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SKY TEAM

SKY TEAM

SKY TEAM
ALEXANDRE PAUX
He was born in the year when the ten-second barrier for the hundred meters was broken in his homeland – Switzerland. In this year the spy plane, U2, was shot down, and Gagarin had less than a year left before his flight into space.
He began flying paragliders in 1989 however his aviation experience started with parachuting and flying light aircraft. After finishing his military service, he devoted himself fully to paragliding.
In 1989 he started to design and construct gliders. He produced a whole series of successful models.
Alexandre is the head designer at the company. He lives in Switzerland not far from Villneuve, and as well as development, he is also responsible for the sales and service of the company’s products.
He spends most of his leisure time with his wife, and together they enjoy alpine hiking and riding bicycles.
JANA NĚMCOVÁ
Jana was born in the year Pablo Picasso died in Paris, the Vietnam War ended with a truce and Duke Elington published his own biography.
Until recently Jana flew occasionally and her flying journey began in the Beskid mountains where she completed her first flights.
At SKY PARAGLIDERS she is in charge of the company and its economic and personnel operations. She also manages our customer department and makes sure that every e-mail is handled in time so that you, our customers, receive the best service.
In her free time, she likes to ride a bike, read and take care of her dog.

ARTOOSH GHAFOURIAN
was born in Iran in the year the so-called Gulf War with neighbouring Iraq began and when Nirvana's album Nevermind was just released.
Artoosh liked to climb the mountains of Iran since he was a child, following the example of his father. At the age of ten, he saw a glider for the first time and in his eyes, it ignited a flame that has not yet gone out. At the age of ten, he also flew a glider for the very first time and at the age of sixteen, he started flying a tandem.
At the age of twenty, he left Iran for Turkey where he met his wife - at that time Turkey's XC flying champion. From 2014-2018 he flew 1000 tandem flights a year. Artoosh is an international acro, tandem and SIV instructor and our test pilot!
You can meet his ever-smiling face at every big event that Sky organizes!
And if he is not working then you will definitely find him with his wife and daughter in Oludeniz on the beach. ;)

MICHAL ŠOTEK
was born when millions of people fell for the Rubik's Cube, chicken pox was officially eradicated and John Lennon was shot in front of his house in New York.
Michal started flying as a parachutist and later became fascinated by paragliding. He became a pilot in 2003. Since then he has participated in countless races from ACC to Cross Country. Let the 10-year participation in the famous Dolomitenmann race be a calling card. He is a technologist at Sky and is involved in the design of all products. He has been a part of the team for 20 years! When we are looking for technological solutions or some information about older models, we turn to him. ;)
In his free time, he is engaged in a whole range of sports and hobbies if he is not with his family.
MARTINA HLAVÁČOVÁ
was born in the year the ice of the Cold War began to break, Regan and Gorbachev met for the first time at a meeting and the first version of Windows 1.0 came out.
Martina studied textile technology and marketing. She works as a technologist at Sky. She uses her passion for drawing in new designs of harnesses, backpacks and accessories. And she does it more than well!
Martina is a proud mother of two children who like to run and draw if her children allow her. ;)
VÍŤA RICHTER
was born in the year Apple was founded, the Sex Pistols became known for their live vulgarisms and Star Wars started to be shot.
If you want to become a Sky dealer, then you will definitely get in touch with Víťa. He is in charge of communication with dealers and marketing component. You can also meet him at events that Sky organizes or participates in. Víťa is a communicative type who will not reject you in English, French and possibly even a few other languages that he may not have forgotten. :D
Besides flying, which is his hobby no. 1, he likes to ride longer routes on his bike and take photos. Some of his photos can be found here on our website. ;)
MONIKA SLÁDKOVÁ
was born in the year the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended, the Rolling Stones played in Prague with a record number of 130,000 listeners, and the object-oriented Java programming language was invented.
Monika is an English translation graduate. She is a born linguist which is why she is the first to write you back in Sky and connect you with the right person. Monika is empathetic and conscientious. We can't imagine anyone else in this post.
Monika is an enthusiastic reader and also a fan of fantasy. She spends her free time immersed in books about lands far from this world.
The harness crew based in Albrechtice.
The glider crew based in Frýdlant nad Ostravicí
INVISIBLE SKY ARMY OF SKILLED HANDS AND MINDS THAT MAKE THE DREAM OF FLYING COME TRUE
TEAM PILOTS
LUKE DE WEERT
WHO IS THAT PILOT?
My name is Luke de Weert and I am a professional paragliding pilot from the Netherlands. I started paragliding when I was fourteen years old on the beach close to my home in Alkmaar. Starting on the beach defined my flying style and passion for the sport. Because I was always flying close to the ground it made me use my imagination and creativity to fly in a relatively small playground. This resulted in me learning a lot about the gliders and some smaller tricks that have set my foundation to fly acro in the mountains.
WHAT MAKES HIM HAPPY?
It will sound really cliché, but it is freedom. Paragliding allowed me to have an extra dimension in my life. Instead of going left, right, forward and backwards, it gave me the possibility to move in every possible direction. Paragliding brings you back to nature and makes you think about nothing else except flying. All the stress and worries in life fade away and you are in the moment. Paragliding has also given me a purpose in life. I am a very passionate and disciplined person for success in my paragliding career and life. I want to achieve all my goals and dreams. The journey and reaching those goals give me so much motivation and energy which is the most addictive drug for me. It is my driving force and I love this natural and passionate feeling. A place that gives me this feeling the most must be Organya in Spain. The amount of hours flying in nice and warm weather where I can fully focus on training and developing myself as a person and pilot gives me this peace in life. Although Oludeniz in Turkey is also a place close to my heart for similar reasons. Mostly the view over the ocean at the end of the day makes you appreciate life more than ever.
SINCE WHEN DO YOU FLY?
My story started before I was even born. My parents went to Switzerland and my father got inspired by paragliding pilots in the mountains. He started paragliding four years later and shortly after he took me with him in multiple tandem flights to show me the beauty of the sport. I got interested in the sport when I turned fourteen. I don't know what happened in my mind but from that moment my life changed. Because my father was a pilot himself, he taught me all the foundations I needed to know. This helped me progress faster than an average pilot would and it gave me the possibility to do my first SAT just half a year later. The better I got, the more time I wanted to invest in my future and my career. A never ending cycle/story/journey.
WHAT IS YOUR GOAL OR ACHIEVEMENTS IN PG?
As a little kid who just started paragliding, my dream was to become a professional paragliding pilot. I knew that it was going to be hard because of the country I live in (for the people who don't know, the Netherlands doesn’t have mountains). I basically always have to travel if I wanted to train more acro. This was quite hard because I was still young and couldn't travel alone. So I had set my goal to reach the top 5 in the world. This sounded realistic to me and something I could achieve. What I didn't expect is that during my first time participating in the Acro World Tour, I would finish fifth! This was an eye opener for me. Basically, my dreams just became so much bigger than I had ever thought was possible. I wanted more. Covid-19 has paused the competition scene for one year and this gave me the possibility to train more than I ever could and gave me the advantage that I was always lacking because of the country I live in. My progression went through the roof. My trainings were super efficient and I managed to learn a lot of new tricks that year. Even the legendary Horacio Llorens told me that he had never seen a progression this fast in one year. When 2021 came around I could finally show what I had in possession. I competed in my first World Championships and proudly finished in third place. At the same time, I finished the Acro World Tour in second place. What was just a dream for me as a little kid just became a reality that year. But there is still a lot more to achieve so the story will keep on going for many more years.
THE BEST FLYING MOMENTS?
It's hard to say one best moment because there are so many. The one that keeps coming back is the second you take off. The moment you take off and feel the pressure in the brakes and the feeling that you're flying is just unimaginable. This feeling never gets old.
Another memorable moment is when I finished fifth in the AWT. Because from this moment my dreams became bigger than ever. From that moment I knew exactly what I wanted to do and how I want to live my life. It was the moment I knew I was going all in. No plan B.

MAUD PERRIN
• WHO IS THAT PILOT?
My name is Maud Perrin, I am 22 years old, I am French and I do acrobatic paragliding.
• WHAT MAKES HER HAPPY?
The best spot depends on the season but of course Organya in summer! In winter I love being in Chamonix and between seasons it changes. Flying generally makes me feel free and allows me to relax, not think about anything, and just enjoy the moment. Acrobatics, more specifically, is a way to surpass myself, to work on technique and the perfect move.
• SINCE WHEN DO YOU FLY?
I started paragliding with my father when I was 10 years old in tandem and then on my own when I was 15. The acrobatics came later but I always preferred the technical and aesthetic side of the discipline. I've been in Organya for several summers and am studying at a business school that fits my competition schedule.
• WHAT IS YOUR GOAL OR ACHIEVEMENTS IN PG?
I am training today to become a world champion in the mixed category. Today no women are competing with men on the overall podium, I want to change that. Acrobatic paragliding is a discipline which, in my opinion, should not differentiate between the genders because physical appearance is not a factor in the difference in level between men and women. What makes a difference today is the mental aspect and this will not prevent me from reaching the podium.
Outside of competition, I want to progress more widely in the mountains to combine projects with beautiful climbs and takeoffs with adapted equipment. I wish to use my flying experience to enlarge the possibilities of combos.
• THE BEST FLYING MOMENTS?
My most beautiful flight was in Chamonix from the Aiguille du Midi during a sunset. The evening lights on the sea of clouds were magnificent, this flight will remain engraved in my memory.

VINCENT TORNARE
• WHO IS THAT PILOT?
^{I’m Vincent Tornare from Switzerland, 20 years old Acro pilot, I did my first flight at the age of 2 in tandem with my dad, and since this day I never stopped flying. For 3 years I’m flying an Acro and sometimes I go for Hike and Fly.}
• WHAT MAKES HIM HAPPY?
^{To make me happy it’s quite easy, just give me a wing and good weather. During the summertime, I love to train in Organya, and during the winter and when it’s not flyable in Spain I love to fly in Murren, Switzerland or in Chamonix, France. Since my youngest age I knew I wanted to fly Acro and my biggest dream is to become an Acro World Champion.}^{I love to fly because It gives me the freedom that I can’t find in other sports.}
• SINCE WHEN DO YOU FLY?
^{I did my first tandem flight at the age of 2 with my dad, and since this day I never stopped to fly. I got my first ground handling wing at 7 years old. I did my first solo flight at 15, got my paragliding licence just after my 17th birthday and started Acro straight after.}
• WHAT IS YOUR GOAL OR ACHIEVEMENTS IN PG?
^{My Biggest goal in paragliding is to become a world champion. Last year for my first competition season I managed to take second place in the Swiss Championships. First place on the Swiss Acro Tour (SAT) overall. I also took part in the Acro World qualifier(AWQ) where I took 5th place on the first task in Rouen and won the second task in Albania. I ended up finishing 2nd place overall, which allows me to climb up to the world Tour (AWT) for the next season!}
• THE BEST FLYING MOMENTS?
^{Basically, every flying moment is my new favourite flying moment, I consider myself a really lucky person because I can fly! So yeah every time I’m in the sky I feel really good! But one of my favourite feelings while flying is when I manage to do a new trick; the first one coming to my mind is my first superstall to infinity with my brand new Kooky 2 in 16 sqm!}

Luca Odetto
• WHO IS THAT PILOT?
^{My name is Luca Odetto, I fly paraglides since 1996 and I love to fly on high mountains. That's why I must have a trustable glider, even in strong turbulence. As it is my Merlin! My first 100km in 2016, my longest FAI triangle is 164km in 2018 on French Alps. I reached 5000 pts agl several times in the past few years, always on french alps on the border with Italy. It's a wild territory, rough wind, but I trust my Merlin and next season my goal is to reach 200kms. I love Sky Merlin!}