Ozone NZ Team flyer & National Champion sets new record in the air

National Paragliding Champion and Ozone team flyer Louis Tapper had an early Christmas present last year when he set an NZ triangle record flying his Enzo 3 with a 197km flight on the 23rd of December. He set a national distance record beating the previous 190km at 197km over an epic 8 hour flight from Treble Cone, NZ.

Louis is a pro in the field of gliding, so much so that he didn't expect to be setting a record that day, he had low expectations when he took off in a light breeze about 11.30am on the 23rd of December. We got in touch with Louis earlier this month to congratulate him and he told us how it all happened...

"I received an early Christmas present last year. An unexpectedly good flying day, 197km Triangle through the heart of the Southern Lakes area near Wanaka, NZ. There are not too many roads if you land out and a walk out with 30kg of comp gear was going to be painful. After all the rain, wind and apocalyptic smoke we have been having here in NZ, it was great to get a proper fly in with stunning scenery as usual. I was testing out my new Gopro Max properly for the first time and like it so far. Officially a new NZ record and biggest scoring flight in NZ to date."

He says his tactic is usually to line up the good days hoping it will turn into something epic. In other words, he is looking for low winds and "strong regular thermals on a route that flows with the day and can start early." But apparently on the record scoring day the forecast was off, which helped make the flight results come as a surprise!

Louis managed to capture some footage of the record flight between Cardrona and Rockburn Valley, worth the watch, check it out below! You can also check out a 3D visual of the flight below. 

Nice one Louis! Shop the ENZO 3 here. Plus don't miss out on all our Paragliding seconds and deals here! 

NZ Paragliding Record- 197km Triangle from Kiwi Paragliding on Vimeo.