Club life: some fine initiatives over the past 1 year
News from 15 April 2021. Last updated on 16 April 2021: some information may have changed. Latest news
A little over a year ago, France was in complete lockdown and our healthcare workers were applauded every evening at 8 pm. A lot has happened since. A look back at a year of solidarity in our microlight clubs.
Free introductory flights
Our healthcare workers have now been on the front line for more than a year. Initiatives were launched by our clubs, notably the Chambley microlight club. The idea arose of offering microlight introductory flights to hospital and care home (EHPAD) staff, checkout staff and lorry drivers. This initiative was taken up by many clubs. More than 500 flights were offered in Chambley alone. Introductory flights were also offered by clubs in Brittany, the Paris region and PACA. Similarly, on 23 July 2020, at the signing of the partnership with the French Navy, the Federation offered some thirty introductory flights to front-line workers (1st line) put forward by Quiberon town hall.
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Interview with Georges Humeau, President of the ULM Club de Chambley
South-west floods
At the beginning of 2021, the south-west was hit by unprecedented bad weather. The Garonne flood caused a great deal of damage at some of our microlight clubs, with in places more than 1.60 m of water in the hangars.
Some of these clubs were able to move their microlights just in time. However, not all the equipment could be saved, notably on the administrative side or the 8.33 radios.
Others were not lucky enough to be able to anticipate this sudden and uncontrollable rise in water, notably the Fourques microlight club. Even though they had raised their machines, these were hit.
The floods caused heavy damage at Fourques © Fourques microlight strip
Two days later, Pierre Pouchès, of the CNFTE, went to the site. He rolled up his sleeves with members of the clubs concerned to repair the machines that could be saved. All the repairs were carried out while the pumps were still clearing water and mud from the hangars. Pierre Pouchès also gave us an interview in which he told us about his intervention. It is available by clicking here
Pierre Pouchès at Fourques © Fourques microlight strip
Regional Committees stepped in to provide financial help to the clubs affected. This help was collected by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regional Committee, which redistributed it to the clubs. Finally, the Federation sent safety kits to the organisations, which they received in recent days.
Support for organisations
To be as close as possible to the expectations of club and OBL (for-profit organisation) managers, we are setting up a support programme for organisations. If you would like to be contacted for specific support or to review your projects, write to: soutienstructure2021@ffplum.org
