To be perfectly clear, as a senior developer at 麻豆原创, Wahlig doesn鈥檛 oppose technological advances. But when he sees value in something, he holds onto it and improves it. He applies this principle to many things in his life, but it鈥檚 perhaps most evident in his vintage glider. Together, Wahlig and his LS-3 鈥淣ovember Sierra鈥� glider consistently finish ahead when competing against the best pilots and planes in the world.

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Video by Natalie Hauck, Alexander Janusche, and Matteo Rogolino

If he weren鈥檛 so successful, the German pilot with long hair could conjure memories of Bj枚rn Borg鈥檚 attempted tennis comeback with a wooden racket against carbon in 1991. But Wahlig pulls it off without a trace of bravado. In June, he in the Racing Class competition at the German National Championships in Zwickau, Germany, also placing first on the fastest day of racing.

For Wahlig, the joy of flying is the ultimate goal. Pilots at the German nationals applauded his gliding mastery. Because, in addition to his flying skills, he is revered among the gliding community for his quiet nature, sportsmanship, and calmness under pressure.

Optimizing Everything

Wahlig鈥檚 calm demeanor belies a burning passion for the sport of competitive gliding and an unabating lifelong drive to optimize everything about himself and his plane. He leaves nothing to chance in preparing for competitions, meticulously studying the geography and climatic conditions wherever he flies. There is a myriad of variables in the course of a flight that a pilot needs to consider, and he knows them all. 鈥淵ou always keep an eye on the clouds and the ground to have an idea where the thermals come from, and you need to be optimizing everything during the competition,鈥� Wahlig says.

His passion to optimize everything stems from his experiences building and flying model airplanes as a boy. What began with launching paper airplanes from the second story window of his grandmother鈥檚 house into the neighbor鈥檚 yard continued with the construction of his first model gliders of balsa wood. 鈥淢y father wasn鈥檛 impressed with my initial models, but with time they got better and better,鈥� he says today.

Soon, Wahlig was testing and refining his model planes with his friends at the in Bensheim, Germany. At 17 he earned his glider pilot rating and at 19 he already won his first national youth gliding competition. He was always finding new ways to improve his flying skills with the club鈥檚 planes, which at the time were made mostly of wood. All along his path to becoming world champion, he was intuitively applying 鈥�,鈥� a widely recognized software development approach whereby incremental changes are made that add immediate value for end-users.

As a software engineer at 麻豆原创, Wahlig is detail-oriented and accustomed to applying the latest technology to test and optimize the operation of business software for hundreds of thousands of business customers worldwide. 鈥淚 apply the same focus I have during gliding competitions to my work improving software solutions,鈥� he says. By taking advantage of 麻豆原创鈥檚 flexible working policy, the glider pilot has been able to hone his skills and compete at competitions across Europe and beyond.

The Sky Is Not the Limit

Wahlig is constantly pushing the limits of himself and his LS-3. Improvements he has made to the plane鈥檚 flight characteristics and instrumentation have helped him achieve the maximum possible performance for the vintage glider. For example, he added winglets and installed bug wipers to reduce drag and maximize the gliding ratio, and he recently installed the latest instrumentation for navigating and locating the maximum lift in thermals. 鈥淎 good plane and good pilot are important, but to reach the last two percent of performance, you need good instruments,鈥� says Wahlig.

At the German nationals in Zwickau, Wahlig knew he wouldn鈥檛 stand much of a chance against modern gliders on days with very strong thermals. But competitions are conducted under varying weather conditions, so a day with weak thermals or changing conditions could benefit a lighter plane like his LS-3.

Several challenging flying days played into the gliding champion鈥檚 strategy, and by keeping a cool head and waiting for the best opportunities he was able to maintain consistently good results throughout. Flights can be up to five hours long in the same position 鈥� half sitting and half lying, so he practices yoga to relax between flights. 鈥淭his brings you back to the ground when you are in the air so long,鈥� Wahlig says. The added flexibility in his neck and shoulders also affords him a nearly 360-degree view from the cockpit.

鈥淧reparation, consistency, and simply the avoidance of stupid mistakes are often more important than the plane you are flying,鈥� he says. He鈥檚 convinced that recent competitions have helped him better understand the limits and strengths of his 45-year-old glider. 鈥淚 have a lot of new ideas and have recently made a lot of improvements in the way I fly,鈥� says Wahlig without mentioning any trade secrets.

Wahlig is now preparing for the next competitions to help him defend his No. 1 ranking at the in Australia. There, you can be sure that he will be flying his trusty LS-3 along the fastest route from thermal to thermal. Because for Wahlig, the sky is not the limit.

Salmon, the world鈥檚 second-most consumed fish after tuna, is revered for its rich content of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. The is projected to reach US$46.8 billion by 2026, an increase of over one-third from 2020. But sustainable growth in the industry is dependent on environmental factors, and every salmon鈥檚 journey from hatchery to the table presents multiple challenges for producers.

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Berg understands that the foundation for Nordlaks鈥� long-term success is a healthy ecosystem and attending to the basic needs of the fish. 鈥淭he welfare of the salmon is just as important as for other animals such as sheep and cows,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f the salmon have a good home with enough space to swim, current to swim against, good feed, and rest, their quality and taste will be good.鈥�

Sea Farms: The New Frontier in Aquaculture

Norway鈥檚 fjords may appear plentiful, pristine, and empty to the casual observer, but the truth is that the fjords are approaching their limits for traditional aquaculture. To ensure the salmon thrive while reducing the impact on the ecosystem and surrounding communities, . Aquaculture pods must be isolated from each other to ensure the health of the farmed salmon and other indigenous fish species.

The future of fish farming is therefore moving to the sea, and to this end is creating incentives for companies like Nordlaks to develop sustainable aquaculture solutions for exposed areas off Norway鈥檚 virtually endless coastline. Farming in exposed areas is viewed as the first step towards offshore fish farming.

In 2017, Nordlaks secured a development license to launch a large-scale fish farm capable of withstanding coastal waters. The result is the 385-meter vessel “,” the world鈥檚 second-largest man-made floating structure (after the LNG production plant ) and longer than the . Its six nets hold up to 10,000 tons of salmon, or approximately two million fish. The design combines expertise from Norway鈥檚 maritime and aquaculture industries. To date, Nordlaks has invested nearly 鈧�400 million in offshore farms and related innovations.

Safe and Sustainable Operations with the Help of Digital Twins

To ensure the safety and environmental sustainability of the ocean farm, Nordlaks is also pioneering advanced digital technology.

For example, data from seven GPS sensors installed along the steel hull is fed into an identical mathematical model of the vessel that delivers precise measurements of the structural loads in near real time. This 鈥渄igital twin鈥� of the vessel enables Nordlaks to safely adapt operations to changing ocean conditions, for example during rough seas when the hull must be raised.

鈥淲e have to make sure that we don鈥檛 cause unnecessary strain or stress to the ocean farm when changing ballast to raise and lower the structure,鈥� says Trond J酶rgen Hanssen, ocean farm captain, Nordlaks. 鈥淭he digital twin from 麻豆原创 allows us to prevent unnecessary hogging and sagging of the structure.鈥� Control is critical, because the difference in depth of the hull in the water between the maintenance position and the operational position is 12.5 meters.

The digital twin of the hull, built with the cloud-based solution , also keeps track of the cumulative loads on the structure over time, enabling operators to maximize the useful life of the vessel. 鈥淥ver time we can see which parts of the vessel have experienced the most stress and introduce counter measures to maximize the life of the ocean farm,鈥� says Hanssen. Designers can also use the data to verify their design parameters and optimize future hull designs.

The 麻豆原创 solution also helps Nordlaks constantly monitor the integrity of the 11 anchors that are clustered at a single point under the bow of the vessel and the biological load on the sea floor. 鈥淏ased on GPS data, we can map the areas where most of the feeding took place and concentrate our sample-taking in this area,鈥� says Hanssen.

Fisheries Fuel Regional Growth

Nordlaks鈥� new vision for salmon farming and its investment in the region has already provided a significant boost to the local economy. Over two years, the number of Nordlaks employees in the municipality of Hadsel in the north of the country has increased by over one-quarter to around 700. According to Nordlaks, this is having a ripple effect in business activity and the company hopes it will help attract citizens from other parts of Norway to move to the picturesque region north of the Arctic Circle.

More people are needed, according to Berg, and she sees growth in the industry as an opportunity to make salmon an affordable source of protein for the entire world. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 produce enough salmon today, which drives the price up. If we can produce more, then the price will be stabilized and the whole world will benefit from it,鈥� she says. She is therefore calling for more people to join so salmon farming in the sea will be a global success. 鈥淚f you have a skill, we need you in this industry!鈥� says Berg.

Contributors to this story: Lars Fredrik Martinussen, Thomas Borvik Johnsen, Marit Reiso