Portrait – Nico Lutz
NICO LUTZ
Can you introduce yourself in a few words?
NL: My name is Nico Lutz. I was born in 1988 – and originally, I come from Kehl, in Germany.
When and how did you learn paragliding ?
NL: When I first started flying a sailplane in 2004, I didn’t expect that, at some point, paragliding would become my passion. Not before 2014, while I was active in skydiving, did I get to know the sport of paragliding – from that moment on, I knew that this was the aviation sport for me. I quickly joined a paragliding school in the black forest and started my training. Immediately I was infected with it, and since then, I spend every minute of my free time in the air.
What is your kind of paragliding ?
NL: After my training to become a paraglider pilot, I soon noticed that regular flying wasn’t enough for me. I started taking part in a number of safety courses and began to slowly approach the subject of Acro Flying.
Until this day, I strive to further develop my skills in controlling the paraglider.
In 2020 I found myself interested in xc-flying where I give myself little challenges, which I love to plan and conquer.
The great thing about paragliding for me is that you never have to stay in one domain. It could be that, on one day, I like to go to the limits of my paraglider and my abilities – and on the next day, I might get the same great feeling from an early down-gliding in peaceful air.
Could you share an interesting paragliding memory with us ?
NL: There are a number of moments, which I love to relive in my mind and like to talk about. For me, every flight has these special moments. I like to think back to flights with friends, for example a flight at Kronplatz in South Tyrol, where we started our journey above the cloudbasis – and with just minimal height loss – were flying inbetween the clouds for, what felt like a eternity. That was not at all a flight, where I covered a great or special distance, neither did I fly any exceptional maneuvers – but nevertheless it was a flight that I remember as outstanding.
What are your upcoming projects ?
NL: Next year, there is definitely a Norway-trip on my list of places where I want to paraglide – because I need to see that beautiful landscape from above. Furthermore, I plan on doing a lot of xc-flights in the near future.
