SkySchool's May 2013 Newsletter

The SkySchool Team are currently making their way to Spain, by a variety of methods and routes, for the start of the Summer season. Despite the cold weather, the UK courses in April were some of the most successful courses we have ever run in Wiltshire! Amazingly in one week Alex managed to log over 24 hours of flying, which consisted predominantly of Tandem flights. Many congratulations to all of the students who managed to get flying during this period, if only the UK weather always provided such good flying conditions!

Alex, Ian Hadfield, Tom Mcbride and Sean Abela are currently in Italy, where Alex and Ian have been sitting an Acro course with Pal Takats, the 2007 and 2011 Acro World Champion. Pal has been coaching Alex for 2 years and was extremely influential in helping Alex achieve his goal of Infinity Tumbling. In return Alex assisted Pal on his first Paramotor flight in two years during a practise session prior to a demonstration flight in Istanbul. Unfortunately the unseasonal weather has made flying consistently quite difficult so we are all looking forward to Spain now.

Kester is currently in Morocco on a motorbike tour and Rob is joining the team at the beginning of June. For the first time all of the courses are fully booked so it's going to be a busy season which runs from the 2nd June to the 14th July. After this we still have availability on the Paragliding courses in Organya, the UK courses in August and the Autumn courses in Spain. If you want to come and join in the fun then contact us!

SkySchool's April 2013 Newsletter

 The SkySchool Team are all back in the UK having to acclimatise to the miserable weather! Alex spent 3 weeks in Africa, 6 weeks in Nepal and 1 week in Dubai, while Rob spent 3 months in India during which he joined Alex in Nepal for some Paragliding. Kester decided to stay in the UK which was a crazy idea seeing as how cold this winter was!

The season has started with an APPI PPG Instructor course, run by Alex and Dean Elridge. Parajet have kindly let us use their office as a lecture room and when possible we are training at SkySchool's site near Mere. There are 6 trainee instructors as well as some real students, including Sean Abela, SkySchool's latest member of the team. Sean is from Malta and recently left university, he is a keen scuba diver and a very gifted linguist! He will assist in the office while developing his flying and instructing skills.

Sadly Alex has had to pull out of the Red Bull X Alps due to concerns for Babu's health and safety. Babu contracted an unknown virus in Africa which meant he could not train and is still not 100%. In true Nepali style Babu is still going to attempt to take part in the event but Alex has decided to stand down as his supporter.

This year SkySchool is running three UK courses in Mere from 23rd April to 12th May, then six courses in Spain from 2nd June to 14th July. We will then run some Paragliding courses in Organya from the 14th - 28th July before returning to the UK for the Summer Season. Slots are still available on nearly all of the courses, to book a course please contact us.

A Good Start to 2013

2013 has started extremely well! In January SkySchool MD and APPI PPG Founder Alex Ledger travelled to Iran to run an APPI PPG Instructor course for more than 20 Iranian Pilots. The course took place on the old international airfield in the centre of Tehran, it was therefore an unique flying site, made all the more spectacular by the stunning backdrop of the snow covered Alborz mountains. The course was a huge success and was also attended by Charlie Walker, an old school friend of Alex's who is currently half way through his epic 4 year bicycle journey around most of the world. By pure coincidence he was cycling through Iran on his way from China to Africa. He joined the course as a student for the trainee instructors to work with and ended up having several solo top to bottom paragliding flights as well as a tandem paragliding flight. For further information about Charlie's odyssey then visit his website.

Alex then headed off to Kenya with Ian Hadfield, an ex student, to recce the area around Mt Kenya for next year's Flying with the Wounded expedition. They had a great flight in a light aircraft around the mountain as well as several Paragliding flights in the foothills. The trip was extremely worthwhile as it highlighted the challenges which lie ahead for the expedition, as well as answered a few vital questions. The team will no longer attempt to fly from Mt Kenya and will instead use the mountain as an acclimatization climb at the beginning of the expedition, before Paramotoring down the Rift Valley to Mt Kilimanjaro.

Alex and Ian then travelled down to Tanzania where they met up with Babu Sunuwar who had just become the first and only person out of a group of 100 pilots to legally fly from Mt Kilimanjaro as part of the WOK expedition. They then attempted to do likewise however the weather on summit day was 100kph gusts and -27 degrees making any flying activities utterly impossible. It was still a great trip with our guide Rolfe Oostra who completed his 50th summit!

Alex is currently Paragliding in Nepal with Harry Amos, an ex SkySchool Instructor and now a British Army Officer. They are both training with Babu for the forthcoming Red Bull X Alps. Alex and Babu  have 6 weeks together and plan to train in the Annapurna mountains to the north of Pokhara. He is also running an APPI PPG Instructor course in Nepal as well as a SkySchool Paragliding trip at the end of March. It's fair to say that if 2013 continues as it has started then it is going to be a very good year indeed!

Babu's Epic Flight from Mt Kilimanjaro

SkySchool MD and Babu's X Alps Supporter, Alex Ledger, managed to meet up with the great man just after his epic flight from Mt Kilimanjaro. This what he had to say:

Alex: Babu, firstly many congratulations on becoming the first man to legally fly from Mt Kilimanjaro. Before we come to the flight itself can you tell me about the build up to the the Wings of Kilimanjaro expedition?

Babu: In 2012 I was invited to take part in the expedition by Adrian McRae and in January I left Nepal for Tanzania. I only received the Takoo 2 tandem wing from Niviuk one day before leaving Kathmandu. The first time I saw the wing was when I had a short test flight in Tanzania just before the expedition.

Alex: What was it like meeting the other pilots and climbing the mountain?

Babu: It was good to meet all of the other pilots to share experiences and knowledge, and it was a fantastic feeling to be like one big paragliding family. We spent 7 days climbing the mountain together however the weather was terrible so most of the other pilots decided to descend the mountain, as did my tandem passenger. I ended up summitting the mountain 3 times and decided to stay near the crater of the mountain with 8 other pilots, where we had to be resupplied with water and chocolate by helicopter.

Alex: What happened before your flight?

Babu: After 3 nights camping near the summit my porter said he did not want to fly with me however my guide said he would. He had never flown before and knew nothing about Paragliding and I had only met him on the day I flew. However he was still very happy to fly with me so we left at 9.00am and headed to the summit. The conditions were completely different to Mt Everest because there was a very strong 75 kph north wind. I spent 2 hours trying to take off in the lee side. twice we took off and crashed back to the ground. I finally managed to take off from Stella Point on the south side of the mountain around 11.30am on the 7th February 2013. 

Alex: What was the flight like?

Babu: It was very turbulent when I took off due to the rotor from the mountain and I had a tail wind of more than 75kph, caused by the cold wind dropping down on the south side. After less than 5 minutes I was in thick cloud and flew threw this for 45 minutes. It was very wet and turbulent however I was not scared because I was so focused on flying the glider. Due to the high lift and sink there was lot of pitch movement however the glider was fantastic in the turbulence and had no collapses, which  gave me a lot of confidence. Only once did I see through the cloud and realized that I was actually above the top of the mountain.

Alex: Did you have any instruments to help you?

I did not have any instruments because they had all run out of battery. Instead I used the sun to navigate and flew away from it in order to find my landing area. There were 3 layers of clouds, one at the summit, then two more lower down. It was not a good time to fly however I had been on the summit for 3 days and simply wanted to fly. I therefore took a big risk and luckily for me I managed to land safely.

Alex: How did you feel after landing?

Babu: Upon landing I was very happy and proud. I was the first Nepalese pilot to fly from Kilimanjaro and the first pilot to do so officially. This was also my second flight from one of the 7 summits. After landing more than 100 children came running up to me and were all smiling and congratulating me. All of the other Wings of Kilimanjaro pilots were also very happy for me and I enjoyed sharing my experience with them back at the hotel in the evening.

Alex: I know you have people you want to thank.

Babu: Thank you to Adrian, Paula and everyone involved in the Wings of Kilimanjaro expedition. I had a fantastic experience and have fallen in love with Africa and hope to return again one day. Now it's time to train for the Red Bull X Alps!

Trip to Skydive Dubai

In early December 2012 I was fortunate enough to spend a few days with Skydive Dubai while transiting back from Indonesia. I visited Skydive Dubai two years ago, however on this occasion my trip coincided with the World Parachuting Championships.

Skydive Dubai was founded four years ago by the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammad Al Maktoum. The Crown Prince is a mad keen skydiver, Paramotor Pilot and general adventure sports enthusiast. He wanted a place to skydive in Dubai and chose a tract of land on the coast which was being developed for a Hilton Hotel. It is a spectacular location between the Palm Jumeirah and the skyscrapers of Dubai Marina.

I first visited the Palm drop zone in 2010 and was amazed at the level of development in the two years since I had been there. They had constructed a new runway out into the sea, built a series of office buildings, created a parachute packing area and developed restaurant. They had also dramatically expanded the grass landing area which was now ringed by temporary grand stands, team marquees, and giant TV screens.

The 2012 World Championships event was the biggest Skydiving competition ever held and was attended by representatives from 47 countries. I arrived towards the end of the championships in time for the Freestyle Canopy Landings. This is great for spectators as the competitors attempt to perform the best ‘freestyle’ landings while flying at speeds of up to 60mph over the swoop pond. As expected there were plenty of spectacular crashes, including one pilot cartwheeling through the air resulting in a big splash and an enormous cheer from the crowd. Several of my fellow skydivers from Empuriabrava in Spain were competing in the competition, including the Babylon Freefly team which came third.

After the event I was invited to have a flight with Nasser, the CEO of Skydive Dubai, in his tandem trike. We took off from the grass landing area and I was treated to an amazing view as we flew along the coast right next to the enormous skyscrapers. I was then invited to ride a camel at the Crown Prince of Dubai’s residence on the edge of the desert. It was an interesting experience but not one I am keen to repeat any time soon!

Due to the competition the Palm DZ was closed, so on my final day I visited the Desert Campus DZ, 45 minutes inland, where they are currently building the world’s largest indoor wind tunnel. Throughout the day I managed to do four skydives, one of which was with a Kuwaiti Paramotor Pilot. You never know who you are going to meet on a skydiving plane.

My visit to Skydive Dubai was fantastic and I can recommend it to anyone who wants to escape the depressing, miserable European winter. You don’t have to be a qualified skydiver to have a good time as there is so much on offer for everyone. I am now looking forward to returning for more fun in the sun later in the year! 

Check out the video of the trip on Alex's Vimeo page.

Alex's D Day Paramotor Trip

American Cemetery, Omaha Beach

Ever since watching ‘Saving Private Ryan’ I had wanted to visit the D Day beaches. In 2011 I toured the First World War battlefields and was lucky enough to fly over the Somme. The European flying season ends in November and every year I drive back from Spain through France with the aim of flying in Normandy and every year my hopes are dashed by the weather. However in November 2012 I finally got lucky! I was travelling with Kevin, a Scotsman who had sat the final Paramotor course of the season. As he was self employed he was in no rush to return home, so when I told him there may be an opportunity to Paramotor over the D Day beaches he jumped at the idea. The only catch was the 1000 mile journey in a fully laden Ford Transit with a top speed of 65mph! During the painfully slow trip we constantly updated the weather forecast for the Normandy area. 

Mulberry Harbour, Arromanches

We calculated that if we drove until midnight on Day 1 and left by 9am on Day 2 we would reach Normandy in time to take advantage of the light winds predicted in the afternoon. By some miracle we achieved this and to our astonishment the conditions were great. For the take off and landing area we chose some fields on the coast next to the Longue sur Mer battery, half way between Arromanches and Port en Bessin. On D Day, three of the four guns in the battery were disabled by the British Navy and it is still possible to see the extent of the damage they caused. After fueling the paramotors and making a flight plan we launched and headed West. We could clearly see the surviving pill boxes, gun batteries and trench lines which zig zagged their way along the cliff tops. After 20 minutes we reached Omaha Beach and had a fantastic view of the immaculate American Cemetery, which is the final resting placed of 9,387 US servicemen.

Longues sur Mer Battery

At this point we turned around and headed back. Due to a tail wind we covered the ground considerably faster, allowing us to bypass the landing area and fly over the British built Mulberry Harbour. Arromanches was chosen as the location to construct this portable, temporary harbour which consisted of a series of concrete caissons that were towed across the channel on June 9th, only 3 days after D Day. The harbour was the Allies only port during the Normandy campaign and although planned to be used for only 3 months it remained active for 8. It is still partially intact and I was fortunate enough to fly low over some of the surviving caissons which are clearly exposed above the water line.

Upon landing both Kevin and I were ecstatic after such a fantastic flight. In our excitement we had neglected our cold weather clothing and after 45 minutes of being exposed to the elements we welcomed the opportunity to warm up! Unfortunately this was to be our only flight as the following day the autumnal weather returned, however we were content with what we had achieved. No doubt the next time I return the conditions will not be suitable which makes this experience one I will never forget. Check out the D Day Video.

Alex's Blog about the Mt Blanc Trip

Walking towards Take Off at the Aiguille de Midi

Mont Blanc has been on my 'bucket list' for a while and in September I found a small window of opportunity to tick it off the list. The aim: to climb and fly from the summit of Mt Blanc! Normally I am busy running SkySchool courses in September however with a week off I took the opportunity to pull together a group of pilots and mountaineers to take on the challenge. The team consisted of Neil Laughton, who has climbed the Seven Summits and also flew the SkyCar across the Gibraltar Straits in 2009; Tim Reeve, a retired soldier and two ex-students, Ian Hadfield and Chris Glennie.

Eeach member of the team carried a Paraglider, harness, reserve parachute, climbing harness, 30m rope, helmet, ice axe, walking poles, crampons, food, water and spare clothing – by no means a light load. With our equipment packed and ready we took the first lift to the Aiguille du Midi which stands at a breath taking 3,842m (12,600ft) above sea level.

The Aiguille du Midi has the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world, from 1,035m to 3,842m, and was to be the location of our test flight. The lack of acclimatisation after such a rapid height gain can quickly result in acute mountain sickness. Fortunately none of the team was seriously affected and with crampons fitted and ice axe in hand we passed through the tunnel towards the exit on to the ridge of the mountain. It was at this point the almost vertical drop on both sides of the ridge brought home the reality of what we were about to do.

The Take Off at the Aiguille de Midi

As this was only my third time using crampons I was paired and connected by a 30m rope with Neil. His briefing was very simple, “if you start to fall, shout ‘falling’, I will decide which side of the mountain to jump in order to counteract you. Dig the pointy end of your ice axe into the snow while holding it close to your chest and lift your feet up so your crampons don't make you back flip. Now off you go”. I'm all for going in at the deep end however this really sharpened my senses, one false move and I would be back down in Chamonix in a matter of seconds, the extra weight of the paraglider slopping around on my back making things even more precarious! The key to mountaineering is to trust your kit and work as a team. I therefore focused on taking short steps and digging my crampons in hard before taking the next step. I also maintained a constant dialogue with Neil who gave advice and encouragement and at last we made our way down the ridge in one piece. 

Upon reaching the take-off area we took the opportunity to catch our breath and take in the stunning views of Chamonix approximately 8,000ft below. There was no turning back now. We packed away our ice axes and crampons in our rucksack and then prepared our wings. Due to the lack of wind and thinner air we had to run a lot further and faster than usual, with no margin for error. With a small gust of wind I launched my canopy and simply ran off the edge of the mountain. Within seconds I was out over the sheer ice wall with nothing below me for several thousand feet. With only a gentle touch on the controls I put in some really big banking turns right next to the cliff face and could feel the G force increase through the harness as the turns became bigger and more dynamic. It was a fantastic feeling doing these manoeuvres so close to the mountain and unlike anything I had experienced before. 

The Aiguille de Midi and Mer de Glace

Once over the landing area in Chamonix I still had over 5,000ft of altitude to play with and I made the most of this by doing a prolonged series of acrobatic manoeuvres, which further added to the exhilaration. Upon landing I was greeted by the rest of the team, all with big smiles on their faces having achieved something very special indeed. At this point we had to re-assess our expedition plans. The conditions were set to deteriorate rapidly due to an approaching cold front. They predicted 60mph winds on the summit and cloud from 2,500m by mid-day making both climbing and flying impossible. We therefore made the decision to climb up to 10,000ft, spend the night at the Tete Rousse hut and then launch from there the following morning. Even though the summit attempt had to be cancelled there was no sense of disappointment. It was a fantastic learning experience for all of us and we have already made plans to return for a second attempt in 2013. Follow the link for the Mt Blanc video.