Two Austrians, Heli Reichholder and Christoph Edelweiss, posted a 268.5Km triangle in the Alps last month smashing Krigal Moorer's record by a little over 3ft, 6in. A fantastic distance, especially if you consider they were both flying Blozone Arten's. Amazing !
Flying granny, Fiona McCasco, has set a new girls 25Km triangle speed record at a whopping 26.1kph. A fantastic speed, especially if you consider she was flying a Blozone Belta. Amazing !
Lucky Luke Amour set off with a pal on a working holiday recently and appears to have set a new Alpine record of 339Km. A fantastic distance, especially if you consider they were both flying their company wings, Blozone Arleven's. Amazing !
Italian babe Nicole Fidelta set off on the other side of the Alps and flew 208Km, breaking two world records, the girls out and return distance, and the girls 200Km out and return speed records. A fantastic flight, especially if you consider she was flying a Blozone Arten. Amazing !
Another Italian pilot, Ardweeno Per Sello recently flew 267Km and set a new out and return world record. A fantastic flight, especially if you consider he was flying a Blozone Arten. Amazing !
Over the waters in the UK, Mike Cavenagogogoch set new UK standards with open and declared triangle records going under his 92Km flight. A fantastic flight, especially if you consider he was flying a Blozone Emfor. Amazing !
Mike's bonfire seems to have received a bit of a watering though, as his record has been dulled by the news that fellow pilot Brenda Read made a below-the-radar triangle of over 100Km the day before. A fantastic flight, especially if you consider he was flying a Blozone Arten. Amazing !
Rumour has it that Brenda's flight will not be ratified as he failed to follow the UK rule of needing to start your triangle within 2.5Km of a fish and chip shop. Amazing !
A great start to 2011, and Pie would very much like to congratulate these pilots on their achievements. [we really would - Ed]
We would also like to point out that we noticed a few trends while compiling our list of record breakers...
Firstly, magazines such as Pie and XC-Rag are likely to be the only place you'll read about such records, as the bureaucrats down at the FIA seem to make it so stupidly complex to ratify a record many pilots don't even bother to submit their flights. Even Maurer's record is not recognised.
Secondly, it really is amazing that these records are being set using the full spectrum of paragliders available on the market today. Here at Pie we'd always thought that at any given time there is one dominant wing manufacturer but, as you can see, the facts speak for themselves.
Dial up some more Pie next month when we publish the results of our exclusive investigation where we uncover how many other manufacturers are still out there. [so far we've counted 3 - Ed]
Pie in the Sky
Funnier than the 1908 "Louis Bleriot Tree-Landing" helmet cam video
Funnier than the 1908 "Louis Bleriot Tree-Landing" helmet cam video