Tag Archives: tandem

#234 A lifetime in the clouds with Chuck Smith

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Free flight tends to attract some rather big personalities to its crutches. And among its most interesting and passionate devotees is American pilot and pioneer Chuck Smith. Chuck learned back east on the dunes in the US with his brother in the late 80’s under the tutelage of climbing legend John Bouchard. From there the search for airtime and the love of the flying community brought him all over the world. The people he’s impacted or been impacted by is an impressive rolodex of the history of flying.

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Episode 115- Sky Camping with Martin (11 yrs) and Honza Rejmanek

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Honza Rejmanek competed in the Red Bull X-Alps 5 times. His last was in 2015 but apparently nutty runs in the family and he and his son Martin have been doing incredible 8 day tandem vol-biv adventures for the past three years in the Alps. Their style is pure- no mechanical support is allowed (ie they fly or they walk), food is collected or carried, where they start and end is fixed so if they don’t make it one year they just come back the next! Honza says compared to the X-Alps they move at about one quarter of the speed but with four times the weight and no support crew!

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Episode 110- Juan Sebastien Ospina “Seb” and Piecing it all Together

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Sebastien Ospina “Seb” has been chasing all things paragliding for years now. Seb works the tandem scene in Interlaken year round; has been chasing the world record in the Sertau in Brazil the past few years; is a regular on the podium at very high level competitions; is frequently at the top of the XContest every year; and has been an XC instructor with Pal Takats and Mike and Stu Belbas with Verbier Summits.

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Episode 57- Phil Glutz and Confidence, Complacency and Chasing it

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Phil sends big lines in the biggest terrain in the Alps and decided a couple decades ago to ditch his engineering career because the sky was calling. An Australian native, Phil discovered Zermatt over twenty years ago and made it his home. We discuss the business of tandem flying and the inherent risks involved; the importance of confidence when flying XC; how to “own it”; the best flying sites in the Alps; the call of the big mountains; how to make a career in flight; what makes the “perfect” student; and how to always be wary of complacency. Enjoy! 

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Episode 2- Matt Beechinor (the Glider Podcast)

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Really excited about this second episode with one of my mentors in the big XC game, Matt Beechinor, aka “Farmer”. When he flew 193 miles in 2012 from Mt Baldy in Sun Valley I decided my choice to move to the Wood River Valley later that summer was about the best decision I ever made. Matt has been flying for almost 20 years, is the best tandem pilot I know, is an amazing instructor, guide, and a Jedi in the air. In this episode we hear about a couple of amazing saves, what the “alien world” is, how Matt approaches risk, how to thermal better and how he has become one of the best gliders in the business. Enjoy!

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