Portrait - Eliot Hugues
Eliot Hugues
We're delighted to introduce you to Eliot, who joins the Supair family of pilots ! Discover him through a few key questions about his career as a paragliding pilot.
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
Hi, my name is Eliot and I'm 18. I'm currently in my final year at the Lycée Professionnel Alpes Durance in Embrun. I do a lot of sports: hiking, mountain biking, golf... I also skied at a High for 2 years, until I discovered paraglider , which became a passion from my first internship.
When and how did you learn paraglider ?
For my 15th birthday (March 2021), my mother gave me an introductory course at Pollen paraglider in Vallouise. At first, it scared the hell out of me, but by the end of the course, I'd completely forgotten about it.
Then I was lucky enough to join the young paraglider team. This allowed me to practice for 2 years under supervision for two weeks a year.
Finally, on October 31, 2023, I was able to buy my first glider and fly on my own.
When I started paraglider at the youth course, we spent a lot of time teasing each other. I wasn't as comfortable as the others and had more difficulty learning. One day, before we left for our flight, two of my friends made fun of me, saying I was a danger in the air and shouldn't be flown with. At the time, I'd never flown thermals.
On arrival at take-off, everyone got ready, and those with a little more experience bundled up warmly. But as I was still a beginner and wasn't planning to thermal that day, I just set off in my sweater, without gloves. In the end, it was I who made the first thermal climb of the day, even though my colleagues were laughing, thinking it wasn't going to work. Only a certain " Florian Molié", with whom I flew that day, managed to climb High than the take-off. But in the end, it was the cold that caught up with me and pushed me to land.
What are your upcoming paraglider and paraglider projects?
As far as paraglider is concerned, my aim is to get hooked, with the idea of taking part in competitions, while also exploring distance flight competitions. I'd also like to become an instructor, to share my passion with others. At the same time, I'd like to continue teaching downhill skiing at the ESF in Puy Saint-Vincent, an area I really enjoy.
Where can we follow your adventures?
See you on Instagram!
@Eliot.Hugues
