When an eight-year-old Thomas Schütz built his first aircraft alongside his father, little did he realise that the scene would be reproduced decades into the future, as he stepped into the father's role to help his own children to construct their first models.
Michael Egger knows the sport of Parachute-Ski from all angles: a bird’s eye view as he jumps from a helicopter, inches from the snow as he flies around ski slalom poles, and - more sedately - from behind his desk as chair of the sport’s committee in the FAI Skydiving Commission.
Clad from top to toe in white, Máté Feith steps into the wind tunnel. He rises, spins, floats and twists, light as a feather caught in a breeze. This fluid display of aerobatic prowess has taken seven months of intense training: fifty hours of meticulous practise, repeating moves over and over, and adjusting the smallest details to reach perfection.
Two 10-year-olds have been announced as winners of the 2023 Rookie Project, in the indoor and outdoor flight categories. The international online contest pits under 16s against one another as they aim to achieve the longest flight time with model aircraft which fit the competition rules.
