- Mika Virolainen competes in a sport that made headlines with the death of Felix Baumgartner.
- The Estonian slings pins in the air at highway speeds.
- This is how much the sport costs.
The engine starts up when Mika Virolainen takes off. Leaning on a fabric wing and a harness, the Estonian flies through the air at a speed of up to 90 kilometers per hour.
You get extra excitement when you fly over water and at the same time try to string the pins as quickly as possible.
The Estonian’s sport of paramotor slalom would definitely be too much for the faint of heart and those afraid of heights.
– It’s going pretty fast, when you compare that by flying slowly you can go at a speed of twenty hours. In the race, we go to the extremes of the wing. There is absolutely no possibility of error, says Virolainen.
The Estonian competes in paramotor slalom at the World Championship level and is a World Championship medalist in the sport. Paramotor slalom is the crown sport of motorized paragliding.
In the air, you are at the mercy of nature, because the wind and turbulent air affect the connector more than the airplane.
– Slalom is, so to speak, a sport for big boys. I already admired how hard slalom pilots can go.
Thousands of euros
This is what it looked like at the World Cup in Qatar. Mika Virolainen
The motorized paraglider includes a wing made of fabric and a harness attached to it with braids. The wing stays in its elongated shape due to the force of the headwind. A two-stroke, 80-300cc engine is usually attached behind the harness, which turns the propeller.
The connector is controlled by hand-held brake and steering handles and by changing the center of gravity. The power of the engine is regulated by the hand-held throttle.
It’s not about a cheap sport. The course required to obtain airworthiness already costs around 2,000 euros. Equipment for leisure flying can be obtained for around 3,000 euros, but new competition-level equipment already costs 10,000 euros.
A lot of equipment is also sold used.
– My first wing cost 800 euros. You can get a used engine for a couple of tons. If you are thinking of buying a new motorcycle, then this is a cheaper hobby in itself, Virolainen reminds.
The Estonian competes in paramotor slalom at the World Championship level. The next World Championships are in October. Helina Nieminen
The Estonian has competed for the last four years as a semi-professional. Sponsors and the support of the Finnish Aviation Association help him significantly, as the travel costs are high.
Competing abroad naturally requires accommodation, but getting a motorized paraglider to the competition site is not a cheap pleasure either.
– The costs depend on the airline. Air tickets to Qatar, which included transporting the equipment, cost between 1,600 and 1,700 euros. Sometimes the equipment is transported by a courier service. Express freight to Spain costs 300–500 euros.
Boring on a plane
A motorized paraglider includes, among other things, a motor and a propeller. Mio Estonian
The Estonian has been interested in aviation since he was a child. Aviation Fly Puri is so strong that he completed his conscript service in the Air Force and was able to work there after his service.
A career in aviation began as an Air Force fighter mechanic.
– I got to fly in the back seat of a warplane. It was really great.
Later, the job changed, but the passion for aviation continued. The Estonian began to complete the pilot’s license, but did not complete the process.
– I thought that it might be a bit boring to fly a small plane to another airport and look at the gauges.
Around the same time, an Estonian found a video of a motorized paraglider on YouTube. It made an immediate impression. How many people can say they have flown through the sky with the help of a wing?
– It immediately seemed that this is the closest to what a person has always dreamed of. That is, freedom to fly. You can go flying alone, you can feel the air current on your face and you can control it yourself.
The Estonian has landed with a motorized paraglider on Omaha Beach, which is reminiscent of the Second World War. Mika Virolainen
The Estonian completed the motorized paragliding basic course in the early 2010s. You could only take your first flights alone when you had your license in your pocket. The Estonian still remembers his first flight with an engine.
– It was really great. I didn’t even really want to be counted, even though the teacher said it was my turn. Everything was so new and exciting.
There are several hundreds of motorized paragliding enthusiasts in Finland. Championship competitions are organized in the sport.
The Estonian participated in his first international competitions in 2019 and flew in paramotor slalom World Championships for the first time in 2022. The sport’s biggest stars come from France, Poland, the Czech Republic and Qatar.
The star died
Extreme athlete and world record holder Felix Baumgartner died in July. EPA/AOP
The dangerous side of motorized paragliding came to light in July of this year when an extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner lost control of his go game, fell and died.
According to the Estonian, serious accidents are rare. More often, we mostly see stumbles during the take-off phase. He has never been hurt, even when things have gone wrong.
– In 2022, I ran into the water at the slalom games in Spain, when due to a mistake I made, the wing collapsed, that is, it collapsed. That can happen, because the wing is soft and the air pressure holds it together.
– That’s why we quickly went into the water. The slalom races are held on the water precisely because the pilot’s chances of survival are good when the wing collapses.
Experience teaches you to manage risks, but it also gets inside your head.
– On the other hand, you can also be afraid of what could happen. Healthy fear and experience are irreplaceable safety factors in a dangerous sport. The price of a small mistake can be big.