photo David Frank

Mart in Orlik

Age: 30

Born: Prostejov , Czech Republic  

Education: PE and Biology in Olomouc , Czech Republic

Other: State Champion in Karate

Paragliding Since: Fall 2000

Instructor: self taught

 

So, you were the state champ in Karate, what else do you do?

I used to do Karate, but then I injured by tricep while riding a mtn. bike and lost some hand movement. I had to start climbing which really helped. I can do lots of things; paint, fix cars, do body work, cook, bake, climb and fly paragliders.

 

How long have you been in the US and how did you end up here?

M art ina and I have been in the US since 1998. When communism ended, I was 15. We left the Czech Republic and went traveling. We were in England, all over Europe, Canada and then here. We ended up in Sun Valley , ID and that is where I learned to fly (that was the Fall of 2000).

 

You taught yourself? How did that go?

Well, a friend gave me a glider called an “EZ Fly” and I took my first flight at Sky Ridge. It was 700 feet high and I flew straight away from the hill in zero wind. I really liked it.

 

Did you ever think that you would win the US Nationals two years later? How did you do that?

Never. I had been flying a lot. I flew more than 800 miles in my first year, my longest was 72 miles. I know that I have more than 500 hours. I did about 350 hours in my first year and went through two gliders. I totally lost track this year but I have a log of every flight. I need to count it. Mostly, I was lucky. If anyone else was as lucky as me, they would have won.

 

How about those tasks, how did you fly them?

I just flew by myself and used my style. I really wanted to get a chance to fly with everyone and learn from them but I don’t like flying with people who aren’t “on top of their glider,” so, I just keep going out in front. Unfortunately, I never got to fly with anyone. They were always a few minutes behind me.  On one task, I saw a guy way out in front of me. I was really motivated by that. I flew as fast as I could and finally over took him. Later I found out that he was a “wind dummy” who had launched much earlier.

 

When you fly that fast, you take a lot of chances. How do you rationalize using that much speed system?

I do fly fast, when I am high. I use speed bar on every transition. I fly a Gin Gliders Boomerang and it pitches around too much if you glide at trim. I go full speed sometimes, but I mostly just use the speed bar like the brakes. I let off when it’s turbulent and push it when it’s smooth. But, I never go fast when I am low. That’s just crazy and there is too much risk. If you mis-judge you could easily be “history.”

 

I heard that you fly with music. Were you listening to music during those tasks at the Nationals?

I am always flying with music and the Owens was no exception. Music gives me company up there and makes my flying world more 3D.

 

What is your favorite part of flying? Do you have a favorite flight?

Cross country, the birds eye view. My favorite place to fly is King Mtn. ID. I love the lakes, mountains, rocks and changing color features. I also love flying over the Red Rocks at Las Vegas, NV. My favorite flight was from Baldy at Sun Valley, ID in 2001. It was cold and it was my first time over thirteen thousand feet, I was up over an hour and did a twenty mile triangle around the valley. I had only done my first turns in a thermal a week previous so it was very exciting. I didn’t even have a vario for my first year. Now I fly with a Flytec and it is much different. Sometimes I can hear it making noise if there is a pause in the music.

Ok, what is your least favorite part of flying?

Almost getting killed; it was late spring and the conditions at King Mtn. were light. I took off and went up to the top of the mountain where a 30 mph wind came “out of nowhere.”  I couldn’t go forward, so I turned downwind and went over the top of the mountain at 500 feet. There wasn’t much rotor, but I landed in sage brush going backwards 20 mph. It was a three hour hike out and I was very lucky. JD and Kurt, a couple of “old boys” said “this place is famous for that…you just got lucky getting up when you shouldah sunk out with the rest of us” My advice to new pilots is to avoid situations where it “might work.” There is no room in this sport for scenarios where there “could be a problem.”

 

You said that you sought out some training. Where, with who?

The guys from Jackson Hole Paragliding helped me a lot. I went over there and paid them to teach me about maneuvers over the water. They taught me everything. I spent a year working on wing overs. I didn’t do any other maneuvers. In fact, I only do one maneuver at a time. I have worked through asymmetric spirals, wing overs, SAT’s, stalls and spins. I do 95% of my acro over the ground, so I have to be completely sure that I have mastered one maneuver before going on to the next. I am working on getting into safe tumbling, but it seems much harder than the rest of the maneuvers.

 

What kind of advice do you have for the average pilot?

I have advice on weather, acro and flying in general. On weather, realize that it’s 70% of the flight. You need all of the info that you can get from every source; big picture, small picture, everything. On acro, there are too many people skipping the basics. They don’t understand the basic dynamics of the wing. Acro is a matter of “you have to be able to do this, to do that.” Many people seem to lack a simple common sense about their flying. Lack of common sense is a bad thing in flying. For me, as soon as the weather is no good for cross country, I do acro. It helps my acro. I also suggest being ready to listen to more experienced pilots. I like Todd Biblers advice; don’t climb in bad thermals, don’t climb in sink, only get as high as you need to get to the next thermal. If you are climbing, turn. If you are going to glide, then glide. This works perfectly. Not many people listen to him, but I do. We are never perfect in flying, we are never short of experiencing something new. This is a dynamic sport and nobody is perfect. Be open to advice and opinions.

 

What about the future?

I am lucky, I can cook, bake, paint, fix cars and do body work. I have my girlfriend Martina and our cat, Coomy. Martina is as good at flying paragliders as me but she is smarter. She took lessons from Ken Hudonjorgensen to learn how to fly. She just doesn’t like flying together with bad pilots. She will be a great comp pilot. I intend to fly in the World Cup next year. I have no real goals, just fly for fun and never stretch it. Do it all for your own good feeling!

 

What do your parents think of all this?

They are in the Czech Republic and they don’t understand the flying.

Martin flies a Gin Gliders Boomerang from Super Fly Inc. and uses a Flytec 3030 from Flytec USA. He can be reached at orlici@hotmail.com.