Louis Janzam
I am 23 years old, currently maintenance technician in apprenticeship at the UIMM Lorraine and employed at the AeroTechnics workshop. I started flying sailplanes in 2013 in Sarreguemines, where I learned to fly, then flew on my own until 2019. Following a relocation, I then practiced my passion at Pont-Saint-Vincent between 2019 and 2022, and I now have a total of 600 flight hours, 570 of which on gliders. Since a recent second relocation, I will be based at Le Versoud in the French Alps from season 2023.
I also had the great chance to partake in the 2018 International Air Cadet Exchange (IACE program) in Germany. Beyond the formidable encounters made throughout the program, this opportunity opened my eyes about the wonderful possibilities offered by the aeronautical world, and I have, since then, been willing to undertake various project in this field in which I have been passionate for so long.
Attracted to the technical fields, I have acquired with my economies a Glasflügel H-401 Kestrel in September 2020, which Amélie and I have been renovating until August 2021. This project, during which I have faced various technical and administrative problematics, has given me the will to continue practicing aircraft renovation and maintenance.
In July 2021, I partook in my first contest, the North-West Inter-Regional Championship at Angers, during which I discovered the particular ambiance and flying style of such events. In 2022, I naturally registered for the 8 days of Fontainebleau, a competition in which I had the chance to gain much experience and sharpen my decision-making before the French Junior Nationals, where I ranked 2nd in club-class.
My results opened the door to the French National Team’s “Pôle Espoir”, which I became a member of in fall 2022. With Amélie discovering competition as well, we were therefore on the lookout for a glider in which we could fly competitions, ideally in two different categories. The ASW 24 perfectly answers our requirements, especially since he offers the possibility to compete in both club-class at an international level and in standard-class at a national level. The CVVL’s to-be-renovated (but however in flight conditions) ASW 24 F-CHAB represented a great opportunity for us, and we decided to take advantage of it.
For this project, I am in charge of the technical and sporting aspects, and I lend a hand to Amélie for the update of the website, the sponsorship and broader communication tasks.
Amélie Boulanger
I started soaring in 2017 at the Aero Club Albert Mangeot at Pont-Saint-Vincent, and I currently have a total of 300 flight hours. In my professional life, I am a final-year student in physiotherapy and I am 22 years old.
Authorized for cross-country flights in 2019, I have since been able to discover the joys of this sport while roaming around the hills and plains of North-Eastern France, and more recently, the Vosges, and finally the Alps, during a first gliding camp at the Centre National de Vol a Voile (French National Gliding Center) at Saint-Auban in 2021.
Encouraged by Louis in 2022, I could discover a new a world which are the championships during the 8 days of Fontainebleau. While exploring the context of competitions, I have been able to improve, on one hand, my technic, by optimizing my cruises and by giving rhythm to my flights. On the other hand, while forcing myself to follow defined tasks, I have learned to manage the adversaries as well as sometimes complicated weathers.
At the end of the 2022 season, I was recontacted by the French National Gliding Center in order to participate in a feminine “improvement gliding camp”. It has been for me a great opportunity to discover the high-level gliding environment, and I even took the chance to do beautiful encounters while improving my mountain-flight skills in the magnificent Southern Alps. I will be able to continue in this perspective with my registration at the Grenoble Vol à Voile club from now on.
What first attracted me to gliding was a sensation of freedom, and the ability to fly a machine far away from everyday’s clamor. During cross-country and competitions flights I like to cope with the technical aspects of pilotage, continuous and thorough thinking, physical endurance and fighting spirit.
It is therefore with a great motivation, that I approach this project with Louis. I am in charge of the website, as well as photos and videos, and I assist him for the more technical aspects which are craftmanship and administrative works.