SAFA Skysailor Magazine

4 SKY SAILOR January | February 2020 I n the spirit of the Red Bull X-Alps, but without the ‘rough edges’, our goal was to fly daily cross-country tasks traversing the Alps, in full circle – France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, and Italy. With transport and good ground support, for two weeks we experienced some of the best scenery and the most famous cross-country flying routes the European Alps have to offer. Ground zero was Milan, Italy. From the airport our complement of pilots and ground support drove across the border into France for our first task in St Andrés. For some of us at least, this was our first experience of task-based cross-country in the Alps. With well-planned route waypoints, flying our way through hidden valleys and over snow-capped peaks was made possible. Satellite tracking by our ground support saw to it that any pilots who landed short of goal were quickly picked up. No-one missed the end of task celebrations at goal, with cold beer served from the local bars located at most of our chosen goals paddocks! Overnight accommodation was arranged in local and comfortable hotels, where we also enjoyed fresh continental breakfasts the following morning. A small contingent of campers within our group chose to pitch tents at nearby campgrounds, but, don’t be fooled, European campgrounds are not Vol Alps 360 Tour Left: Some very happy XC pilots after another great day of flying – Magnus Eriksson (SWE),Fredrik Lindholm (SWE), and Hamish Dicker (NZL) La Clusaz, France Top left: Our daily live track map The 2019 Alps 360 tour was the brainchild of a handful of cross-country pilots with origins in Australia, New Zealand and Sweden, including our local legend Matts Ellison – the 2019 Canungra Cup Champion. by Ian McFarlane