On June 10, 2023 Arne Kristian Boiesen, a veteran paraglider from Norway stepped off one of his local sites outside of Oslo hoping to go pretty big. 9.5 hours later he’d flown his Niviuk Peak 6 343 km from launch, a remarkable 90 km farther than anyone ever had in Norway, flying nearly due north across epic terrain, landing just south of Trondheim. The record stands today.
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Thad hails from Minnesota, just sold a successful musical production company and is addicted to flying. The holy grail in the US has been the 200 mile mark, a distance very few pilots have pulled off and Thad has chased it hard for years. His chase has taken him through the full arc of what you have to learn to send, an arc that of course never ends. This spring he pulled it off in the flats of the MidWest with a 228 mile (very cold) beauty. A little while after he pulled it off he sent me an email that I’ve posted here nearly in full because…well because we all need a good laugh now and then and it’s what lead to this show. Thad tells the “and there I was…” story better than anyone. Grab a whiskey and tuck in, you’re in for a treat.
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I am convinced that with a good winch and good tow-technician, launching via tow is much safer than foot launching and gives the free flight world access to incredible flying in conditions when terrain flying would be too risky. If you are currently doing any tow launching, or plan to in the future, give this podcast a listen. Towing has risks, but they can all be mitigated with proper techniques, crew, good piloting, and equipment.
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