Tag Archives: Paraglider

94 Year Old War Veteran To Parachute Over Normandy

Those of you who have parachuted from 10,000 feet from a plane will be aware of the dangers of the activity. A number of things can potentially go wrong but the majority of parachutists make a safe landing suffering no injuries and thoroughly enjoy the experience.

However, there are very few people in their 90s who would dare take to the skies in a plane, jump from it at several thousand feet, free fall for a considerable distance before parachuting to the ground. Well that is exactly what a 94 year old second world war veteran intends to do on the 6th June 2019 to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landing.

Harry Read is a very brave gentleman. Back on the 6th June 1944, whilst the Second World War was in progress, he was a young wireless operator. On that day which was the day of the D-Day landing he took to the skies and was parachuted into Normandy in France. Unlike many of his colleagues, he survived not only the landing but also the war. He later went on to head up the Salvation Army for a period of time.

Last year, in preparation for his forthcoming jump, he parachuted from several thousand feet here in the UK raising money for the Salvation Army.

All of use here at AIB Insurance wish Harry Read good fortune on the 6th June when he makes his parachute descent and hope that he makes a safe landing.

If you take part in parachuting on a regular basis then you may be interested to read that we specialise in arranging suitable cover. In this respect, why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and speak with a member of our team who will be happy to discuss your requirements and arrange a competitive quotation without any obligation. We look forward to hearing from you.

Young Briton Wins Gold At European Paragliding Championships

Theo Warden Our paragliding clients will be pleased to hear about a young man’s success at the FAI European Paragliding Championships that took place in July in Montalegre, Portugal. His name is Theo Warden and he is only 19 years of age. Apparently, he is one of the youngest people to win a gold medal in the history of this competition.

Around 150 of the best paragliders from 28 European countries took part in the annual event so there was obviously an awful lot of competition. This is the 15th one of these championships that took place over a 10-day period. There were 8 tasks covering distances ranging from 53km to 93km.

It was a close run thing with Theo Warden accumulating 5,348 points. However, in second place was Torsten Siegal from Germany who finished on 5,346 points – only 2 points behind the winner. The third placed contestant was B         iagio Alberto Vitale from Italy who finished with 5,328 points – only 20 points behind Theo Warden.

Paragliding Apparently, Theo Warden only started paragliding at the age of 14 so he has done remarkably well to have reached the level that he has in the space of 5 years. In 2015, at the British Open in St Andre Les Alpes, France he was ranked 59th. In 2016, he was ranked in 25th place at the British Open in Mantelgas, Portugal. In 2017, he was ranked 15th at the British Open in the Malverns. In 2017, at the World Cup Superfinal in Colombia, he was ranked in 15th place.

It is also worth mentioning that, along with Lawrie Noctor, it was not too long ago that he broke the UK declared tandem paragliding record having flown a distance of 71km.

Well done to Theo Warden from all of us here at AIB Insurance and we wish him every success in future competitions.

Whether you are an experienced paraglider or are getting into the sport for the first time, why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and speak with a friendly, knowledgeable member of our staff about arranging suitable, competitive insurance to provide you with complete peace of mind.

Paraglider Flies Amongst Thousands Of Birds

ParagliderApparently, until recently, no person has ever been fortunate enough to fly within a flock of birds. Well, that all changed quite recently when a paraglider by the name of Horacio Llorens who just happens to be a world champion in this exiting aviation sport was able to fulfill one of his ambitions and took to the skies to fly amongst a flock of starlings.

He was able to do this in Denmark where each year thousands of starlings gather and fly through the air in huge flocks. It is known as the “Black Sun” and it is a spectacular sight.

Mr Llorens who is 35 years of age and is from Spain has been paragliding for 17 years and has always wanted to experience flying with birds. In order to do so, he was able to gain the permission of the Ministry of the Environment in Denmark.

Of course there are no doubt many paragliders who have been able to fly in close proximity to a small number of birds but it is believed that nobody has been able to fly amongst thousands of birds. He must have felt like he was one of them as he flew his electric powered paraglider as dusk was happening.

The starlings fly from Norway to Denmark where the climate is warmer and where, when they fly around in a flock, there are so many of them that they make the sky darker. There are no doubt many people who make special trips to witness the “Black Sun” from the ground. However, those people were probably very envious of Mr Llorens as he flew amongst the starlings. There was even an ornithologist present to make sure that the starlings were safe when Mr Llorens took to the sky.Paraglider

Congratulations to this paraglider for achieving one of his life-long ambitions.

If you are in need of airsports insurance why not give us a call at AIB Insurance on 02380 268 351 and speak with a member of our friendly staff who will happily arrange a quotation.