A great week-end in Saint Hilaire with the French team pilots!

Last June, AirDesign France organised a meeting for their team pilots. The idea? To spend some time together to get to know each other better, discover the latest products and of course fly with them. Mission accomplished!

The weekend started on Friday evening with discussions over a good dahl of lentils, about the cross-country flight of the following day. Every paragliding pilot likes aiming high with plans even if they might all be pie in the sky. The day was announced as good but Saint-Hilaire could be a victim of the stability which would make the start difficult…

On Saturday morning, we all met in the office above the North take-off to enjoy some scrambled eggs, croissants and fresh juice. The day was stable and we didn’t have to hurry too much. The wait on the take-off was the opportunity to chat again. Mémé was the first to get airborne to enjoy some local flights with Alexis and Laurent. Then, from the cross-country fliers, Hugo was the first to go. The Volt 4 gang made good progress heading south but clearly the day was tricky because of tenacious inversion layers.

While the leading group was about to cross to Vercors massif, Lois and Marion decided to stay in Chartreuse (clever move!). Nico was flying faster than the others but he had to land shortly after not managing to hang up the high cliffs of the Vercors, synonymous with the „motorway“ and freshness. The others were slower to get higher but Mathilde also landed and only Thomas and Hugo played their cards right and headed to the Diois and the Devoluy massif. Well-done guys!

At the end of the day, everyone had fought their own battles, the stories were many and the pizzas were devoured.

On Sunday morning, we woke up very early (really too early for a Sunday) with the goal of doing a hike-and-fly from the Dent de Crolles, the famous peak above saint-Hilaire. The idea was to arrive before the South wind strengthens. No one had a heavy rucksack and the hike was truly enjoyable.

Once we arrived at the top of the Dent, it was clear that we had to take off quickly to enjoy some soaring conditions all together. Quickly the sky was filled with colorful gliders: SuSi 4, UFO, LiVi, and of course the Loco. You could hear the cries and the laughter of the pilots, we were alone and we had fun. Everyone landed on the plateau with big smiles eating their faces. What a nice week-end with the French crew! Thanks a lot to all the participants!