, said: “I must have lost consciousness at first. I can’t remember anything about what happened but I must have come to during the fall. I remember waving to the chase plane and giving them the thumbs-up to tell them I was OK. I know it’s a miracle I survived.”

Perished … Mike Alsbury was a close friend and colleague of Peter Siebold. Source: AP

Survivor … Peter Siebold can’t remember much of what happened that day. Source: AP

The Mail on Sunday reported that despite his injuries, Siebold — who is yet to speak to crash investigators — returned home to his family on Monday, just three days after Sir Richard Branson’s SpaceShipTwo tore apart.

He gave his amazing account of survival to his father, Dr Klaus Siebold, who visited him yesterday at his modest ranch home in Tehachapi, California, on the edge of the Mojave Desert where the spaceship crashed.

CRASHING DOWN: Is this the end of Branson’s space dreams?

PILOT IDENTIFIED: Michael Alsbury named as the man who perished.

LONG ROAD AHEAD: Investigation may take a year

Dr Siebold, who is also a pilot, travelled to California from his home in Seattle to see his son. He said Peter was in good spirits despite suffering serious injuries, including a shattered shoulder.

Both pilots were strapped into standard pilot seats and wearing thin flight suits and emergency parachutes when SpaceShipTwo was released from its mothership WhiteKnightTwo shortly after 10am on October 31.

Explosion … These three images show the space craft’s demise. Source: AP

The craft’s rocket was ignited at 50,000ft (15.24km). The pilots, wearing oxygen masks, were pinned against their seats by gravitational forces as the craft accelerated at more than 1500km/h.

Then disaster occurred. Preliminary investigations suggest that the rocket ship’s folding wings — designed to slow it down and achieve safe speeds during landing — deployed early, causing the ship to break up due to the tremendous turbulence around the craft.

Alsbury was trapped in the cockpit but Siebold was thrown clear of the wreckage or somehow unbuckled his seatbelt. He then plunged towards Earth at speeds topping 193km/h. Witnesses reported seeing Siebold descending with part of the base of his seat still attached. It is likely that his oxygen mask, attached to a portable tank, remained in place. But at that altitude, the sudden decompression and extreme G-forces would have caused him to black out in seconds.

His emergency parachute deployed t about 20,000ft. It is not known if he pulled the cord or if it unfurled automatically. Both pilots were wearing parachutes calibrated to open automatically at a certain height in the event they became unconscious during an emergency.

Incredible … Siebold has no idea how he managed to exit the space ship, given it has no ejection seat. Source: AFP

Dr Siebold, 79, explained: “He doesn’t know how he managed to exit SpaceShipTwo. They don’t have an ejection seat. They have a panel they take out and they have to crawl towards the hole and jump out. But the plane broke up suddenly. I’m sure he was unconscious because he could not have maintained consciousness at 50,000ft.

“He doesn’t remember anything from the actual crash. He came to during the descent. He must have woken up about halfway down. When he was on the way down the chase plane was circling him and he was waving and giving the thumbs-up to indicate he was all right while he was dangling from the parachute.

“He’s recovering at home. He broke the head of the humerus bone that sits in the right shoulder. He’s got a rib and lung contusion and there is an issue with his eyes because of the cold. It was around minus 60 degrees up there.

“It’s a medical miracle he survived considering the temperature, the lack of oxygen and the barotrauma [injury caused by a sudden change in pressure].”

The pilot’s horrified wife, Traci, and children 12-year-old Alexandra and Nick, nine, were standing with the family of Mike Alsbury as the tragedy unfolded.

The body of Alsbury, 39, was found still strapped into his seat on a desert road by construction workers. His parachute did not deploy. His wife Michelle said she had “lost the love of my life”.

Dr Siebold said: “Mike’s children and my grandchildren were all watching the flight so the emotional impact of that is tremendous.

Mike, second from right, was a friend and neighbour of Siebold. Source: Supplied

“Mike was a friend and neighbour. Their children are the same age and friends. Peter is asking himself whether he could have done more and why he got out and Mike didn’t? Traci is a strong woman. She’s drained but very much in charge.

“She’s protecting Peter and she’s holding up incredibly well most of the time. He’s on pain medication, which is making him tired and confused.” Dr Siebold, who split with Peter’s mother Barbara when his son was five, spoke proudly of teaching his son to fly: “Flying was the only thing Peter was ever really interested in. I flew privately — that was my recreation — so he grew up with it. It’s what we did together. We would go to the airport after school.”

At 16, Siebold studied aviation at California State University and landed a job with Scaled Composites — the company conducting last week’s test flight for Virgin Galactic — before he graduated.

“He worked as an engineer and pilot, starting from the bottom and working his way up,” Dr Siebold said proudly.

Siebold began working as a test pilot and engineer with Virgin Galactic at the start of its space program a decade ago.

“He told me straight away he was involved with Virgin Galactic,” his father continued. “Safety was a great concern but I had total confidence in his piloting skills.

“Peter would say, ‘These aeroplanes fly just beautifully.’ He was never worried about the safety aspect of it.”

Big sky dreaming … Sir Richard Branson vowed to become an astronaut by the end of the year. Source: AP

The October 31 flight was so routine that Dr Siebold had no idea his son was piloting the pioneering craft that day until his panicked daughter-in-law phoned.

“I picked up the phone oblivious to what had happened. I said, ‘Hi Traci, how are you?’ cheerful as usual and she said, ‘It’s serious. Peter had an accident. We don’t know exactly but it looks like he hurt his shoulder and he’s on his way to the hospital.’

“We were worried but the main thing was we knew he was alive.

“I hope he’s going to recover enough to be able to fly again. That’s his life. We’re focusing hour to hour rather than day to day.”

Yesterday, it was revealed that 24 passengers who have paid $A290,000 each for the chance to go into space — alongside celebrities including Angelina Jolie and Kate Winslet — have demanded their money back.

Virgin Galactic chief executive George Whitesides claimed it was unsurprising passengers had pulled out, adding: “I think what is relevant is that the vast majority have said, ‘Don’t give up, keep going, we’re with you’.”

Before the accident, billionaire Sir Richard Branson vowed he and son Sam would become astronauts by the end of this year and the first space tourist flights would begin next spring. But the Virgin Galactic project has been beset by years of delays and safety fears, including previous accidents with SpaceShipOne which necessitated a redesign of the ship’s engines and fuel.

The investigation into this month’s crash is now likely to delay any commercial flight for at least another year. But Branson has vowed to press ahead with the project, while acknowledging the risks taken by his test pilots. Last night, Mr Whitesides paid tribute to Siebold, saying: “It will be regarded as one of the most amazing test flight survival stories of all time.

SOURCE:::: Peter Sheridan IN NEWS.COM.AU

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