Last weekend I had an enjoyable flight in Zoutelande. Lots of fun speeding along the dunes (and the paragliders). Here's a short video:
And for the people with more patience, there's a long version too...
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Chasing a seagull
Usually seagulls don't let you get close to them. But last saturday in Zoutelande, this one didn't seem to notice me for quite a while...
Monday, August 16, 2010
Comp season is over: a big thank you to you all!
As I'm thinking back on the previous competition month and the results I obtained there (42nd in the Europeans, Belgian Champion and 3rd in the Dutch Open), it is clear that there are a lot of people who deserve a thank you.
In the first place, a very, very big thank you goes to Tom Haagdorens of hang gliding school Trike Valley. Tom learnt me the initial basics of flying three years ago and has supported me ever since. He encouraged me to go flying as much as I could, to go cross country and to start competing. All these things I would probably have done myself, but no way as fast and as good as it went with his drive and advice all the way through. Tom also was there to slow me down when he thought I had to much self confidence or the conditions were marginal/dangerous for flying or for my level of flying. I think I couldn't have asked for a better teacher.
In the second place I must thank Ruben Vandille. A good friend who has also supported me in many ways during these 3 years. Thanks Ruben!
I also want to thank my employer Terremark. They acknowledged how important hang gliding is to me and sponsored me while allowing me 10 extra days of unpaid leave. Without that I would have done 2 competitions less and that would have been a real shame. Thanks a lot.
Then there's Peter Mertens. Peter has been working on the winch and trike, has picked me up when I landed out and has always been there for many people when they needed help. Thanks Peter!
There's Ellen Lafaut, Tom's partner, who had very long retrieves during the Europeans on the long and winding Spanish roads. Ellen also has to accept that I regularly visit them on the most impossible times, just to pick up spare parts, order helmets, harnesses or just to talk about flying...
And there are many more people who contributed. Hans Kiefinger has been a really nice host in Germany. Next to being such a nice host, he demonstrated me that you can do serious flights on very, very cloudy days and that was an eye-opener. I spent a lot of time with the Russian team this year, (Natalia, Maxim and Julia in particular), always receiving a very healthy breakfast ;-) But much more important is that they are inspiring in many ways. My long term running mate David who also did a few retrieves and had to listen to flying stories for hours while running, should also not be forgotten!
I also want to thank Aeros who were very helpful last winter, during the ordering process for my first competition glider. The glider has been a superb companion on my flying adventures. Trustworthy from the beginning and it turned out to be pretty fast too :-)
Jean Solon of the Belgian federation also deserves a thank you. He wasn't sure about selecting the unexperienced pilot for the Europeans. But I think I didn't let the Belgian Federation down. Thanks for letting me participate!
And a last 'thank you' should probably go to the hang gliding community. A strange brotherhood of people who devote a lot of time to the strong passion of free flying. In most cases we do not fly alone and especially while learning, we often need a helping hand or a critical eye. I received these many times, in many cases even from unknown pilots. Thanks a lot!
In the first place, a very, very big thank you goes to Tom Haagdorens of hang gliding school Trike Valley. Tom learnt me the initial basics of flying three years ago and has supported me ever since. He encouraged me to go flying as much as I could, to go cross country and to start competing. All these things I would probably have done myself, but no way as fast and as good as it went with his drive and advice all the way through. Tom also was there to slow me down when he thought I had to much self confidence or the conditions were marginal/dangerous for flying or for my level of flying. I think I couldn't have asked for a better teacher.
In the second place I must thank Ruben Vandille. A good friend who has also supported me in many ways during these 3 years. Thanks Ruben!
I also want to thank my employer Terremark. They acknowledged how important hang gliding is to me and sponsored me while allowing me 10 extra days of unpaid leave. Without that I would have done 2 competitions less and that would have been a real shame. Thanks a lot.
Then there's Peter Mertens. Peter has been working on the winch and trike, has picked me up when I landed out and has always been there for many people when they needed help. Thanks Peter!
There's Ellen Lafaut, Tom's partner, who had very long retrieves during the Europeans on the long and winding Spanish roads. Ellen also has to accept that I regularly visit them on the most impossible times, just to pick up spare parts, order helmets, harnesses or just to talk about flying...
And there are many more people who contributed. Hans Kiefinger has been a really nice host in Germany. Next to being such a nice host, he demonstrated me that you can do serious flights on very, very cloudy days and that was an eye-opener. I spent a lot of time with the Russian team this year, (Natalia, Maxim and Julia in particular), always receiving a very healthy breakfast ;-) But much more important is that they are inspiring in many ways. My long term running mate David who also did a few retrieves and had to listen to flying stories for hours while running, should also not be forgotten!
I also want to thank Aeros who were very helpful last winter, during the ordering process for my first competition glider. The glider has been a superb companion on my flying adventures. Trustworthy from the beginning and it turned out to be pretty fast too :-)
Jean Solon of the Belgian federation also deserves a thank you. He wasn't sure about selecting the unexperienced pilot for the Europeans. But I think I didn't let the Belgian Federation down. Thanks for letting me participate!
And a last 'thank you' should probably go to the hang gliding community. A strange brotherhood of people who devote a lot of time to the strong passion of free flying. In most cases we do not fly alone and especially while learning, we often need a helping hand or a critical eye. I received these many times, in many cases even from unknown pilots. Thanks a lot!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
3rd in the 2010 Dutch Open!
Day 5 and 6 were cancelled due to bad weather. So I'm 3rd in the overall standings! My best flying ever in a very serious competition (there were some hotshots in the comp) should make me enter the top 100 on the world ranking. More on that in a good 2 weeks.
The comp organizers made daily reports and movies on the action. I'll check them all when I'm back home.
But for now, the comp season is over...
The comp organizers made daily reports and movies on the action. I'll check them all when I'm back home.
But for now, the comp season is over...
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Results after task 3
The results after task 3 have been published. I guess I'll drop to 4th after today.
And ofcourse, I'm pretty proud of my task win on task 2. Beating the European Champion, Gerolf Heinrichs :-)
And ofcourse, I'm pretty proud of my task win on task 2. Beating the European Champion, Gerolf Heinrichs :-)
Dutch Open, task 3 & 4
Task 3 was difficult. We had a 130 km task with half of the course in the shadow of thunderstorm anvils. This made us all fly very slow, trying to just to make the distance. I was 8th for the task and moved up to 2nd overall. Only Gerolf ahead of me...
The forecast for today spoke of chances for overdevelopment, so we had an early, rather short (85 km) task up and down the ridge. I didn't want to lose my place in the overall ranking and probably was to scared to take the risks needed to fly fast. End result: I was to slow to defend my overall place. I was probably about 20 mins slower than Gerolf, but also 15 mins slower than the pilots just behind me in the standings. I guess I'll slip to 5th or 6th... We'll see.
The weatherforecast doesn't look good for the next days, so flying might have come to an end. Let's hope not. And I would really love to have one more free flying evening at Monte Cucco...
The forecast for today spoke of chances for overdevelopment, so we had an early, rather short (85 km) task up and down the ridge. I didn't want to lose my place in the overall ranking and probably was to scared to take the risks needed to fly fast. End result: I was to slow to defend my overall place. I was probably about 20 mins slower than Gerolf, but also 15 mins slower than the pilots just behind me in the standings. I guess I'll slip to 5th or 6th... We'll see.
The weatherforecast doesn't look good for the next days, so flying might have come to an end. Let's hope not. And I would really love to have one more free flying evening at Monte Cucco...
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