The Cloudbase Mayhem podcast is where you will find fascinating and educational interviews with the best free-flight pilots in the world. If you fly a hanglider or paraglider, if you fly acro or cross country, the Cloudbase Mayhem podcast is where we glean how the great pilots of the world get there. Hosted by Red Bull X-Alps pilot, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and current holder of the North American foot launch record, Gavin McClurg. Follow me on Instagram @gavinmcclurg or on Facebook @ facebook.com/gavinnmcclurg or Twitter on @cloudbasemayhem.
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Episode 69- Armin Harich and Sending Flatlands and Flying accident free
Armin Harich is the co-founder of Skywalk Paragliders, started flying in 1989 and has never had an accident, and is the first person to fly over 300km in Germany- and he did it on a EN B wing (the Skywalk Tequila). I was told by many people before speaking to Armin that he’s a flatlands “SkyGod” so we focused much of this show on flatlands flying techniques and how people started flying the flatlands, dealing with airspace, how to assess weather in advance of a potentially good day, how to get established early, the stupidity of frustration, why it makes sense to try early, and a lot more. But we also discuss the genesis of Skywalk, wing advancement, the X-Alps and metrics of having Chrigel on a Skywalk wing for the race, what’s possible in the future, the synergy between kites and wings, certification and how Skywalk plans for the future. There’s a ton of great take-aways in this show- enjoy!
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Show Notes:
* Armin recounts the best flights of his life in a LONG career of accident-free flying
* How Armin has never had an accident.
* Flying the first 300km in Germany on the Skywalk Tequila
* Dealing with Airspace
* The genesis of Skywalk
* Chrigel on the Skywalk for the X-Alps
* Synergy between kitesurfing wings and paragliding wings
* The pressure on a manufacturer to come up with the latest and greatest
* Developing the sport
* Thoughts on Sink and flying good lines
* Keys to flying far in the flatlands
* Getting established in the flats when it’s not yet “on”
* Flying cross country is not random
* How to studying areas you plan to fly in advance to identify tricky spots
* Air and energy air masses
* The stupidity of frustration
* Try early
* Keeping the passion
* Where to exit a cloud on a cloudstreet day
Mentioned in this episode:
Paul Gushlbauer, Chrigel Maurer, Alex Hollwarth, Stephen Gruber, Arne Wehrlin, Till Gottbrath
Links to Armin’s Films:
https://www.youtube.com/user/haricharmin/
https://www.facebook.com/armin.harich
https://www.dhv-xc.de/leonardo/index.php?op=show_flight&flightID=501779
www.arminharich.de