Pal Takats is a man on a mission, the world’s most innovative paraglider has landed in South America to see if the continent can satisfy his appetite for extreme air. We managed to find Pal with both feet on the ground long enough to ask him a few questions about his trip...
During this trip to South America, you found time to compete in the Paragliding World Cup. How did it feel to be flying with the elite?
The truth is that I couldn’t wait to fly with them. I was very excited to get there, I wanted to taste top-level competition flying and learn from the best. I already knew some of the pilots but I also met so many others, young rookies to real paragliding legends. It was a pleasure to fly with all the guys.
What can you tell us about Roldanillo in Colombia, the location of the World Cup event?
The place is perfect. During the 16 days I spent there, the conditions were always good for flying. Even on the weaker days when the clouds blocked the sun we could still fly through the 70km challenges. The World Cup meeting in Colombia was split into two competitions and both featured tasks of over 100km, because the conditions were so good everybody was able to complete the tasks. I think if I had been able to fly freely instead of completing the tasks we were set then everyday I would have been able to fly well over 100km everyday.
The take-off was on this huge south-east facing mountain slope that reaches down to a region called El Valle (The Valley) which is wide and flat for 20km. The rising sun shines on the mountain slope so we could start at 10am and get the flying done before the sea breeze came along later and shut down the conditions. The thermals were not the strongest but plentiful and easy to find. There were birds in almost every thermal and that helps to guide you when you are close to getting stuck.
The amount of thermals helped me make a lot of ‘Low Saves’, very often I would be just 25 metres from the ground and the next minute be back in the clouds again. Roldanillo is an excellent spot to make easy distance over beautiful landscape.
What will be your lasting memories from your trip to Roldanillo?
The race starts were an incredible experience. All the pilots launched into the air and headed towards a start-point, this was an invisible cylinder with a radius of 2km. It’s like an invisible cage all the way from the ground up into space. Imagine the race is starting at midday and 10 minutes before there are 140 pilots all under the same cumulus cloud, all trying to stay inside the space but still get the best position to start the race.
I guess it must be what the guys from Monty Python pictured when they came up with the phrase Flying Circus. Everybody is cruising around trying to lift or sink, enter or exit the thermal, coming in and out of clouds. It’s complete traffic chaos. When the clock hits 11:59:59 the chaos immediately clears up and everybody sets off in the exactly the same direction. There’s a great release of tension at this moment.
Were you able to pull off your trademark move, Infinity Tumbling, during the World Cup?
Sure, I first performed the stunt at the opening ceremony when all the pilots landed in a football stadium after a free-flying session. The town was watching and applauding every single pilot who landed, the crowd was cool. I’ve been so impressed with the Colombians I have met, always extremely friendly, helpful and very open minded.
I also pulled off some Infinity Tumbling in Medellin when I met with 50 local pilots. The wind was good and allowed us to do a few training sessions. I also managed to use my Thiller acro-glider which was cool."
'There’s already a great infrastructure for flying, the local scenes all have their fair share of skilled pilots'
Pardon the pun, but it seems paragliding is really taking off in South America?
The sport is big here and getting bigger, not only is there great experienced flyers like Hernan Pitocco from Argentina but lots of rookies wanting to get their wings. I must say I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen so far. There’s already a great infrastructure for flying, the equipment is good and the local scenes all have their fair share of skilled pilots. Lots of the sites are close to big cities, that helps get people involved. Also tandem flying is popular, I think that is the best way to get new faces involved in the sport.
So the sky is the limit for paragliding in South America, but what comes next for Pal Takats?
Well, before coming to Colombia I spent five months in Brazil so it’s all starting to feel like home. I’ve now been in Colombia for three weeks and plan to stay for another seven weeks. The idea is to buy a motorbke in Medellin and go for a ride along the coast with only a kite and a board. I want to travel the Caribbean coastline, enjoying the ride and practising kitesurfing.
I have something really spectacular and unique in mind for later in the year but right now that’s all I can say. It will be an awesome challenge and right now I’m just waiting for the green light so finger's crossed!
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