The first Festival of Spain dedicated to paragliding and flying, the International Air Festival of El Yelmo (FIA), will open its doors on July 2 to 5 to hundreds of pilots from all over the country and abroad, to celebrate its tenth anniversary with a program packed with activities and shows – all free for visitors.
The 10th edition of El Yelmo Festival, held in the village of Cortijos Nuevos, Jaen (Andalusia), will feature the annual Air Film Festival –one of the few contests for productions related to aerial activities in the world– with more than 25 films from 12 countries. The Festival was born in 1999 as Air Film Festival and although it now covers a wider scope of activities, the films are still the heart of El Yelmo and make it a great place to learn about ground-breaking aerial feats, epic trips on the lightest aircrafts or flying adventures in the most remote corners of the world.
The coordinator of El Yelmo Festival, Esperanza Chinchilla, remembers that the organization of the event intends to support the small film industry and filmmakers dedicated to flying, “and at the same time promote the sport of paragliding”.
Visitors to El Yelmo will find plenty to see and do, from acrobatic displays by paragliders with the SAT Team, the Acro Twins or the JustAcro team, or paramotors with world champs Ramon Morillas and Mathieu Rouanet; to the 2nd Para-mountain race for the most ‘athletic’ pilots, or virtual flight demonstrations. At the vendors fair the pilots will find many of the paragliding and paramotor products available in the market, but also a day-cinema where the films in competition will be screened for those who cannot watch them by night under the stars. As usual, there will be concerts and parties every night and, hopefully, the smooth evening soaring conditions for paragliding until dusk.
Paramotor pilots are welcome at El Yelmo too. There is a paramotor field from where guided raids will start in the morning to fly over the picturesque scenery of the nearby Natural Park. A Freestyle Paramotor exhibition will see some of the best pilots in the world dragging their feet at high speeds and playing with their wings near the ground.
The 10th Air Festival of El Yelmo starts on Thursday 2 of July at 19:00 hours and ends on Sunday 5 at 2 pm. Registration is free for pilots and companions, but a valid pilot license and insurance is required to fly during the event.