For those who do not compete, La Palma is also an excellent destination to spend some days of sun, relax, beach and nature - and of course, flight!

See you in La Palma in October!

Posted: September 23rd, 2005

The French leaded the Paramotor Worlds held in Levroux, France, from August 20 to 27th. Mathieu Rouanet (Ozone Viper & PAP) stood first on the podium, after 8 valid tasks that tested the pilots’ abilities to fly in sometimes difficult windy conditions. Michel Carnet (UK) was second and Tristan Guillabeau (FR) was third. In Nations, the French team was first, followed by the Czech Republic in second place and Spain in third.

The Spanish team was not lucky this time and former world champion Ramon Morillas ended in the 23rd position after a crash and 0 points on the third task. In the Paramotor trikes category the winner was Vincent Ceccarelli, also French.

After the polemic Europeans of Portugal last year (finally cancelled) this World Championship did not lack criticism from pilots who think the conditions were not safe for flying sometimes and that Paramotor should have its own rules and events, separated from ULMs with which there are too many differences. Specially disapproved is the lack of a pilots committee to ensure that all the tasks are set keeping the pilots safety in mind. However, there was no official complaint exposed to the FAI.

Fifty-five pilots from 15 countries fought this Paramotor Worlds.

Full results in http://www.ulmfrance.tv

posted: Sept 20th, 2005

All the info in http://www.caribbeanxc.com.

See a special photo gallery of Dominican Republic (by Julian Molina) in our Look! section: Click here!

posted: August 30th, 2005

After 12 days, 1 hour and 20 minutes of intense racing, Alex Hofer (SUI, UP Trango 2) was the first competitor to land on a float in the sea, in Monaco , and complete the +800km course of the X-Alps -on Saturday August 12th. Forty-eight hours later the race finished and 4 of the 17 teams successfully made it to Monaco by the closing time: Urs Loetscher (SUI, Advance Sigma 6) reached the finish line on Sunday morning for a well-deserved 2nd place –he led the competition during the first half of it and was the oldest competitor (49 years old!); Kaspar Henny (SUI, Gradient Avax), champion of the X-Alps 2003, arrived in the evening and landed on the raft just a few minutes before the landing time (9:15pm) almost in the darkness, for the 3rd place; and Helmut Eichholzer (AUT, Advance Omega proto) made it the next morning, only 30 minutes before the end of the race and after amazing efforts to cover the final distance on time.

We saw Urs land and he looked tired but serene, very happy to be in goal (second photo, left). Then we met all the competitors at the prize giving party near Greolieres –where some hours before some of them could finally fly their gliders... X-Alps meet director Steve Cox gave a brief summary of the achievements and statistics for each athlete that was amazing to hear: many walked nearly 800 km and more, up and down in big mountains, carrying their gliders all the time. Hofer had the best flying/walking ratio, at 59 to 41 percent. Interesting to note that he walked less than anyone down to 11th place, yet won. For the X-Alps organizers this means that even despite the bad weather, flying is still the way to win the X Alps.

Other stats, by Will Gadd (newsman of the X-Alps): “Heli Eichholzer had the longest flight of the competition, 185K. Urs Loetscher had the longest single flight (of the top three) at 142K, and also walked relatively little (if you can call 521K "little", that's more than 100 hours of walking!)... Aidan Toase and Toma Coconea share the longest single walk--90K. That's like walking from the base of the Furka to Martigny. Wait, it IS walking from the Furka to Martigny! Aidan did walk an incredible 820K in total. That's more than the entire course straight line! Heli Eichholzer took the long way to Monaco, covering an incredible 1229K to cover 800K straight line”.

Some of the competitors told us they would never do the X-Alps again, but then added that well, maybe… David Castillejo from Spain said that your mind tends to forget all the effort your body has gone through, and this is what would make him repeat such a tough experience in a future.

Hannes Arch, the mind behind this unique race, promised he will do his best to find the necessary support to make a third edition of the X-Alps, a race that has succeeded in putting paragliding in the big medias and to the reach of the big public. Congratulations for that, and well done to all the competitors –you're fantastic!

We'll soon give you a more detailed report about the X-Alps and what we saw in Monaco and Greolieres, stay tuned!

+Info: www.redbull-xalps.com

posted: August 26th, 2005

The last event of the Paragliding World Cup Tour 2005 in Portugal had the wind and the fire as special, unwanted guests. Only 3 tasks could be flown –avoiding the forests fires that have seriously affected Portugal this year- and the heat on the ground was a good excuse for flying high.

Torsten Siegel (UP Targa 2) wins the competition after 3 valid tasks, with David Ohlidal (CZ, Axispara Mercury) in second place and Chrigel Maurer (CH, Advance Omega) in 3rd . With this result, Chrigel secured his first place in the PWC ranking for 2005 and crowned a brilliant season with the most important title of Paragliding. He was first in three of the five World Cup events of the year, so no doubt he is the best! Second on the PWC podium was Max Jeanpierre (FR, Gin Boomerang 4) and third, David Ohlidal .

In women, Ewa Wisnierska (DE, Advance Omega) won the competition and the World Cup title –also an excellent season for her and the Advance team! Petra Krausova (CZ, Mac Para Magus 4) ended 2nd in this year's PWC ranking and Karin Appenzeller (CH, Advance Omega) in 3rd place.

The Paragliding World Cup will be back in January 2006 with the first event of a new year in Roldanillo, Colombia.

+Info: www.pwca.org

posted: August 26th, 2005

With 150 km covered today, the 8th day of the race, Hofer (CH) could finally take over Urs Loetscher (CH) who was leading since the first day. Hofer showed that in the air he is hard to beat, especially at his home mountains, and flew for 9 hours! He’s now only 260 km from the goal in Monaco, while Urs is some 50km behind. Next stop is the top of the Mont Blanc (France), the second turnpoint. But before that, Alex has plans: "I'm gonna eat, that's the first thing, and then I'm going to check the map to see if I walk to Chamonix tonight or fly here tomorrow. I'm tired, long day!" he says.
It was an adventurous day also for Kaspar Henny (5th), who had a crash near Andermatt, apparently with no consequences. At the X-Alps informed that he relaunched and “is DEFINITELY OK”.
Conditions improved in the Alps after some days of cold, rain and snow. Many competitors could fly and cover kms with no use of their sore feet, after a week of walking -sometimes more than 50K a day through the high mountains. The race is being really tough for all, and today Niki Hamilton (IR) was the third competitor to withdraw, after getting lost in the night from her supporter and suffering some serious lack of energy. “I'd take five steps and have to stop; I couldn't do anything, super low blood sugar. This one little stretch that would normally take me an hour took five… I couldn't get it together with my supporter, it just wasn't working. This is a team event, and you have to work with each other. Respect and trust is very important, and when we lost that we lost the race", she says. Before her, the Greek team had withdrawn due to the bad blisters in Dimitris Bourzanis feet that made him impossible to continue walking. Christian Amon (AU) injured his knee on the first landing and was the first to quit.
Stefan Bocks (GER) says about the 2005 X-Alps compared to the 2003 event: “This year is much harder, absolutely harder! We are using some extreme take-off places like the very top of the Zugspitze. I launched there, yeah, it’s crazy”.
Current distance to Monaco for the lead pilots:
Hofer: 258 Km
Loetscher: 311 Km
Gebert : 345 Km
Bocks and Henny: 350 Km

Alex Hofer, who did some serious flying today in difficult conditions. He's now 1st.

Follow the race online at: www.redbullxalps.com

posted: August 8th, 2005

From 18 to 21 August 2005, the crème de la crème of international paragliders and hanggliders pilots will converge once again for the 8th edition of the Red Bull Vertigo in Villeneuve, Switzerland. This year, the event is part of the Acro World Cup tour, but in 2006 it will become the first Acro World Championship!
Since 1998, the small town of Villeneuve in the canton of Vaud has been the venue of the Red Bull Vertigo, the most important annual competition on the acro-flying scene. Villeneuve, located at the eastern most tip of Lake Geneva, offers the best conditions for this spectacular sport event: 1000 meters of altitude –between the starting place high up on the mountain and the landing on a floating platform in the bay of the lake- offer the delta and paragliding pilots ample space for their breathtaking manoeuvres. And for the crowds of spectators? The bold aero-acrobats transform the skies above Lake Geneva into a gigantic open-air arena.
“About 5,000 spectators were present at the first Red Bull Vertigo. This year we are expecting as many as 40,000” says Alain Zoller, Chairman of the Organisation Committee, optimistically. The Red Bull Vertigo may very well experience an even greater increase in the number of spectators next year when Villeneuve plays host to the first official Aerobatic World Championship of the World Air Sports Federation (FAI) and the FAI’s Hang Gliding and Paragliding Commission (CIVL). Alain Zoller is convinced that “the official World Championship will definitely lead to a greater degree of professionalism in acro-flying and help it gain even more publicity”.
24 delta pilots, 30 paragliders and 16 acro-teams from more than ten countries demonstrate their soaring skills in solo and synchronized flights at the Red Bull Vertigo. For the first time this year, the paraglider pilots’ solo flights will be judged. A jury comprised of international experts will judge precision, synchronisation and difficulty of the manoeuvres—and then declare the winners.
Furthermore, the Red Bull Vertigo has always been associated with new discoveries: daring new figures or series of manoeuvres are typically presented. The latest developments in equipment can be assessed and tested here as well. The Red Bull Vertigo is for pilots and spectators alike a thrilling event derived from a passion for flying. Apart from the competition, there are many other attractions: skydivers and BASE jumpers will demonstrate what they do best. In addition, there are parties and concerts, which have of course become a standard highlight of the Vertigo.

+Info: www.redbull-vertigo.com

Photo: Denis Balibouse © 2004

posted: July 26th, 2005

Fourteen orange gliders are flying in different places, carrying the spirit of the Palsecam.fr project. Shoot them, and you may win a brand new glider! The Palsecam.fr photo contest is open until September 1 st and you can submit pictures of any of their gliders, pilots, partners…

Behind the 14 team members and their orange gliders there is an interesting research project involving one of the main manufacturers of sail cloths, Porcher Sports, and companies like Cousin Trestec (lines), Advance, Ozone, Supair or Gin. Born in 2002, the R Team Palsecam is a true laboratory for research and development focused on the needs of paragliding equipments. The gliders of the R Team are specially made using different cloths provided by Porcher to measure how they behave after 100 hours of use in different conditions. The results help find solutions for the aging of the materials or to improve their characteristics. Each pilot of the Team keeps a record of every flight he/she has done, when, where, how long and in what conditions. This helps the researchers to understand what needs to be improved and what works fine for all styles of paragliding. The same happens  to the lines: they test new materials and measure possible changes in length, breaks, etc, after a number of hours of use. All the gliders are brought to Porcher's lab or to paragliding workshops like Air Bulle (also a partner of the Team) to conduct the researches. The R Team members are also subjects of physiological studies conducted by the University of Clermont-Ferrand , and their GPS recordings help them analyze the data cumulated in order to improve the performance of each pilot. They also perform exhibitions, follow paragliding competitions, try records and fly as much as they can. Among the members of the Team is Hans Bollinger (World and World Cup Champion), Charles Cazaux (ranked 3 rd in the PWC at the moment), Guillaume Broust (Acro pilot and filmmaker) or Jerome Maupoint (photo journalist).

+Info and online submission of pics for the contest at www.palsecam.fr

posted: July 20th, 2005

If 20,000 euros in prize money are not enough to convince you to enter this unique paragliding competition, being held in the "pretty island" of the Canarias, we will give you more reasons. First, it's a lovely place to spend some days flying: In La Palma there are 10 takeoffs to choose from; it's possible to do up to 3 flights in the same day, to land on the beach next to a bar (and a cold beer); an awesome national park inside a volcano to visit, and unique landscapes to fly over. Plus, it's a wonderful place to take your non-flying partner or family . Second, Ojovolador has a number of free registrations to give away -limited to 2 per country – so it'll cost you only the trip to the island! The selection phase of the Challenge is open until October 1st. If you make up your mind before that date, contact the organizers at info@desafioisladelapalma.com telling them when you plan to go to La Palma , your name and country, and mention "free registration Ojovolador". All the info: www.desafioisladelapalma.com

posted: July 20th, 2005

In 2 weeks, the Red Bull X-Alps will launch 18 pilots from 13 countries into 800 km of continuously intense racing across the “backbone” of the Alps - using only a paraglider and the pilot’s legs.

The Mission: Hike all night. Fly all day. Repeat until either your body self-destructs or you reach the beach in Monaco about two weeks after flying off a glacier in Austria. Do you accept? 18 of the top paragliding athletes in the world have, and on August 1st their mission starts. The month of July is their time to fine-tune their training and make sure every detail is perfect. Because the Alps are going to ask a hard question of each athlete: “Are you READY?”

The right answer will bring safe passage across the Alps and a share of the 17,000 Euros at the finish in Monaco - plus a lot of pain. The wrong answer will just bring the pain, but every athlete is at least guaranteed the joy of flying and walking high in the Alps, alone with the beauty of the mountains - and some really sore feet…

The 18 athletes are an incredible selection from around the world. Alex Hofer, SUI, 2003 World Champion and top World Cup competition pilot, is a favorite due to his extensive knowledge of flying in the Alps gained while winning many World Cup paragliding competitions. But is Hofer’s fitness good enough? Hofer lists hiking and running as his training, but he’s up against a competitive triathlete, David Castillejo, ESP, who should be fast in walking. No question about favorite role of Red Bull X-Alps winner 2003, Swiss Kaspar Henny. 2005 he will train his fitness again very hard with skitouring, mountainbiking, running and walking.

And then there is the ground-based half of each team, the “Supporter,” who is responsible for supplying the athlete with food, weather information, navigation assistance and psychological support when the athlete starts to collapse. The supporter can’t help carry the glider or offer any direct assistance, but a good supporter makes a huge difference in the athlete’s continued physical and mental health. Stefan Bocks, GER, has the advantage of using the same supporter he had in the 2003 X-Alps - Hansi Keim. Bocks and Keim finished third in 2003, so they are motivated this year despite having a good sense of humor about the race. With typical humor Bocks says of his supporter Keim, “He wasn’t that bad the last time…”

The field is also diverse - two of the toughest and best paraglider pilots on the planet are also women! Kari Castle, USA, and Niki Hamilton, IRL, will be the first women to compete in the Red Bull X-Alps. Niki once rode her bike across the Alps for fun, and says, “I want to be fit enough to enjoy life to the maximum and as one the most enjoyable things for me is moving myself through and with nature.” Kari says she chose her supporter Craig Goddard for “his sense of humor. I think I'll need it!!”

With one month to go before the start, every athlete and his supporter is working to perfect the lightweight equipment they will use, their logistics and maps, and to find some sort of “edge.” Each team has their own secrets and motivations, but Santiago Baeza, MEX, says: “I know its one of the toughest competitions in the world, but this is the reason it is so special.”

Live online tracking starting on August 1st on www.redbullxalps.com

posted: July 14th, 2005