The ParagliderRichard 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.
I avoided paragliding consciously for over ten years. Many good friends were pilots, all of them continuously prodded me to make my first jump. It looked like a blast, something I’d probably take to; but I also kept hearing the old saying that “there are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots.” Accidents seemed frequent with rather…long term consequences. I’m a total adrenaline junky. I don’t have a very good “stop” button. If a conservative, methodical approach was required to be safe then paragliding was not the sport for me. I dreamed of flying, but kept my feet on the ground.
With all the talk of modern gliders and equipment it was interesting to read the Nova team blog post on how they prepare and train mentally for their record breaking XC flights. They shared some tips and advise on how to plan the routes, prepare for the flights and stay motivated and focused on those (hopefully) long cross country flights.
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.