Acro Show at Ski World Cup 2003 in Garmisch Austrians aren’t just good at skiing, they can also fly...

Thomas Neff, member of the Free Flight Pool, had a great idea: Why not show a large audience what a fantastic sport paragliding is. The 2003 Ski World Cup in Garmisch-Partenkirchen would be a great opportunity to realise this plan.

It was not difficult to find the right pilot for this event: Mad Mike Küng, a professional who can be relied upon even under most difficult circumstances. Mike loved the idea from the start, and so did the organisers of the Cup.

Saturday, February 22nd
Mad Mike Küng had taken off just before the start of the men’s downhill on Mount Osterfelderkopf. A few minutes later he was performing his AcroShow above the fascinated spectators’ heads. Mike, jumping from a helicopter and tumbling downwards, “destroys” an altitude of 1000m within seconds.

On Sunday, Mike even got permission to use a smoke cartridge. So he drew AssChopper, Tumblings, Helicopter and FlyBacks in orange on his “screen”, the bright blue sky. He touched down right in front of the spectators, who were cheering enthusiasticly.

“What you have just done is quite impossible”, a perplexed elderly lady said to Mike. “You were hanging there headfirst most of the time!” - If you want to watch Mike performing headfirst , just visit FREE FLIGHT 2003 in Garmisch (March 21st to 23rd). During this exhibition Mike jumps from a helicopter ..

Look at Tomas Neff’s and Mad Mike Küng’s faces, they show how happy they are about the successful show.

(Text und Foto Ines SATtler)