HOME IS… SLOVENIA

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT The Soča Valley in Slovenia. Shuttles to take-off and great tourism infrastructure make this a perfect destination for a flying trip

Photo: Andy Smart

HOME IS… SLOVENIA

Matjaz Klemenčič started flying at 12 in his home country of Slovenia. By 15 he was flying cross country. Now a competition and Red Bull hang glider pilot he also flies paragliders, and is a cornerstone of the Triple Seven team, testing and marketing their wings.

Where do you fly at home? The Triple Seven team mostly flies in the western part of Slovenia where two of the most famous sites are situated. There’s the world-renowned Soča Valley, which connects into the Eastern Alps. It’s lush with a deep blue river cutting through forest and farmland. And secondly, to the south there is the open Vipava Valley.



The two sites give us a full range of flying, which we need to test the wings properly. Paragliders are flown all over the world, meaning the wings need to feel at home in the Alps as well as in the flatland thermals of Vipava Valley. There’s a playground for each type of terrain and you can connect them together to test your technical skills.

What do you love about flying at home? These two sites provide both mountain and ridge flying, and either site can be a good safe spot for pilots venturing off on their first XC kilometres. They’re only half an hour apart, which means that you can decide in the morning if you will be flying the Alpine peaks or ridge soaring in Vipava. On a clear day you can see the Adriatic Sea. But Vipava Valley is not just for beginners. It’s also a popular alternative when the local Bora wind picks up. The Bora is a strong katabatic wind from the north, but the Vipava is protected as it’s relatively sheltered. And being closer to the sea, the air here remains less unstable on days when conditions overdevelop in the Alps.

What advice do you give visiting pilots? When flying in Soča valley, you can expect true Alpine flying. Don’t underestimate the lower peaks of the Eastern Alps. They can offer flights just as demanding and personally rewarding as the western end of the chain.

For lower airtime pilots, the afternoons will still provide mellow and picturesque flights. In Vipava, the flying is less technical as crunching the kilometres means mostly following the ridge.

Shuttles to take-off are easy to organise in both valleys, and retrieves are straightforward too. Slovenia is a small country and every valley has its own road. Vipava valley even has a highway. If you land in the same valley getting home is very quick.

Finally, don’t forget to come see us! Pilots are welcome to pop into the Triple Seven head office (777gliders.com) and test out our wings. We love chatting with visiting pilots.

What’s the best season? For sure the best season will range from June to the end of August, but the Vipava valley is well known for some good days in winter too. We’ve had 100km long flights on New Year’s Day, so there’s the potential to have good winter flying too.

IN BRIEF

Local clubs include kobala.si, drustvo-adrenalin. si and polet-ng.si. Find retrieves and shuttles through camp-gabrje.com (Soča Valley) and jelkin-hram.com (Kobarid)