Bio of the protagonists
Daniel Rundstroem was born on July 1, 1925 as son of a priest and an
English teacher in Stockholm, Sweden. Early in his life, he developed
a passion for flying: when he was eleven years old, an uncle who was the
head of the ‘Svenska Luftfartsverket’ takes him into a cockpit.
For a brief moment, Daniel was allowed to steer the machine all by himself.
At exactly this particular moment, Daniel's fate is sealed. He becomes
addicted with airplanes and wants to become nothing else but a pilot.
Against the will of his parents, Daniel begins an apprenticeship as an
airplane mechanic at the age of sixteen. The desire to explore and to
fly pushes him on.
After finishing his apprenticeship, he tries everything to get into the
training program for pilots in Sweden. But to no avail. And his parents
neither want nor can support him financially. The only possible solution
to fulfil his dream is to go abroad. In 1946, Daniel is on board a plane
to Addis Abbeba in Ethiopia. There, right after the war, pilots and airplane
mechanics are much sought after. The Swedish pioneer and pilot Carl Gustav
von Rosen becomes Daniel's flight instructor and offers him the opportunity
to fly ambulance in these parts of Africa. Daniel works as a flying doctor
and offers safari and hunting trips – quite successfully. At first,
he flies diplomats and other high officials. By 1954, he is the private
pilot of the king of Yemen. The following years, Daniel transports the
crown prince of Yemen and a presidential candidate of Egypt, furthermore
the governor of Djibouti and many more.
In 1961, Daniel moves to Munich and flies increasingly bigger airplanes
for the Bavaria air company. So gradually, step by step, he is getting
closer to his dream. Six years later, his dreams come true and he is piloting
big aircrafts like the Boeing 707. The little boy from Stockholm has become
a grown-up pilot. His desire to fly has brought him far.
But it has taken a high toll. His marriage fails after a short period;
even his son Niels-Holger has turned his back on him. So in 1981, Daniel
goes back to Sweden alone – to retire.
Daniel grows unhappy in Sweden. The cold gets to him and the desire to
fly urges him on to go looking for a fresh start. For years he is searching
for a proper living space, his very own paradise. And finally, he gets
lucky. In 1992, the restless and lonesome Swede moves to the Caribbean
island of Dominica, where he builds his own home all by himself and pursues
his last dream: to build his own airplane.
Rainstar was born as the grandson of a native chief of the Caribe reservation
on the little Caribbean island of Dominica (West Indies). His real parents
still live the shabby bamboo shed of a Dominican Indian reserve. His parents
are sick and poor; therefore they gave him up for adoption early in his
life. So, little Rainstar had the advantage of not having to take up the
traditional job as a fisherman, combined with the luxury to decide freely
about his own fate. Since the small boy started forming things with his
hands, he was building airplanes from each object. He literally devoured
books – yet only books about jet propelled and common propeller
planes. And a friend female pilot already gave him five flight lessons.
His adopting parents couldn’t afford more.
Each second Rainstar isn’t spending in school or with cultivating
mushrooms for his parents, he spends time with Daniel.
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