Splash down… Red Bull Vertigo 2003
Jerome Maupoint reports on two of the latest paragliding acro events, Vertigo and Acrolac. Translation by Sherry Thevenot. Published in Cross Country magazine in 2003
While most European acro events tend to be run from high altitude foot launch sites over or near large bodies of water, some event organisers have had to resort to some adrenalin-filled start techniques to get competitors airborne – at Voss in Norway, the competitors resort to free falling from a helicopter, while in Chicago, pilots winch up and land among spectators.
These two events, as well as three others at Lake Orta in Italy, Slovenia, Villeneuve in Switzerland, and Aiguebelette in France respectively, are all acknowledged by the FAI and are awaiting approval for inclusion in an official European or world championship.
Both the sporting rules and the scoring system have matured and also been accepted by the majority of the competitors. David Eyraud, an acro pilot who conceived the rules and system for scoring maneuvers, feels it’s now time to start thinking about a logo for a world championship series.
But back to the outstanding events of the season: those run at Vertigo in Villeneuve, and Acrolac in Aiguebelette (Savoy or Alps region), the latter being the only aerobatics event to take place in France.
VERTIGO: AUGUST 22-24
No less than 60 pilots, making up 30 teams from eight nations, turned up for the qualifying round of Vertigo, and 20 of them qualified for places in the synchronised display events.
The site of Villeneuve allows for a reasonable series of five maneuvers above the ’box’ or ’zone of evolution’ in one go before the pilot prepares to land on a four by three metre floating raft.
The organisers alternate these descents with “imposed maneuvers” for which synchronisation is essential and the programme left open. This is the main feature and also what allows the most finely-tuned teams to present new stunts or risky synchronised sequences like tumbling at the end of a wingover, or a ’McTwist’ coming out of a SAT.
Nothing especially new came out at the Vertigo, although Norwegians Ole Jorgen Lovland and Stein Egil Mangseth (UP Trango’s) and the Swiss team of Christian Maurer and Peter Neuenschwander performed outstanding synchronisation. Only one duo synchronized their routine by radio: Swiss pilot Andy Hediger and Argentine Hernan Pitocco.
Points-wise, the Rodriguez brothers from Spain, Raoul and Felix, not only won the prize but also won over the crowd. They were the only ones to “dolphin” by alternately passing over one another by a few centimetres. The magic of this continuous undulation was neatly underlined by the use of colourful smoke bombs attached to the pilots’ feet.
The event was not without a few spectacular incidents. For instance, the team of Macquet and Montant collided with each other at the end of a synchronised spiral. Both pilots found themselves entwined and suspended from the same safety chute a few seconds after the edge of one canopy surprisingly slipped between the lines of the other.
American hang glider star Mitch McAleer sent chills down every spine when he botched a loop very near the surface of the lake. His A-frame brushed the water at full speed, causing his hang glider to pitch down violently and explode from the vicious impact.
Fortunately Mitch, came out unscathed, but he was certainly stunned. His unrehearsed act was another reminder to all those watching of the danger of doing extreme maneuvers near the ground and close to the spectators.
RESULTS
1 Raoul Rodriguez (SP) Edel Funky
Felix Rodriguez (SP) Edel Funky
2 Christian Maurer (CH) UP Acro
Peter Neuenschwander (CH) UP Acro
3 Matthias Roten (CH) Gin Gliders Gangster
Horacio Llorens (SP) Gin Gliders Gangster
4 Herve Cerutti (CH) Advance Acro
David Arrufat (CH) Advance Acro
5 Andy Hediger (CH) Advance Omega Proto
Hernan Pitocco (AR) Advance Omega Proto
6 Patrick Lachat (CH) Advance Sigma 5
Sebastian Bourquin (CH) Advance Sigma 5
7 Josh Waldrop (US) Firebird Acro
Thomas Schwarzer (VEN) Firebird F-18 Acro
8 Gilles Berruex (CH) Gin Gliders Gangster
Jerome Krieg (CH) Gin Gliders Gangster
9 Bernd Hornboeck (AUT) Independence Raptor
Alexander Meschuh (AUT) Independence Raptor
10 Ole Jorgen Lovland (NOR) UP Trango
Stein Egil Mangseth (NOR) UP Trango Small
ACROLAC: AUGUST 30-31
A week later, the pilots were in action again at Lake Aiguebelette in the Alpine region of Savoy, France. They were less numerous but equally enthusiastic about the idea of doing battle – this time in solo confrontations.
The site however showed its weak point with some pilots arriving over the lake with as little as 150 metres left to conduct a full program. Others were more fortunate and able to catch thermals that gave them a generous 800 metres of altitude to work with.
Once again, the Rodriguez brothers topped the list, although they had rain and even a menacing storm cloud to deal with. The last day was a true spectacle for the large crowd. Thanks to a beautiful cloud street, the pilots were able to climb to 1000 metres above the raft, which of course confirms the fact that Aiguebelette is an “all-or-nothing” site.
In addition to the competition, Christophe Waller did a tandem demonstration on a medium-size Gangster (a reinforced canopy especially designed for aerobatics) and outdid many competitors by swinging the SAT to end up nearly tumbling.
Christian Maurer (CH) was the most outstanding at Villeneuve. He and Matthias Roten of the Swiss World Cup team both mounted the podium. At Aiguebelette, the Czechs, Brauner and Orlik, both flying Mac Para’s, demonstrated that even when the wing is underneath them, it doesn’t detract from their excellent piloting.
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