SAFA Skysailor Magazine

12 SKY SAILOR July | August 2020 F rom Grente in the Antholzer valley, Bernie, a Nova team pilot, flew an unbelievable 300.6km on his Mentor 3 [xcontest.org/2014/world/de/fluge/details/: ber nhardp/8.06.2014/06:59]. To this day this flight has not been bettered. A brief review with Berni. How did you plan your flight? The whole paragliding scene had been thinking about and discussing it for ages. There were a number of pilots who had planned various triangles… some thought it was impossible and others thought it only possible on a competition wing. Then there was the issue of the ideal route. Either way, 300km is a crazy distance. Everything has to be absolutely right: little wind, high cloudbase, optimal terrain, long days and lastly, the pilot can’t afford to make any mistakes. There simply isn’t time to dig yourself out of a hole. So, how did it go on 8 June 2014? This flight wasn’t my first attempt at the 300. I had tried for the first time during my previous visit to Grente. I diverged from the standard route, flew over Plose and then failed miserably! This time I considered everything carefully and adapted my strategy to the weather forecast. I flew the first two legs very fast in order to have enough time for the final turnpoint. That worked very well. Thanks to the very dry airmass, it was possible to extend the triangle far to the south. You flew for over 12 hours, the final 3.5 hours you struggled through valleys at low altitude. Were you sure you could complete the triangle? Not at all. It was a nail-biter! There were moments I was going up and was optimistic that there would be enough time, but there were also moments when I was happy just to see a landing field in reach. Right until the end, it was very exciting. I only flew 300.6km. At the 300km mark I was only about 60m above the ground – 300km is pretty far out, even though Tom flew his 325km on a CCC wing the day before. What determining factors helped you achieve this amazing feat? It was a huge puzzle made from many small pieces. Like I said… everything had to be just right! What The Alps, 2014: First 300km FAI triangle on an EN-B In June 2014, Austrian pilot Tom Walder achieved the first paragliding 300km FAI triangle on a competition wing. Only a few days later, Berni Pessl repeated this amazing feat, but on an EN B wing. Berni Pessl broke new ground on an EN-B Nova Mentor