The ParagliderOn my travels last year, I had the pleasure of meeting and flying with most of the HapiAcro team – a group of four pilots who have come together to spread their love of flying to the masses in the US. As they reached the end of their first year as a team – the first acro team in America – I was able to catch up with them to find out how it had all gone and what was next for the guys.
I should start this article by admitting it’s here for mostly selfish reasons. About six months ago my wife and I had our first child, of course plenty of people had told me it would change my life forever and I didn’t doubt that for a minute. What I wasn’t sure was how I would feel about flying and in fact risk taking in general after his birth.
Richard Gallon began flying in 1985 in Hilaire du Touvet and by 1989 had begun to experiment with the new sport of acro paragliding.
Alongside Andy Heidiger, Sebastien Bourquin and the Rodreguez brothers Richard was to become one of the sport’s founding fathers.
In 2008 Judith Mole recorded her first paragliding podcast and since then they have developed a cult following within the paragliding community. We caught up with her via email and she was kind enough to share something about her flying, podcasts and a recent accident.
When Tim was two he asked his Dad if he could fly. It was another seven years until he took his first solo flight in Allevard, France. Three years later, watching Thomas Merigout and Michel Macquet flying acro, the 12 year old Tim was inspired.