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 101- Primoz Susa and the art of the SEND
Primoz Susa is the pilot you will see year after year at the top of the rankings on XContest. He’s been sending huge, huge lines for years, competed in the 2009 Red Bull X-Alps, flies tandems commercially, guides, flies a LOT of competitions, and on most Hammertag days in the Alps the guy you’ll see (along with Alex Robe, who we listened to in episode 98) right at the top of the XContest top scores. We begin this talk hearing about Primoz’s 2009 X-Alps, where he was eliminated early but then carried on solo all the way to Monaco and had some really tenuous and spectacular moments. Then we dive into Primoz’s history of flying that started in 1996 and how he went from dreaming of flying as a child to flying some of the biggest triangles and flights that have ever been done in the history of the sport. We discuss the importance of goal setting; having a plan for the day; the importance of flying competitions and advice for pilots new to comps; how to climb faster; why it’s important not to care if you bomb out; the trap of chasing numbers; solving the mystery of gliding well and the importance of making adjustments; tricks of the XC trade and using Macready; speed bar best use; flying in the Sertau in Brazil; the rules of team flying; bivvy flying tactics; flying with enough margin (relative altitude) and having a backup plan; what to look for and where to find it with weather and identifying a big day, and a lot more. Enjoy- then get out and go BIG!
Show Notes:
* Primoz recounts his 2009 Red Bull X-Alps campaign
* The importance of setting goals
* Finding the rhythm
* Advice for flying competitions and how to approach them when you are new
* How to climb and the biggest mistakes newer pilots make
* Gliding well and making adjustments
* Preparing for a big day
* Speed bar use and Macready
* How to team fly
* Flying the sertau of Brazil
* The importance of flying with good instruments
* If you could rewind the clock and finding the balancing between risk and reward
* Flying with enough margin and having a back up
* Why? Who gives a shit?
Mentioned in this episode:
Alex Robe, Aaron Durogati, XContest, Honza Rejmanek, Toma Coconea, Red Bull X-Alps, Alex Hofer, Dave Turner, Chrigel Maurer, Rafael Saladini, Samuel Nascimento, Marcelo Prieto, Michael Sigel, Donizete Lemos, Matt Henzi, Mitch Riley, FlyWithAndy, Naviter