Cross Country May 2022

We were laughing about the steep and snowy take-off 800m above us. “Can you imagine, me in these trainers, sliding sideways down the mountain!?” Matjaž Klemenčič, a former Red Bull hang glider pilot, international competition pilot, photographer and professional free-flying all-rounder was making light of the fact that he had forgotten his boots. They were 400km away in the Triple Seven office in Slovenia, where he works when not flying. It was good to be back in the air but it was also good to be back on the ground at the Stubai Cup in March, one of the first fully-functioning free-flight events I’ve been to without overt Covid regulations in two years. The last time I’d chatted to Matjaž had been in the same place, in 2020 just days before…

Chris Gibisch, 43, started out flying hang gliders 17 years ago, and has been flying PG since 2015. A respiratory care practitioner, wilderness medicine instructor and photographer (chrisgibisch.com) he lives in Missoula, Montana. This issue he writes about flying 100 miles – the old-school way. See p54 Vitek Ludvik and Olivier Laugero have collaborated for years in free-flight photography, including working side by side on adventure races. Their last adventure saw them sailing across the Pacific. This time they set off to Nepal to meet their old friend Sano Babu Sunuwar, of Everest fame. See p46 ‘OUR NIGHT FLYING WAS TRULY INCREDIBLE’Egyptian Light, p60 Matias Nombarasco and Emilia Plak are well-known faces in the international paramotor scene and split their time between flying and flying. Based in Spain, they share a life and…

We were laughing about the steep and snowy take-off 800m above us. “Can you imagine, me in these trainers, sliding sideways down the mountain!?” Matjaž Klemenčič, a former Red Bull hang glider pilot, international competition pilot, photographer and professional free-flying all-rounder was making light of the fact that he had forgotten his boots. They were 400km away in the Triple Seven office in Slovenia, where he works when not flying. It was good to be back in the air but it was also good to be back on the ground at the Stubai Cup in March, one of the first fully-functioning free-flight events I’ve been to without overt Covid regulations in two years. The last time I’d chatted to Matjaž had been in the same place, in 2020 just days…

Chris Gibisch, 43, started out flying hang gliders 17 years ago, and has been flying PG since 2015. A respiratory care practitioner, wilderness medicine instructor and photographer (chrisgibisch.com) he lives in Missoula, Montana. This issue he writes about flying 100 miles – the old-school way. See p54 Vitek Ludvik and Olivier Laugero have collaborated for years in free-flight photography, including working side by side on adventure races. Their last adventure saw them sailing across the Pacific. This time they set off to Nepal to meet their old friend Sano Babu Sunuwar, of Everest fame. See p46 ‘OUR NIGHT FLYING WAS TRULY INCREDIBLE’Egyptian Light, p60 Matias Nombarasco and Emilia Plak are well-known faces in the international paramotor scene and split their time between flying and flying. Based in Spain, they share a life and…

The FAI, World Air Sports Federation, suspended member countries Russia and Belarus at the end of February. The move came following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and was prompted by a call from the IOC, International Olympic Committee, “strongly urging” international sports federations to “do everything in their power” to stop athletes competing under the flag of Russia or Belarus. The ban means pilots from Belarus and Russia will not be able to compete in any FAI-sanctioned event until the suspension is lifted. That includes paragliding, paramotoring and hang gliding. Major international events that will be affected include: the FAI Paramotor World Championships in Brazil in April; the European Hang Gliding Class 1 Championships in Italy in July; the FAI European Paragliding Championships in Serbia in July/August; and the FAI European…

The European XC season got off to a brilliant early start in March. The French Alps saw hundreds of pilots log flights, with Arthur Moindrot flying a 204km flat triangle from St Hilaire du Touvet on 6 March. Two weekends later Switzerland turned on, with Orlando Molinari (CH) logging a 226km FAI triangle from Mornera. The very next day Maxime Pinot (FR, pictured) and Jonathan Marin (FR) upped the ante flying 270km FAI triangles from St Hilaire du Touvet. Meanwhile, as Europe was starting up, Australia was enjoying a classic late season with several 200k flights from Manilla. Luke Beresford (AU) and Lukas Vymetal (CZ) both flew 230km flights on 14 March. xcontest.org…