Acro Pilot : Johan Eriksson

He is my right hand man, in the air and on the ground, and is everything I am not. He is organized and has an incredible attention to detail, so we make a perfect partnership and team work.

We met in 1999 when he came out on an XC safari around Turkey, we had a real adventure and, over the years, have formed a very strong bond, guiding and coaching around the world, ever since.

Together we have guided and flown from Africa to Brazil and India to Siberia, mainly focusing our time on the regular courses in Turkey and France. Chris has specialized in XC guiding in Laragne, Annecy and St Andre, France, where we run trips each year. He also runs courses in South Africa and Colombia.

Chris is a very talented and natural pilot and guide, he gives every student 100% attention both in the air and on the ground, in pre & post flight briefings. In addition to this he is a qualified parachute packer and BHPA senior instructor and tandem pilot, so he can guide from day 1’s to the biggest XC’s around the world, capitalizing on his creamy calm Welsh, Tom Jones, voice and cool delivery, which helps build confidence and belief in all the pilots who fly with him.

Paragliding provided my 1st break in broadcast TV. The BBC wanted to use my PWC footage way back in the 90s, and many years later paragliding is still one of my all time favourite subjects.

I've always liked kinetic shots where the subject is moving and if both the subject and the camera are moving that's even better. If I can co-ordinate the movement of  the subject and the camera then there's a chance to produce something that, to my eyes, might even be considered poetic.

To achieve that you couldn't ask for better than the team of Jocky and Chris. It was great that we were always on the same page which is a very rare thing indeed in my experience. Jocky never once even sighed when we said "sorry we need to do that again" or "that was good, but what if we did it like this?" He just got straight on and did it. Chris is just super human. Every flight he would prep Jocky, run through the moves, read off the checklist, make sure Jocky and I actually went through our checklists, help Jocky launch when he was loaded down with cameras, and then fly me with patiently and precisely on the tandem. He understood exactly how to get the glider into the right place to get the action and then knew instinctively what to do to get the action in one shot.

In the past I've been content to plonk myself on the tandem and film whatever happened in front of me, but for Safety in Flight I needed to be able to follow the action beyond the view that is normally restricted, either by the risers or by how quickly the tandem can turn. So we developed a way to give me more room to move, which involved Chris manoeuvring me out to one side and then me slipping off the shoulder straps and flipping over in the harness so that I was almost laying on my belly like a hang glider pilot, but facing backwards. It gave a sensational field of view, and room to work, but did have the slight disadvantage that my movements could weightshift the glider enough to ruin the shot and , if I looked down, gave me an unrestricted view 6000ft down to the sea. The 1st couple of times I looked down I got such a shot of vertigo I cocked up the shot.

Modern HD cameras are magnificent, finally we can produce something that rivals film, but you do have to download the footage at the end of every shoot. That has it's advantages and disadvantages. It's good to know that you've got it in the bag, but it takes forever and requires a huge amount of concentration and focus , which isn't all that easy to summon after a long day of falling out of the sky in the sun when all you want is a cold beer.

Working on Safety in flight was seriously hard work, we did long hours, but Jocky is the most enthusiastic man in show business and Chris is easily the most disciplined (and organised, and thorough, and focused, etc etc etc ), and we were always in the most beautiful places, surrounded by the lovliest people, so I have to say I loved every minute.

What can I say? If it wasn’t for Foram’s hard work and talent, this film would never have been released in such a wonderfully detailed and creative way.

She galvanised us and was the driving force in creating the 2 DVD’s, not to mention her and her team from Impact produced the 120 page booklet and packaging, plus a wonderful e-commerce website, that I am very proud of.

We first met at the Chabre Open in 2011 and, straight afterwards, she attended an SIV course in Annecy, which she performed perfectly and, even though she couldn’t swim and was afraid of the water, she was determined to throw her reserve, which showed great courage. So, when she invited us to India, I jumped at the chance and within 6 months we were flying at 3,500m along the Himachal Mountains, in India, then we ran a massive XC clinic with 43 enthusiastic pilots, from the Paragliding Association of India, in Kamshet.

Chris and I was lucky enough to be invited to her home in Mumbai to meet her lovely family and, since then I have been able to return the favour, inviting her to my home in Keswick, where we edited the film and I introduced her to Mrs Nelson’s ginger bread, lemon drizzle cake, and puff pastry!

During making the film and flying together in Australia, France and India again, we have formed a close friendship and mutual respect. She is a talented pilot and her flying has really improved since she was united with her lovely XS Rush 3. We are continuing to work together on new film projects, flying courses and also building excellent value e-commerce sites through her company in India.

BBC editor for 25 years, cutting Eastenders, Maestro, Imagine, and Dog Borstal. Have worked for legends such as Danny Boyle, Ennio Morricone and Alan Whicker but as a committed pilot,"SIV2" and "Performance Flying" are still the most satisfying projects I've worked on. Started flying in 1999 at which point life's potential suddenly doubled. Even when you are not paragliding the whole sky is there to be interpreted - apparently dogs get the same kick from smells. Live in Kew with wife Sian and 1-year-old twin daughters, Trilby and Molly.Best flight 141k in 2004, Shropshire to Oxford; low saves off 2 Cathedrals, an assylum, Blenheim Palace and a cricket match...only in the UK!

Jon and I first met at Bryn Bac Parc, which is the outdoor centre he runs in Wales. He then came on an SIV course in 2009, where he showed his natural skill at glider control. He joined us in Brazil and France after that and very quickly was part of the team, driving, flying and guiding on our courses in France.

He is an incredibly fit and reliable bloke, with a great sense of humour and cool, but wild character. I man you want in your corner and a very welcome member to the team. He also has a tandem rating and is Chris’s governor when they work together taking children paddling, climbing and flying in the lovely Wales, land of the brave. We also work together running First Aid courses at Bryn Bac Park, but the thing I look forward to are the long drives to and from France and the banter after the great flights and long days.

Tim joined me on an SIV course, in Turkey back in 1998 and we then flew together around the world since then, he is a great pilot. The first time we worked together was guiding in Gov. Valladares in Brazil in 2003 and then filming and flying SIV & XC courses in Annecy, which we still do to this day.

He is a solid and dependable bloke, and a real pleasure to work along side. He is very understated and talented at both flying and all things techy, with the ability to grasp and embrace change, which is a handy skill when working with me.

I think our favourite time is when he is filming from the shore and I am bobbing about on the rescue boat in Annecy, when we are running the SIV section of the course, sunning ourselves in the warm lake breeze, while John and Chris are going up and down in a sweaty minibus to take off.

We sometime hook up and fly in Wales, which is a real treat, just chilling and flying together, over the rolling hills, shouting and screaming words of encouragement and friendly abuse. His real job is project managing building construction and he gives that 100% too. He often goes off the radar for months, but you know that when he has a date and time, he will always be there. An eminent pro.

Johan is the alpha male of the skies and has a wonderful sense of humor and natural skill at Acro flying. He gives full attention to everything thing he does and, fortunately for us, focuses his attention on teaching acro and SIV to our groups in Turkey as well as teaching his own countrymen and women in Sweden.

We have been flying and guiding together since 2007 and, in those years, have built up a great working relationship, with us both teaching pilots on either SIV and/or Acro from either end of the rescue boat, on different radio frequencies. His voice has been described as hypnotic, by students who find themselves pulling busting moves with great power and confidence, thanks to his coaching and guidance during these high pressure moves.

Mercan is the youngest member of the team and yet we have been friends for the longest time. I knew her from a baby and she has been surrounded by flying all her life. We flew together since she was 13 and I remember talking her through her I first stall when she was just 14, when she did her first SIV with me. I was way more scared than she was, but I knew she had an incredible skill at flying and was also a very careful and responsible pilot.

We have flown together around the world from Brazil to France and she happily floats around the skies with her customary permanent big smile and enthusiastic voice. She often guided our students high across the alps flying an acro wing and with no vario and a hand held radio, chatting away in rough thermals while they were gripped with positive fear.

Although she is a great XC pilot, her real passion is Acro. From a very young age she picked up SATs and big wingovers which got her hooked on continuously improving her style and technique. In 2011 she became 3rd woman in the acro worlds, and she achieved 2nd in APWC series in 2011 and was the Turkish Champion. (Has organized Acroludeniz together with Sky Sport, Thk.)

I am very proud of her, not just because of her flying but also for her attitude. She is always full of energy and is willing to help anyone. It is a pleasure to spend time with her and especially to see her fly.

Katherine and I have been together since the summer of 2009, when we went sailing together and although she had never sailed before and was feeling sick, during a stormy night passage, she still took the helm while I fixed a problem with the jammed gib.

It was that, together with her beautiful looks and peaceful demeanour, that made made me think that she is the perfect partner, and we have been happy together ever since. Mind you I have now sold the boat!

Katherine has worked behind the scenes in the office, and sometimes taking notes on the boat, for the past three years an she does a great job managing my spasmodic work schedule and course booking, while also selling the equipment and running the accounts.

So if you ever call or email please send her my love and, if you are wanting an answer from me, please allow for some time delay, because she has to track me down in some corner of the globe, and get an answer, before she can get back to you.