Charlie King tries out the Annecy manufacturer’s first mountain wing
For anyone with a decent launchable hill nearby, autumn is a great season for hike-and-fly. For those who are that way inclined, there is not much to beat a dark early start on a cool or crisp morning; crunching through frosty leaf mulch in the shadowy valley bottoms and then climbing up the mountainside as the sky gradually lightens and the sun’s warm glow edges further down the hill to meet you.
The air may be heavy and stable but it’s a great time to go and explore on foot with a wing on your back, and then fly back home in a fraction of the time your upwards adventure took.
Sup’Air are based in Annecy, a location that needs no introduction as a summer mecca for paraglider pilots everywhere. It’s famous for its azure blue lake, alpine terrain and endless cross country possibilities, but it also has huge potential for hike-and-fly – the Bornes to Fly event is based there, and the Sup’Air team are a sporty lot, with their very own X-Alps pilot, Clément Latour.
It’s perhaps little surprise that their third wing, after a tandem and an EN-A school wing, is a mountain glider…
This is just a preview, the full review is in Cross Country 167, Feb/March 2016
