40 days in Pakistan in search of Altitudes World Records.








We are now back to Europe after more than a month flying in the high mountains of karakorum. We had great conditions and made many flights. We stayed at base camp at 4000 m for days waiting for good conditions to intend high altitude flights. Ramon went up to around 7800 m next to the Masherbrun and holds the new paramotor altitude world record. I flew at 6711 m with paramotor and at 6625 m on paragliding without oxigen with my Gradient Avax XC2. This altitude is 2100 m higher than the Altitude World record holded by Robbie Whittall (4526 m)... This flight was very scary because we didn't take oxygen and I suffered the effects of strong hypoxia. I could not see anything... Acording to the GPS track, I went up from 3600 m to 6625 m in 11 min in a very strong thermal. It was a pretty bad feeling to be almost blind and flying in between 7000 meter high mountain peaks. Hopefully, everyone came back in one piece. We have been flying super close to huge glacier and into snowing clouds taking off from roads or from tiny fields and in very cold temperature close to -35°. The material was still perfectly working in those harsh conditions and we where both amazed to ear the sound of our great HE motors at those altitude where the lack of oxigen can kill a man in a very short time.

We made tons of pictures and videos. Sebastian Alvaro from "Al filo de lo imposible" and director of the documentary is really happy, we have great material for the movie.

Beside the flying part, we met great peoples and had a amazing time, sleeping in tents in the snow, waiting for good weather, practicing ice climbing on the glacier and meeting the locals. Soon some more information will appear in Paramotor Magazine and in Aerial soon. Cheers.

Expedition Nanga Parbat (8125m). Himalaya.




One year ago Ramon Morilas asked me if I wanted to join him in is project in Pakistan to intend to fly above the famous Nanga Parbat(8125m). I did not take long to say yes... Since then we have been preparing a prototype of the HE R220 to be able to fly at those altitudes. We have made tons of flights in the Sierra Nevada, flying in strong thermals, very cold weather and strong wind conditions. I have been learning a lot on Ramon's side and now we are both ready to go and give it a try.

Here is what is going to happen in Pakistan :
It is probably the most ambitious projects I am taking part in sinds I started to fly 8 years ago. It would also probably be one of the most important project of those years in the paragliding and paramotoring scene.
We are leaving august 25th for Pakistan. We will go to the base camp of the Nanga Parbat (8125m) so called the »killer mountain » with a TV crew of the spanish national television (TVE) and the well known TV presentator Sebastian Alvaro. We will have to hike during 4 days to reach the base camp then we will stay at least 3 weeks at 4100 m to get used to the lack of oxygene and to prepare the material. The goal is to be the first pilots to fly above a 8000 m peak and to break the altitude world record. The all adventure will be followed by the TV crew in order to make a full documentary about our adventure and to bring it into the mainstream press all around the world. It is now been one year we are preparing with our sponsors for this projects and I am really looking forward to be in Pakistan. My job there is to make aerial footage and to intend to follow Ramon as high as I can. I am looking forward to see where are my limits and how high I can get. We will be living for one month in one of the most remote place of the world, flying paramotor and paraglider, sleeping in tents,... I cannot wait to get there.

I will soon give you the adress of the blog I am working on. Stay tune. tom.

Acrobatics 09.

Here is a small movie made with some images of Ramon and I having fun in some of the places we visited this year. Sweden, Flypa, the Sierra Nevada... enjoy.
tom. video

Red Bull X Alps 09.





I'm still recovering from the race at the time I'm writting this message... Indeed this edition was very hard. A lot of walking, very litle sleep, always on the edge... but what a great time we had.

The race started very fast from Salzburg with around 90 km under the belt a the end of the first day. We were running most of the day wich was a big mistake. On the next day, many pilots could already feel some pain because of pushing to much. We all had huge training cessions before the race but running down hill was a mistake. The second day I could already feel strong pain in my left knee and at the end of the day I couldn't walk anymore. I felt miserable, so much training to finish like that... Finaly I decided to take it easy for the next days to try to recover as fast as posible. It lasted 3 long days. Walking was painfull but I kept on going as I could, not being able to bend my leg. Then, one morning, the pain stoped. I still had some reserve because I was not pushing hard on the last days. I had a second start. We traveled a lot with the french team. It was good to share good times and bad times with Julien Wirtz, we are much stronger together. Good flying was not hapening so we kept on going, putting one foot in front of the other days after days. Together, we made it back from 24th to 11th. Then, a new competition started into the competition. The fight for the 10th position. We finaly had a good flight from the Furka pass. I flew almost all the way to Zermatt, leaving Andy Froetscher and Julien Wirtz 30 km behind. Then came the longest day of the race... 29 hours followed closely by Julien and trying to catch Ramon. In 29 hours I walked around 120km with my bagpack. I slept one hour when a caught Ramon then we kept on going because Julien was getting closer. We finaly had a last flight from "col de balme" where my friend Pal Takats took off 2 hours earlier. I lost myself in the mountain there and Ramon took advantage of it. After landing I started to run and managed to keep my 10th place till the end. Julien was 7km in my back but called me to say that he wasn't going to run after me. In one hour he couldn't close the gap. I arrived in Chamonix right next to the mont blanc. The scenery was amazing, I couldn't move anymore. I had reached the limits of my body.
It was great to do the race with Max. He did an amazing job. It would have been imposible to achieve anything without him and his experience by my side.


Even if I promissed myself never to do it again, I already know that I'll be back in 2011... Now I'm trying to get back to a normal live but I still wake up after 3 hours of sleep or when the sun comes out thinking that I have to keep walking... It was a great experience to deal with so much pain, frustration and joy... I love it...

blue skies and soft landings.
Tom.

El Yelmo Festival. Winner of the Mountain race...




I'm just back from "El Yelmo" in Spain. What a great time we had there. I was going there to participate at the "pure freestyle" on paramotor but I came back as the winner of the moutain race... I won the first price: a brand new SKY paraglider.
How did that happened ?
: 25 pilots took the start for a 11km race to the take off of "el yelmo". Arrived there we had to take off and make a turning point(flying or walking) before to land next to the festival. I was running almost the all time following my X Alper friend Pal Takats and followed by Ramon Morillas. I was third to take off but my flying strategy paid... Indeed, to cary less weight as possible I took my small acro glider (Gradient Aspen 2 Freestyle) knowing that the flying distance was not long and that my glider has a great glide anyway...and that was a good call. I past Pal flying and Dany (who was going first but landed after a short flight) made the turning point and managed to land at 100m from the goal and then run into the gate. Ramon arrived second and Pal third. It was great to have the 3 X Alps pilot at the goal. We realised that the training for the X Alps has paid. Having the best material helped too, my Sup'Air Altirando XP with an Xtra lite rescue are super lite and very comfortable to run and fly with. I realised that every details count and I'm now looking forward for the Red Bull X Alps to start...

In the evening we had the "Pure Freestyle"competition. It was nice to compete against three world champions: Mathieu Rouannet (who was amazing by the way), Raoul Rodriguez And Ramon Morillas. Mathieu had a great run and deserved his first place followed by Raoul who intended helicopter made a full stall and Sat. Ramon was third after a nice run and some beautifull Sats and loopings. I arrived late and without a lot of altitude but I managed to do my tricks and finished fifth after entering a clean Tumbling. It feels weird with a paramotor on your back but it works. It had been two weeks I was working on really high dynamic Sats and stuff. I'll keep training... And push the limits... Stay tune...
Fly Safe. tom.

Discovering the Red Bull X Alps 09's route on paramotor.






What a great trip... We were talking about it for a long time, we finaly made it. Ramon Morillas and I flew the main parts of the Red Bull X Alps route on paramotor. We left Salzburg for a 10 days trip trough the Alps. We first took off at the top of the Gaisberg, the first turning point. We flew all the way to Zel am See passing by the second turning point, the Watzmann. I was impressed by the difficulty of this part. We took loads of pictures to be able to analyse the shortest way to cross those mountain passes. The same day we took off again in the afternoon and flew around the great Grossglockner, the turning point 3. We had to climb at around 4200 m high to have an overview. It was freezing cold but it was amazing to be there. We are probably the very first pilot to fly above this peak. At the end of the day we landed just at the entrance of the dolomites. We had a good night rest and then took off early in the morning to cross the dolomites... We flew around the Marmolada, turning point 4, checking all the different options. Now we have it super clear, etheir we have to fly or walk trough the mountains... Then we went to Zermat to check the Matterhorn but it was too windy. We met a local pilot who explained us how to deal with this tricky part of the route. Very interesting, thanks to him. Now we are training in the Alps, climbing mountains and taking informations... stay tune. Blue skies,
tom.

Santander's natural parc... Red Bull demo.




Great time in Santander with the Red Bull team "SDR de Pedrena". The weather was pretty bad the first day for the "regata" but I could fly the next day and perform an acro show. The regata is a religion down here in cantabria. An important public was there to support the teams. It was amazing to see the athletes, they are training super hard. They gave me a few good advises for the preparation of the Red Bull X Alps. I was able to make a few pics of the parc where I was making my demo. It felt like africa... Very impressed by the elephants and the tigers from above...

PPG meeting in Sweden.




It was my first time in Sweden and what a great time! We arrived in Stockholm friday where our friend H&E dealer Tomas came to get us. We went straight to the meeting at one hour drive. As expected, nature around here is beautifull... And guess what, you can fly almost 20 hours a day.. as the sun never gets far away at this time of the year. It is still pretty cold up there. (it feels like early spring in Belgium.) Coming straight from spain, I was not expecting that, It was fun to go back to the cold for a few days.
Lots of lake, lots of forest, and many red houses. As the country is huge and you have a lot of day time, it would be the place to intend a paramotor distance world record... Maybe next year...
The meeting was really well organised, a skydiver team came around and many people where flying paramotors. You can tell that they have long winter here : they all make their own trike themself...very well made by the way. I was impressed. I even saw a new prototype that you can drop while flying if you have to land on your feet. Very well made. Congratulations.
The weather was good so I got to train my tricks with my Gradient acro glider. I have the dynamic Sat under control and I'm now working on the rythmic. As acro is usualy prohibited in Sweden, the organisation received a special autorisation from the federation. I enjoyed it as much as possible...
We didn't have much time to see Stockholm but what we have seen was beautifull. It is now on my top 5 cities... I cannot wait to come back next year.

Thanks to Max, Tomas, Frederik for their help filming an making pictures. And many thanks to the great organisation. Blue skies and soft landings. tom

FLYPA 09



I was invited to the Flypa festival last week. The weather wasn't at his best (grey sky) but we still had a lot of fun performing aerobatics with the paramotors. I just love to go to play with the waves and touch the water with my feet... (always with a life jacket on and lifeguards around).

3 Red Bull X Alps pilots were there : Ramon, Pal and myself. We talked a bit about our experience, strategy and training and planned some time in the alps to get to know the road better all together.

I didn't train a lot during this week, let's say it was our vacation for 6 days... but I was flying 4 hours a day... I got to know my brain new glider. It didn't take long to get use to fly such a small size on paramotor (19m). Now I wouldn't switch to a bigger one.. so fun... It goes very fast and dynamic (130 KG all together...). Sat enters with very litle brake. We had a blast, thanks to the perfect organisation.

I'll soon edit a small movie about Flypa 09. stay tune...

Blue skies and soft landings,

Tom.

Press conference @ Peak Performance.


My suporter Max and I gave a press conference in Belgium to make some noise about our next adventure... We were at Peak Performance's place in Antwerpen. Me made a all presentation of the Red Bull X Alps race to the press, how we prepare, how we train, material, etc...
They were amazed and really interested about the challenge. We'll even make a TV documentary with "Plug TV" about paragliding and our team at the Red Bull X Alps. We showed pictures and films of the last edition, everyone enjoyed it.

We talked a bit about the folowing project too(september)... Ramon and I plan to go to Himalaya, Pakistan for 40 days with a tv crew to intend to fly paramotor above the famous Nanga Parbat (so called the killer mountain: 8125m) and break the altitude world record... Stay tune for more info coming soon...

Red Bull X Alps

The start of the race is getting close... Here is the trailer to give you an idea about what my supporter Max and me are going to be up to this summer. Enjoy, and go sign our guestbook at www.redbullxalps.com . Cheers, soft landings. video

Encontro Paramotor Algarve, Portugal.


I just came back from a Paramotor festival in Algarve where I was performing acro with my HE R120. It was great to be there, we met very nice people,we discovered an amazing place and we got the chance to fly the all weekend... My brother Gatien was there to record, make pictures and enjoy the festival. Here is a small acro movie made in Portugal : video

Red Bull X Alps 2009... We are back...


The Belgium team will be back at the famous Red Bull X Alps this summer. After two years waiting for it, it is finaly getting close...
In the 2007's edition I had to get out of the race after a pretty bad accident. I crashed while flying too close to the ground in rugh conditions. As a result I broke my wrist. At that point I was at the 10th position and of course really sad to end this amazing adventure.

Sinds then, I improved my flying a lot here in Granada and I'm training hard physically to keep in a good shape. You know the saying: "First time you do it, it's to prepare for the second time..." With this year's selection, you better be prepared... Some of the best pilots in the world will be there. Let's see what happens... My supporter this year will be Max Van Dyk. See you guys at the start.

PPG trip in Mali




What an amazing trip... I just came back from Mali where I was traveling with friends, making pics and teaching how to fly paramotor. We went from the beautifull "pays Dogon" to the amazing city of Djene passing by Fatima's hand.
Beside flying, we took 3 days to kayak down 145 km of the niger from the Guinea border to Bamako. Amazing time, sleeping in fishermen's house, sharing true moments and enjoying adventure.

Bxl Istanbul PPG trip...





We made it...
A paramotoring trip from Brussels to Istanbul in total autonomy trough 10 countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Grece, Turkey.) 22 days, 3000 km.
2 pilots: Maxime Van Dyk, Thomas de Dorlodot




We flew the all distance with our H&E R120 and guess what... 70 hours each without a single problem, using all type of nasty oil (what we could get on the way...) H&E rocks.
The gliders where the Gradient Aspen 2 with trims. (24m) You can read all the articles in the "press release section".

Go to www.bxlistanbul.be video

FLYPA 08...




FLYPA 08 was an amazing show, I can't wait to be at the 09 edition. It was nice to perform acro above the sea with the DRACO team before landing at the beach. The weather was great. I keep lots of good memories exept the smoking bottle that exploded and started to burn my feet while I was flying... let me tell you.. It hurts... Beside that, I had the chance to be at the right place at the right time and made a pictures of a friend jumping of a paragider. That photography won the second award at the Flypa photography contest.
Anyway, this year, beside training for the Red Bull X Alps 09 and other project, we'll be training our acro show for FLYPA 09.

Machu Picchu...



Machu Picchu…

Un vol mythique fortement déconseillé…
12/01/08 : Il est 17h, je viens de sortir de prison. Les policiers péruviens se réunissent autour de moi pour une dernière photo de groupe. On me rend mon aile et mon appareil photo. Je suis pieds nus et trempé, mais je suis libre.
Certains me serrent la main avec admiration… J’affiche un grand sourire, je ne le cache pas : je suis assez fier de moi...


Voici l’histoire d’un vol mythique fortement déconseillé :

Je suis arrivé au Pérou, il y a trois semaines et l’idée de voler du Machu Picchu m’habite depuis le premier jour. Me voilà enfin au pied de la montagne sacrée, armé d’une sellette légère (Altirando,SUP’AIR) et de mon aile accro GRADIENT ( Aspen 2 freestyle.) Le tout fait 6 kilo. Je n’emporte pas de casque et pas de parachute de secours. Trop encombrant et peu discret.
Après trois heures d ascension qui me rappellent le Red Bull X-Alps (où je représentais la Belgique en 2007 avec Loïc Cardon) j’arrive à l entrée du parc avec mes complices. Cela s’annonce plutôt mal, il est formellement interdit d’entrer dans la cité avec un sac à dos. Je décide donc de me faire passer pour un photographe professionnel muni de son matériel et j’obtiens une autorisation exceptionnelle…Je suis à l’intérieur du site depuis 5 minutes et déjà les gardes m’interrogent sur le contenu de mon sac. Je réponds de manière évasive et comprends vite qu’il ne faut pas s’attarder. Je m’enfonce dans la jungle en bordure du site pendant que mes complices, Edouard, Charles et Owen cherchent un décollage praticable. Je prépare rapidement mon aile entre les arbres et les lianes.
Mon coeur bat à du 100 à l‘heure. Le décollage m’attend, il faut faire vite. Il s’agit d’ une terrasse juste assez large pour ouvrir une aile et qui termine sur une falaise surplombant la jungle. Il n’y a pas de vent, c’est parfait. La voie est libre, pas même un garde en vue. Je sors de la jungle en courant avec mon aile en corolle sur le dos. Édouard et Owen ouvrent la voile. L‘aile se gonfle sans difficulté et trois secondes plus tard, je suis en vol.
Un cri de joie s’échappe, ça y est, je survole le Machu Picchu . Les flashs des touristes clignotent, je me sens en vie… D’ici je peux voir les gardes fondrent sur mes complices. Bonne chance les gars.
Le vol est assez court et déjà il faut penser à l’atterrissage.Une plage de cailloux au milieu de la rivière devrait faire l’affaire. J’atterris entre les rochers et déjà j’entends des aboiements résonner dans la vallée. Ils n’ont pas traîné. Il est temps de disparaître. Alors que je traverse la rivière avec mon sac en équilibre sur ma tête, arrivent trois gardes armés de machettes et suivis d un chien pas commode. Ok, je me rends : « tranquilos amigos … » 
Je leur dis de se calmer, sans quoi je resterais au milieu du rio. L’eau m’arrive à la taille et visiblement ils n’ont pas envie de se mouiller. Tout le monde finit par se calmer et je monte sur la berge. Ils m’arrachent mon sac violement et m’ordonnent sèchement de m’asseoir en attendant la police. Vingt minutes plus tard, je marche sur la voie de chemin de fer qui mène au village escorté de deux policiers en uniforme. Je suis trempé, je crève de faim et pour ne rien arranger, je suis menotté… Cette marche d’une heure jusqu au village tombe à pic. J’ai le temps d’organiser un plan, de construire dans ma tête une histoire qui va leur plaire. Mais surtout, j’essaye de sympathiser avec mes deux nouveaux amis. Fatigués de marcher, ils décident d’arrêter un train en marche. Nous montons tous les trois et quelques minutes plus tard nous arrivons aux portes du commissariat.
Le commissaire en place prend l’histoire très au sérieux. Le responsable de la sécurité du parc, pour sa part, me glisse dans l’oreille: « je vais en faire une affaire personnelle ». Apparemment cette aventure ne fait rire personne sauf moi. Ils me lisent froidement mes droits, et désignent un policier bourru pour me surveiller.
Le commissaire me demande discrètement combien vaut le matériel, la négociation va probablement commencer. La corruption est monnaie courante ici.
C’est alors qu’après trois heures de palabres sans résultats à propos d’une éventuelle amende ou d’une peine de prison ils se prennent de curiosité pour le matériel. L’aile est ouverte au sol et je montre au commissaire comment se placer dans la sellette. Ils s’excitent comme des gosses et déjà je peux voir qu’ils s’imaginent en vol. Dans le fond de mon sac, ils trouvent ma veste peak performance aux couleurs du Red Bull X-Alps. Vu l’intérêt qu’ils manifestent pour la veste, je comprends vite que je tiens là une porte de sortie. Je ne vais pas la laisser passer. 10 minutes plus tard, tous les policiers du village s’affairent autour de l’ordinateur du commissaire connecté au site www.redbullxalps.com . Ils passent ma photo en revue ainsi que tous les films mis en ligne. Toujours enfermé, je peux entendre la bande-annonce du Red Bull X-Alps tourner en boucle. J’ai du mal à ravaler mon sourire lorsque je les entends réagir en choeur : « waaaaw, hoooo… » devant les images aériennes des alpes enneigées et les prouesses des athlètes . Toute cette histoire devient surréaliste.
Une heure plus tard, le commissaire vient me libérer. Le prestige de Red Bull et du Red Bull X-Alps ont changé leur regard sur moi et mon aventure. Je n y crois pas…
Je les entends parler de parapente, de la violente fermeture de Martin Muller et de la neige recouvrant l’Eiger. Certains se vantent même d’avoir déjà bu du Red Bull, c’est incroyable.
Visiblement tout le monde se prépare pour une photo de groupe, le commissaire se place au centre, il porte ma veste…

12/01/08 : Il est 17h, je viens de sortir de prison…

Escape tv

Here is an interview made by Raphael Charlier for escape tv. www.vwescape.tv
It was right after the Red Bull x Alps 07 while I was recovering from my accident.

video

Press releases:



























































Here are some of the press release.