On this special date we feel thankful for the wonderful gift that flying is, which has also allowed us to share this passion with you and so many pilots through Ojovolador.com, during the last, exciting 5 years. Thanks for being with us in this adventure of flying and communication, and receive our best wishes for a 2008 plenty of consistent thermals and cloudbases, unforgettable landscapes and safe landings.

Happy holidays!

Claudia & Daniel
www.ojovolador.com

Posted: December 27th, 2007

The new version of the cross country harness by Gin has a redesigned internal shape to improve comfort, inspired by the comp harness Genie Race to improve the in-flight position and the overall performance. The volume of the harness has been reduced (bottom and back side) to make it easier to pack, more comfortable to wear during take-off and more streamlined in-flight. The rescue container has been completely redesigned to facilitate a faster and easier opening of the reserve chute, according to Gin. The Genie 4 comes with Safety T-bar system, automatic carabiners and under-seat rescue container.

+Info: www.gingliders.com Posted: December 18th, 2007

Mac Para helmet AERO
New Design
The Aero helmet, a favourite among racing pilots for its aerodynamic shape and low weight, according to Mac Para, is now available in new colour designs thanks to the use of a new laminating method. The new combinations are white–carbon and silver–carbon. The Aero helmet is made of Aramid and carbon fibres and weights around 330 grams.

+Info: www.macpara.com

Seawind helmet SPARTAN
The latest helmet from the Chinese manufacturer Seawind is design for acrobatic and free flight pilots, who want “a cool view, light weight and full equiped helmet”. The SPARTAN is equipped with a high quality headset, with optional MP3 connector.

+Info: www.seawindfly.cn

Posted: December 18th, 2007

Sky Atis 2 Freestyle
A special wing for all paragliding freestyle and aerobatics enthusiasts. At Sky say they have emphasized the safety at the highly dynamic manoeuvres and that the complete aerobatics set of manoeuvres can be easily handled by the ATIS 2 FREESTYLE. The main features of this wing according to the manufacturer are: easy and precise handling “even when highly dynamic manoeuvres are performed”; high safety level and “highly forgiving flying characteristics” even if a manoeuvre is failed.

See Video +Info: www.sky-cz.com

Ozone Addict 2
Ozone announces the release of the Addict2, the newest DHV XC Performance machine. With Pyramidal line junctions at the C/D, advanced profiling, an “ultra smooth” accelerator system, and what Ozone claims is unmatched stability at speed, they believe the Addict2 will be a hit. The Addict 2 is available in 5 sizes.

+Info: www.flyozone.com : En España: www.alamair.com

Ozone Bullet 008 & La Bombe
Ozone is releasing 2 new speed flying wings this winter. The Bullet 008 is the 2nd generation of Ozone Speed Flying wings and is a totally new design for 2008, with new materials as well.

La Bombe is a new and unique wing designed especially for pilots who want the minimum of glide and maximum of sink rate and carve from their speed RIDING wings.

+Info: www.flyozone.com : En España: www.alamair.com

+Info: www.macpara.com

Gradient AVAX XC2
Avax XC2 is the second generation of Gradient´s high level XC glider. At Gradient say it is optimized for “excellent glide, handling and good behaviour” while keeping a high level of in-flight comfort for a glider in the "Open" category. Other features mentioned by the manufacturer are precise handling and efficient and direct turn. Gradient believes that the new Avax XC2 will find favour with experienced pilots looking for a high performance wing that is “a pleasure to fly” or new competition pilots who want to take a progressive approach in choosing a competition wing. Certified EN-C in sizes 26, 28 & 30; also available in 22 and 24.

+Info: www.gradient.cx

Posted: December 18th, 2007

New Reserves by Advance / U-Turn / Swing

The collaboration and strategic development partnership involving the three paraglider manufacturers, Advance, Swing and U-Turn, have resulted in 3 new reserve parachutes: PROTECT Nano, PROTECT II RIS L and PROTECT II RIS XL.

The reserves are built using a new fabric, PARATEX RS TX40 of only 40g/sq.m, which shows “superior qualities” for use as parachute cloth, after intensive development work. Paratex RS uses both single and double polyamid threads, with the double threads cleverly worked into the weave.

The parachutes offer a Rapid Inflation System (RIS) thanks to the use of special bands which make sure that the canopy edges around the base don’t lie flat on each other. “The precise pre-tension of these bands create air channels which enhance the opening qualities in the first split seconds of deployment. This means that the PROTECT II opens as fast as a small canopy, but provides the low sink rate of a large one”.

“New and innovative technology makes our sport safer and more appealing, but, at the same time, we must try to keep it affordable,” agreed all three manufacturers.

The new reserves will now be marketed by all three companies, under the same names.

+Info: www.advance.ch, www.u-turn.de, www.swing.de

Posted: December 17 th, 2007

Finally it was the elder of the Valic brothers who took the gold of this Challenge: 8,000€ in cash! Having flown more than 380km in 5 tasks over the 'pretty island' of the Canary -and adding the 38km he carried over from the 1st Round- Aljaz managed to beat his brother Urban, who started leading the ranking but finally dropped to 2nd overall (4.000 euros). As the week of the Finals (December 1 to 7) drew to a close, the pilots seemed very pleased with the conditions of the island and the tasks, in which the leaders flew anything from 55km to 86km daily. In the three different competition categories, twenty different prizes distributed a total of 24,000€: one of the highest prize money ever awarded in paragliding.
Other top pilots were also in the running for the first prizes: Gin Team members Charles Cazaux and Hans Bollinger (former World and World Cup Champion) used all their experience and expertise in speed flying to try and catch the Valics, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. Spanish Champion Iván Colás, who set the Island distance record in November, was close on their heels and managed good results in some tasks, but after a couple of errors in others it seemed he would have a hard job finishing in the top six. However, his decisive victory in the last task enabled Iván to climb a couple of places in the ranking ahead of Stéphane Drouin (FR, Mac Para Magus 5) to finish 5th, while fellow Spaniard Goyo González Oliva (Aircross Ultima 3) took 6th prize in the Open Category.
Current World Champion Bruce Goldsmith (Airwave FR4) started well by ending second in a task, but an accident at landing put him out of the competition after task 3. Fortunately it wasn’t serious and he’s recovering at home with his family.
In the DHV2 Category, Paratrike World Champion Daniel Crespo (ES, Sky Antea) took first prize, while Belgian pilot Thierry Moreau (Axis Vega 2) won the DHV 1-2 Category.
The Challenge Organiser, Javier López, is satisfied: The event has surpassed the expectations of tourist promotion for the Island as well as for flying. “It’s been great for this sport: not only have the pilots had a good time and gone home happy, but also we’ve shown the PWC observers that we are capable of organizing an important event and they’ve taken it into account”, he commented.
It is very possible that in future top pilots will visit La Palma on the World Cup circuit, but meanwhile the Challenge hopes to return in 2009 to award more great prizes for flying in winter – and only 3 hours’ flight from other European locations.

*We'll soon publish a full report of the Challenge, stay tuned!
+Info, results, pictures and videos on www.flylapalma.com

Posted: December 11th, 2007

Battle of champions in Final of Challenge Island of La Palma

This weekend will start in La Palma (Canary, Spain) one of the hardest fought competitions in the paragliding world, the Final phase of the Challenge Island of La Palma. With a first big prize of eight thousand euros, some of the best pilots of the world are willing to display their flying arts to try and take the reward by the end of this competition, on December 9th.

World Champion Bruce Goldsmith, 3-times PWC winner Chrigel Maurer, former PWC and European champions like Hans Bollinger or Kari Eisenhut, or top record-men like the Valic brothers are among the strongest contenders for the competition that will take place on the west coast of the small island of La Palma. The qualification phase of the Challenge started almost one year ago and closed on November 10th. Now, the best ranked pilots from that phase and some invited pilots will have to battle in the air for nearly 20 cash prizes in 3 categories that sum up 24,000 euros!

The 2nd Challenge Island of La Palma has attracted over 1100 pilots to the “pretty island” of the Canary, and over 10,000 km have been flown there in almost one year. Big distances are not easy to achieve in this island, only 45 km long. But top pilots say that covering 10 km there can equal the efforts of 100 km on a continental site, hence the value of the local records set this year by Urban Valic (38,7 km) and then by Spanish Champion Ivan Colas (39,8 km).

In the 1st Challenge held in 2005 Chrigel Maurer took the first prize and said it was the first time he ever won money in this sport; and promised he would come back this time for more. It will not be easy for him as he has no points from the qualification phase. In order to win he will have to catch up with Urban Valic, who is the 1st classified pilot and will start the Final with 33,65 points of advantage. His brother Aljaz has 31,7.

The classification system of the Challenge gives one point per km flown, and the tasks will consist on closed circuits of turnpoints that the pilots must fly as many times as possible in a given time. The longest distance flown in one task on the 1st Challenge was over 100 km by Maurer. High speed and the ability to stay in the air during the whole task will make a difference for the top pilots who will fly the Final of the Challenge.

*Follow the comp day by day on www.flylapalma.com

*Read our article on the 1st Challenge here:

Posted: Novenber 27th, 2007

Nino Muelas & Antonio Lope PL2 World Champions in China / Photo: Ojovolador.com

+Info: www.fai.org

Posted: Novenber 19th, 2007

Paramotor is now the official name of this category for the FAI, instead of “Microlight – new classes”. This is one of the changes to the Section 10 of the Sporting Code for 2008 decided at the CIMA meeting held in Lausanne on November 15-16. The changes were presented by delegates of the National Federations members of the FAI and voted during the meeting.

Other interesting modification to the Code mean that team score is now calculated in each class for FAI championships, so PL1 and PL2 are now separated.

After the polemics for the attempt to use cold fuel in China by one team, the Section 10 now states that if fuel is measured by volume it must be within 10 degrees Celsius of ambient temperature (fuel can be alternatively measured by weight). Units for timings –for slalom tasks- are to the 10th of a second, or 100th of a second if electronic timing is used (in China, timing was rounded to full seconds). In the national teams for FAI championships now there’s an additional place for wheel-chair pilot in class PL1, and that pilot may have some help while preparing for launch. The records chapter also suffered some modifications, starting by a new record claim form to make the administration of championship records easier. For PF2 records, both the pilot and crew must have their national sporting license.

A total of 21 changes (from 37 proposals presented, see them here: http://www.flymicro.com/cima07/) will be applied to the next edition of the Section 10, which will be published on the FAI website soon.

Paramotor Europeans 2008
The FAI European Paramotor Championships 2008 will be held in Lomza, Poland, some 155km north east of Warsaw. The date is August 2-10, with practice days on 30 July - 1 August. The Meet Director will be Wladyslaw Tocki, paraglider & trike pilot, organiser of III Polish Microlight Championships 2001, and several other competitions. The Competition Director will be Leszek Mankowski, hang glider, paraglider and PPG pilot, organiser and comp director of Polish PPG and PG Nationals. All details of the championship will be informed soon.

Posted: 16 de Noviembre, 2007

Five years after Canadian pilot Will Gadd set the longest distance flown by paraglider in 423,4 km, after a tow-launch from Zapata, U.S.A., three Brazilian pilots have finally broken the record with a flight of 461,5 km! Frank Brown, Rafael Saladini and Marcelo “Ceceu" Prieto took off on Wednesday 14th of November from Quixada (Ceara, on the northeast of Brazil) at 7:20 in the morning and flew together during 10 hours to land with only seconds of difference in the vicinity of Luzilandia, already with the world record in their hands (to be ratified by the FAI).

The day started with clouds and the entrance of a front that even left some rain in the area. About seven pilots took off that morning, while others chose not to fly considering the “poor conditions”. The first part of the flight was difficult and some pilots landed early, but the 3 members of the record-hunting expedition ‘XC Nordeste’, organized by the Brazilian paraglider manufacturer Sol for 4th consecutive year, continued flying in better and better conditions. At 1 pm they were already at 280 km, and by 16:45 Frank Brown called the people at Sol to report that the trio were passing the mark of 423 km, at 1800m from the ground and still with one hour of flying ahead. The group decided to land together and share the world record, and so they did at 17:45, after covering 461.5 km on his Sol Tracer paragliders.

The news soon hit the paragliding forums around the world where admiration and respect for the sportsmen and their achievement became evident. Among the opinions, a very significant one:

“Really big flights like this ignite my imagination and make our horizons as pilots and humans larger. We're lucky little humans to be alive in an era when things like this are possible, fantastic. I'm sure we'll all be looking at the possibilities from our home sites with bigger minds, as well as 500K mark! I've seen Frank and Marcelo chase the record over the years, they have really put the time and energy into the goal, a huge "Hell yeah!!" from me to all three pilots. I'm in cold England for a film festival, this news warmed my mind this morning, super to see a new record with such a distance. Safe travels back home and good luck with the paperwork. The bar is now set much higher.
Will Gadd
Ex-World Record Holder with pleasure.”

This record was the only one that the XC Nordeste hadn’t broken yet, as since the first expedition in 2003 they had set world records of open distance and declared goal on tandem paraglider, declared distance on solo paraglider and South American record of distance. As a matter of fact, this year the XC Nordeste applied a new format and started the flights from the best possible takeoff in the area based on the conditions for the day, so that the pilots moved to where they would have better chances. With this format, Quixada appeared as the best starting site and on the first weeks of the expedition Rafael Saladini and Marcelo Prieto had already gotten close to Will Gadd’s mark, setting continental records with flights of 414 and 397.7 km.

The world record of distance has been chased by several pilots in different places of the world. Last year, the brothers' Aljaz and Urban Valic flew 426 km in South Africa but as they went back a few km to land on a safe terrain, the FAI only counted the distance from takeoff to landing meaning their record was not certified. Now, the brothers goal for the next months is to break the 500 km barrier. They are not the only ones. A Swiss team is about to land in South Africa to try to break the recent paragliding distance record (www.x-sa.ch).

+Info: www.xcnordeste.com.br

& www.solparagliders.com.br

Tracks: www.ciclone.com.br

Photos: Karen Hadley

Posted: November 7th, 2007

The organization of the Caribbean XC Challenge –to be held in Dominican Republic on February 17-24– will award a free ‘Parapente en el Caribe’ T-Shirt to all pilots who register before November 15th in the comp. And pilots registering early will also enter a draw awarding a free registration for the 2009 Ozone Caribbean XC Challenge.

The early registration allows the organizer to do a good planning of his resources before the event and to prepare the logistics for it, and this is how he wants to thank those who help make things easier.

In the next edition of the Caribbean XC there will be tuition for pilots in 3 languages for the first time. Together with the instructor Jocky Sanderson (UK) who will be in charge of briefings and de-briefings in English, experienced pilots Jerome Canaud from France and Daniel Crespo from Spain (Ojovolador) will offer expert advice in French and Spanish. This way, pilots coming from almost any country will be able to improve their experience in this ‘stress-free’ comp and learn, enhance or train their abilities in distance flying.

Don't miss it!

+Info and registration: www.CaribbeanXC.com

The last event of the Paragliding World Cup tour 2007 ended on Saturday 20th in Tucuman, Argentina, where 4 tasks (3 valid) were flown in somehow weak conditions. Despite a 10th position in the comp, Chrigel Maurer kept the leadership he had from almost the first PWC of the year and became the first pilot to ever win the top level paragliding title for three consecutive times. Urban Valic (SLO, Mac Para Magus 5) was the competition winner and thus secured the 2nd place overall, while Andi Aebi (CH, Advance Omega) took the 3rd position in the PWC ranking after ending 4th in Argentina.
In women, Anja Kroll (CH, Gin Boomerang 5) was the clear winner in the 28th place overall, with an advantage of over 2000 points ahead of Ewa Wisnierska (DE, Swing Stratus) who ended 2nd. Keiko Hiraki (JP, Axispara Mercury) was third.
Switzerland keeps the "best nation" title. The 2007 best team is Advance, followed by Mac Para and Axis Para.
The 2007 tour ended with a total of 23 tasks flown all around the world, starting in Japan, then Spain, Italy, Turkey and finally Argentina.
The organizers believe that this has been a very positive year for the PWC. “Some records have been broken during this incredible year, like in Italy where the total distance flown by all the pilots went over 55.000km, and during the whole 2007 tour all pilots have flown a total of 158397km! (The previous record was set 10 years ago in 1997 with 139436km)”.

The Paragliding World Cup will be back in 2008 with 5 events in the Calendar:

Italy: Poggio Bustone 3 to 10 may
Switzerland: Grindelwald 24 to 31 may
Spain: Castejon 14 to 21 June
Bulgaria: Sopot 2 to 9 august
Brazil: Castelo 27 September to 4 October

PWC top pilots 2007
1 Christian MAURER / Advance Omega - CH
2 Urban VALIC / Mac Para Magus 5 - SLN
3 Andy AEBI / Advance Omega - CH
4 Stefan WYSS / Boomerang 5 - CH
5 Aljaz VALIC / Magus 5 - SLN
6 Primoz PODOBNIK / Mercury - SLN
7 Jean Marc CARON / Niviuk Icepeak - FR
8 Andreas MALECKI / Boom 5 - DE
9 David OHLIDAL / Mercury S - CZ
10 Torsten SIEGEL / UP Targa 3 - DE

+Info: http://new.pwca.org/

Photos: Toni Caniglia

Posted: October 22 nd, 2007

You can see the track of the flight on http://www.ciclone.com.br/

+Info: http://www.xcnordeste.com.br/

Brazilian pilot Rafael Saladini aboard a paraglider Sol Tracer 11 inaugurated the record-hunting expedition XC Nordeste 2007 with a flight of 397 km in straight line from Quixada to the town of Teresina, on October 15th. Rafa took off at 7:45 a.m. and flew for over 10 hours at an average speed of 45k/h, with top speeds of 97k/h! His maximum altitude during the flight was 3013m and max thermal was +6,6m/s.
The pilot participated in the expedition XC 2006 and this year he is back in the Brazilian northeast with the objective to break records and get a good position in the world ranking OLC. His flight of Monday sets a new national and continental record, and is also a great start for the XC Nordeste. This year there are 3 pilots participating in the expedition and, unlike previous editions, they will choose the best takeoff in the area based on the conditions for the day. The objective is the same as in previous years: to set new paragliding distance records.

Posted: October 18th, 2007

New Paraglider U-Turn Emotion

This new model is aimed at beginner pilots and has been certified DHV1. At U-Turn say that it also “fulfils the higher and demanding requirements which are to be expected next year” for DHV1 gliders. The Emotion fits in between the Bodyguard, U-Turns’s current school glider, and the Infinity II - their DHV1-2 glider. It has a lower aspect ratio compared to the Bodyguard, and a decreased curvature at the wing ends for more agility and improved handling reaction. It’s also equipped with the house’s AFS (Automatic Flight Stabilization) system which prevents “the majority of all unpleasant asymmetric deflations already during their initial phase”, according to the manufacturer. It is available in 4 sizes.

+Info: www.u-turn.de

Posted: October 9th, 2007