Microlight profile - Marc, the 16,000th member

Marc took out his first licence with the French Microlight Federation in 2021. On that occasion he became the 16,000th member of the year! He tells us how he became a paramotor pilot, based in the Hauts-de-France.

It was on holiday in the magnificent region of south-west France that Marc discovered the joy of flying. This was in August 2020, with a tandem paraglider flight over the Dune du Pilat. Originally from the Hauts-de-France, the simplest option for Marc was to turn to paramotoring, which is more accessible in his region. He then enrolled with Opale'R Formation ULM, and the instructor Gaëtan Ruet was able to start training him.

Marc qualified in December 2021 ©DR

As the weather was not at its kindest last winter, Marc was able to work on the microlight theory, which he passed with flying colours in January 2021 after a lot of work and revision. The practical side took a little longer. Learning to paramotor needs good weather, which was difficult in the north this year. He finally qualified in early December 2021!

Marc chose paramotoring for its ease of practice. Paramotoring gives you the freedom to take off easily from many places. In future, Marc would like to take the passenger-carrying rating so that those around him can enjoy the pleasure and freedom of flying. Finally, our pilot will be keen to look at the electric paramotor, a form of power that continues to develop in the microlight world, as you may have seen at the Mondial de l'ULM 2021!