Skywings Team

Ray is from New Zealand, where he also learned to fly. He has flown the entire coastline of the North Island. While working in Antarctica for a scientific research facility, he was one of the few people to paraglide at the South Pole. Today he lives with his family in Interlaken and loves his job as a tandem pilot because he gets to live out his passion for flying every day while at work.

Yael is one of the best pilots in Switzerland. She was the first woman to fly over 500km, setting a world record. She has won countless competitions and took part in the toughest Hike & Fly race in the world, the Red Bull X-Alps, in 2021. Her personal flight highlight was probably the top landing on Mont Blanc. Standing up there without any effort and enjoying the breath-taking view was an incredibly crazy feeling for her.

Serena’s young flying career is impressive: after starting paragliding in 2018, she quickly accumulated many hours in the air. In 2020 she spent 8 months in Brazil flying up to 10’000km and over 400 hours. Here in Switzerland, she is an active member of the Hike & Fly X-Alps Academy. Her next goal is to cross the Alps from French Switzerland to Slovenia with her paraglider and tent.

Lewis loves freedom and adventure – both of which can be wonderfully combined with paragliding. Flying allows him to reach areas that are otherwise difficult to access. His favorite thing to do is to paraglide in his “backyard”. Hike to a peak, spend the night in a hut and fly down to the valley the next morning.

Michi was practically born to fly. His parents ran a flight school in Kandersteg for a long time. At the age of 15, he was finally allowed to paraglide solo himself. He quickly became one of the best pilots in Switzerland, successfully competing in international competitions. At the moment he enjoys working as a tandem pilot and supports Gin Paragliding in the development of new gliders and in marketing.

Ueli is a multi-sportsman. Growing up in an active family, he soon achieved great success in snowboarding. The crowning glory in 1998 in Nagano: a gold medal. Although he has turned his back on competitive sports, he has remained true to the sport. On boards he glides over snow and water and wings of all kinds carry him through the air – always with one goal: to experience the ultimate feeling of freedom.

My passion is flying. Whether with or without an engine, ever since I remember, flying has been my favorite subject. I’ve been flying model airplanes since I was 12 years old, paragliders since 2016 and small planes recently. I like to combine flying with my second passion: traveling. I was already allowed to explore the landscape in numerous places around the world while floating through the sky.

Growing up at the foot of the Niesen in the Bernese Oberland, Klemens was already on the move in the mountains at an early age – on foot, on skis or on a mountain bike. After a paragliding taster day as a 16-year-old, his passion for flying ignited. Besides cross-country flying, Hike&Fly and hours of ‘playing around’ somewhere in the mountains or by the sea, Klem also shares his joy for paragliding as a flight instructor and competes in the Swiss League every now and then.

Paragliding brings Daniela again and again to places and communities that she would never have seen as a “normal” tourist. Numerous cross-country flights and competitions let her get to know the hinterland of Turkey on the back of a donkey, the hospitality of Mexican “businessmen”, the helpfulness of Taiwanese primary school teachers or the light-heartedness of Colombian peasant children. Acro flying is also a great passion of hers and jumping out of a hot air balloon with a paraglider is always a highlight!

Tobi is not only a tandem pilot by profession, but also a flying instructor. If he is not flying for Skywings, he is probably teaching some students how to paraglide. Flying is for him a way to experience great adventures in nature: Flying under the Northern Lights in Iceland, a top landing on Mont Blanc, soaring up to 6565 meters of altitude in the Himalayas…the list of unique paragliding expeditions goes on.

Roli founded Skywings Paragliding together with his wife and brother in 2008, turning his hobby into his profession. Even after more than 30 years of paragliding, there is nothing better for him than discovering the world from the air. The experienced tandem pilot has already made over 10,000 tandem flights. Privately, he likes to combine paragliding with his passion for the mountains: climbing a peak and flying back down to the valley.

Stefan is one of the founders of Skywings and an absolute paragliding crack. In 2015, he was World Champion at the Paragliding World Cup and won the title of Swiss Champion 5 times. Despite his achievements in competitions, what he loves most about flying is the feeling of freedom, the magnificent views and the tranquility.

The former Swiss Champion in speedflying grew up in Interlaken and made the mountains his playground at an early age. Whether on skis, speedflying or with a wingsuit – Flo loves sporting challenges. A personal highlight was his Climb, Ski and Fly project in 2019 when he climbed the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau on the same day and managed the descent by paraglider.

Reto got his paragliding license in 1988 and still burns for the sport. Whether on cross country flights, a hike and fly mission, at 1000m or 4500m.a.s.l., he likes any variation of the sport. As a tandem pilot he is famous for his extra high wing-overs, an acro maneuver that gives every passenger the ultimate adrenaline kick!

Anders is originally from Norway. After he made a tandem paragliding flight in Chamonix in 2000, it was clear: he wanted to learn to fly. Soon the sport brought him to Interlaken. As a former competition pilot, he has a number of top placements in PWC (Paragliding World Cup) races. Today, in his free time, he focuses mainly on ski touring, mountaineering and hike & fly’s.

Remo is one of the pioneers of the sport, he already got his paragliding licence in 1989. Back then, he flew his first cross-country flights in wild and remote areas in New Zealand together with other local paragliding heroes. What he appreciates most is the simplicity of the sport. With only a backpack on your back, you’re ready for your flying adventure. Take off, enjoy freedom, land and have solid ground under your feet again.

Märki (Markus) got a taste for flying in the early days of paragliding. Around 1993, he summited the Jungfrau with two friends and had to watch as they happily took off for a flight back to the valley and he took the long journey back by foot. A year later, he acquired his paragliding licence and has since flown down from countless peaks. Flying is an absolute privilege for Märki – one he loves sharing with his passengers!

For Stephan, flying is a way of life. Along with his paraglider he has traveled the world and made many good friend. He has been flying for 30 years and has done hundreds of unique flights. When he’s not soaring through the air, you can find him on the water in his sea kayak. A paragliding flight with Stephan means hearing many a story and having a lot of fun in the air!

Low and high pressure, Bise and Foehn…should there be any uncertainties about the weather, David is our man! The experienced paragliding pilot loves to take off from a mountain, fly into the unknown and land somewhere he has never been before. Being one with nature, playing with the wind and the clouds – he couldn’t imagine a better hobby or profession. One of his greatest flights was probably when he flew over the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau during a tandem flight with his wife.

When Sebi flies, he is in his element. No one else loves his sport and his job as much as he does. He has been flying since 14 years of age and does it as often as possible. He has flown over 400 kilometers in Brazil 11 times and has ranked in the top 4 in various paragliding competitions. As a native Colombian, he has found a cooler but equally beautiful second home in Switzerland.

Haydon enjoys using the paraglider as a tool for adventures. It allows him to fly over mountain ranges and passes in a day distance that would have taken a week of hiking. Some of his biggest adventures were crossing New Zealand by bike, kayak and paraglider or racing in the X-Pyr, a spectacular Hike & Fly race through the Pyrenees.

Steve loves adventure and thrills! The talented and versatile pilot feels comfortable in every corner of the sport: whether acro, cross-country flights or hike and fly’s. Besides base jumping and speedflying, he always gets his adrenaline kick with extraordinary paragliding projects. One of his biggest projects was the participation in the Red Bull X-Alps in 2021, the toughest Hike & Fly race in the world. Despite bad weather and lousy flying conditions he pulled through the race and finished 16th.

Alain flew over the practice slope at the age of 14 in flight school, which was an overwhelming experience for him at that time. Since then he has had many wonderful experiences with his paraglider in the Bernese Oberland. As a passionate amateur photographer, his pictures have already been published by some paraglider manufacturers and magazines. When he is not working as a tandem pilot, he devotes himself to his own business as a bricklayer for customers and special work with wood.

Res has a wide range of interests. On the one hand, his great passion is paragliding. On the other hand, he loves working with his huskies at home in the Bernese Oberland, singing in the yodel club and renovating the house. A tandem flight with him is just as varied as his hobbies, is also a tandem flight with him – entertaining and beautiful!

You will often find Chris climbing mountains or ski touring, with or without a paraglider. Paragliding gives him an absolute sense of freedom! A feeling that he would love to pass on to his passengers during an unforgettable paragliding tandem flight.

During his younger and wilder years, Fred dedicated himself to acro paragliding and mastered many a breathtaking maneuver. In the meantime he has calmed down and now prefers a hike & fly combined with sleeping under a canopy of stars. When he’s not in the air, you’ll find him trail running, in his organic garden or behind the screen at his other job as an IT researcher.