200km triangles have been flown twice in one week by pilots on EN-A paragliders – proof, if any was needed, that ‘beginner wing’ technology has come a long way.
First to bag the prize was Swiss pilot Benjamin Becker, who flew the new U-Turn Emotion 3 around a ‘flat’ 203.7km triangle from Fiesch on 6 August 2015. On launch he mused that “Today 200km would be a great thing“. Eight hours and 17 minutes later it was a reality, the flight having been flown at an impressive average speed of 25.5km/h. He commented:
With a higher classified wing I wouldn’t have pushed the speedbar that much relaxed in the rough conditions in air at the end of the flight.
Then five days later, on 11 August, it was done again. This time it was 25-year-old Robert Schaller at the reins of a Nova Prion 3. Robert’s flight was an FAI triangle (it was not quite ‘closed’, but fulfilled the requirements) of 209km, flown at an average speed of 24.2km/h.
Robert, who is German, launched from Grente in South Tyrol, and used turnpoints near the Grossglockner and the Agglsspitze.
Congratulations to both pilots on their achievements.
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