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I discovered paragliding via my best friend who suggested me to go with him take a paragliding week course. I got the flying virus but I was working waaaay too much during my Phd. No time to fly, to time to enjoy outdoors, no time to live… One day, I saw a paraglider taking off from the little mountain in front of my office. I said: “I should be there and not inside those 4 walls”. I closed my laptop, went upstairs to see the boss and said, “I am not coming back tomorrow”. Probably the best decision of my life!

I would describe myself as a safe pilot who knows his limits, which is for me the definition of a good pilot. I spent a lots of time ground handling, did SIV courses, always flew with easy glider, never chased any records. That helped me to progress slowly but surely. And now, I love to combine my passion for hiking with flying. It is even more important since I adopted my dog Ouka who loves to fly with me.  

I never chased any records and never took part in competition yet, cause my way to practice is just to enjoy simple flying in breath-taking environments. I admire X-Alps athletes, but I am very much happy to watch them on my computer than being in the air with them! 

One day, I was driving through Armenia in my van, and I saw a beautiful mountain, Mount Hatis, which seemed perfect for a little hike & sunset fly adventure. I found a park spot, climbed all the way alone. On top, I got the surprise to see a full group of people having barbecue with a chef and obviously local Armenian drinks! It was the hiking club of the capital having a celebration… Couple of hours later, after eating everything with them, and after couple of drinks (but not much!) they left me to go back down. I waited a bit more for the sunset, and I took off. It was a great moment to see the last ray of sun while flying above the group hiking down… 

Keep hike & fly with Ouka around the planet is for sure my main goal. But I start to feel the desire to explore more distance with my paragliders and fly cross country. Again, the gain will not be chasing any records but just to enjoy paragliding in a different way and see some special points of the planet from above. And of course, sharing this feeling in tandem with my girlfriend Lau.
The first flight with distance on the Kode P 22 was a game changer. It is so easy to take off and land, with or without wind, I was blown away. In hike & fly, and specially with Ouka, my main priority is safety. And I couldn’t ask for a better toy than the Kode P. Associated with the Roamer P harness and the Expe Race bag, it’s the perfect combo.

I love also my Takoo 5. As I am quite a small weight, the 39 size is super efficient in thermals while keeping super easy to manoeuvre. My girlfriend is always a bit scared at the landing after a bad experience, but now she sees we can land so smoothly.

And I am looking forward to trying the new Artik R combined with the Arrow P, which seems to be again some fantastic toys to play with! This is certainly going to be the best products to help me achieve some new kind of adventures.

It might be good to mention that since our flying adventures with Ouka went viral, I received many questions about how to fly with your dog. And I always reply the first thing to check is if your dog wants to fly or not. Dogs can’t talk, but all owners know when their dog wants (or doesn’t want) to do something. I also advice to use a good and comfy harness for your dog: we have a tailor-made one and it’s perfect. And at last but not least, have fun!