Portrait - Félix De Place
At Supair, we like to support the passionate young pilots who represent the future of paraglider. This time, we're delighted to welcome 14-year-old Félix de Place to our Family Pilots. A hyperactive young outdoor sportsman from Grenoble, Félix is already at ease on his LEAF 3 Light, and lives his passion with a determination and freshness that make you smile. We'll let you get to know him in his own words:
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
Hi, my name is Félix, I'm 14. I'm in 4th grade at school in Grenoble. I do a lot of sports like freestyle skiing and snowboarding, wing foil, skateboarding... and of course paraglider !
When and how did you learn paraglider ?
By the age of 3, I was already flying two-seaters with my dad. Then, when I was 6, I started inflating with his speedriding glider .
When I was 11, my father, Rody and I went to Castelluccio in Italy for 8 days to make my first flights. I was a bit stressed going up, but once I was in the air, it reminded me of tandem flights, and Rody was on the radio to reassure me.
When I got back from Italy, I had to wait a while for my father to give me a waiver so that I could be insured and have my first glider solo, so that I could fly on my own in France. Since then, I've been doing everything I can to train and fly as often as possible!
At the beginning of the year, I joined CODEVOLI, a club for young pilots supported by the FFVL. It's been great: I'm progressing really fast and we're starting to do little cross-country races, always in a great atmosphere.
What are your projects outside paraglider ?
My dream is to join the paraglider hope group when I'm in second year, and later to become paraglider world champion.
I'd also like to do a bit of hang gliding, because it helps with steering in turbulent cross-country conditions... and it's fun too 😉
Where can we follow your adventures?
On Instagram!
@fefe__de_place
