Antoine André, top of the 2019 Air Cadets

The Federation

Antoine ANDRÉ: My name is Antoine André, I am 17 years old, I am in my final year of science stream, International option, in Grenoble (38).

The whole Federation section

Antoine André, top of the air cadets competition!

FFPLUM: Hello Antoine! On behalf of the French Microlight Federation, I wanted to congratulate you on coming first in the 2019 Air Cadets competition! Could you please introduce yourself?

Antoine ANDRÉ: My name is Antoine André, I am 17 years old, I am in my final year of science stream, International option, in Grenoble (38). I have been a microlight pilot since 2015 and gained my certificate in 2016 at the age of 15. Since then I have about 70 flying hours. I am a member of the Club Folairvanne ULM at Étoile-sur-Rhône (26). Last year, in 2018, I took part in the Latécoère raid, an air and humanitarian raid from Toulouse to Dakar and back. I did it in a microlight with another pilot.

What were your first impressions when the results were announced?

First of all, I was very happy to be selected given the number of candidates at the start; it is always nice to be chosen. 18 were selected out of more than 120 applications to begin with, so that is already something huge. When we found out our score and, above all, the country we would be going to, Australia, which was my first choice, I was also very happy to be going where I had asked to go. The biggest surprise of all was finishing first, with around 18.50 (he got 18.586), and that was really a very good surprise. So in the end, joy on discovering the results.

How did you come up with the idea of entering the Air Cadets competition?

4 years ago, I was in 4^th grade, we were on a language trip with my school. We were delayed at Frankfurt airport. Thanks to that delay, I was able to go into the cockpit to chat with the pilots, and one of them scribbled something on a piece of paper, advising me to do it at all costs, with the initials of the IACE (the international air cadets organisation). This year, as I was about to meet the age requirements, I told myself I would give it a try.

What attracts you to aviation in general and microlighting in particular?

Aviation in general, it is that I love flying. The feeling of flying is, I find, something incredible that you always want to experience again. In the end, when you get into it and discover the scale of aviation, you want to stay. On top of that, technology and complexity have always impressed me and I am always looking to discover a bit more, and that is what makes me love aviation. And microlighting in particular, first of all for an economic reason: a microlight is much cheaper than an aeroplane, which has allowed me to fly many more hours. There is also the fact that in microlighting I found a very club-minded, very family spirit. In microlighting, you have a certain freedom, notably in where you can land. There is also a certain finesse in the flying that is very pleasant too.

Did the Federation help you prepare for the competition? And how?

On the one hand, I received a lot of encouragement from the Federation, particularly from the Youth Committee. For the rest, I did it a bit as a self-taught candidate, while knowing what to expect. The Federation gave me some explanations about how the competition works.

Now that you have been selected, what happens next for you?

I am going to Australia and later I am considering going to study in Canada with the aim of becoming a pilot there. The conditions and the spirit are different from France. In Canada, even in certified aviation, there is a spirit that resembles French microlighting, especially when it comes to freedom, with a bit more freedom there than here. There are also a large number of jobs available in Canada in every field: big aviation or even small aviation with a lot of specialist work.

Beyond Antoine, the Federation also wishes to congratulate the 3 other Federation members who took part in the competition: