“Everywhere we are landing on water now [in Japan] is basically a first!” – Ben Kerr Originally from Sydney - Australia, Ben Kerr moved to Japan almost thirty years ago, to pursue his dream of racing motorcars up to formula 3. After having discovered one of the deepest and lightest powder snow in the world on the northernmost island of Hokkaido in the mid 90`s, Ben started his backcountry ski and snowboard operation next to the small town of Niseko, right at the foot of the magnificent Mount...

"All we need to pursue our dreams and make them come true is passion and determination", Lukasz Czepiela. A former airline mechanic, Lukasz Czepiela combines being a commercial A320 pilot with competing in World Advanced Aerobatic championships, flying displays at airshows and until recently racing for the Challenger Class of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship. A trip to an air show with his father, at the age of six, led to a life-long passion for airplanes. Day after day Łukasz cycled...

‘’As a surfer or a snowboarder, we like to draw a line as an artist on a canvas’’ – Géraldine Fasnacht Born in Lausanne - Switzerland, Géraldine Fasnacht is a world known freeride snowboarder, base jumper and wingsuit pilot. She is a pioneer who constantly draws new lines in the mountains with her snowboard and her wingsuit. Based in her favorite playground, Verbier, Switzerland, she gets inspired by the mountains and explores the most remote places on earth. Be it from the depths of...

‘’Make your life a dream, and a dream a reality’’ – Antoine de St Exupéry Our dear Italian friend Fabio Guerra definitively lived up and still lives the Dream of aviation! Born and raised in Verona – Italy, Fabio Guerra always dreamt about flying the mighty F104 Starfighter. After joining the Accademia Aeronautica – the Italian Air force Academy and climbing up the ladder to a fighter jet office desk, he very soon had the opportunity to move to the United States of America as an exchange...

Arturo Polo Ena and his wife Elisa Fernández Esparza have backcountry aviation in their blood and you know how Spanish blood is! Arturo Polo Ena started to fly hang gliders at age 16 and very soon discovered the unlimited possibilities offered by UL/LSA in Europe. Rapidly becoming an instructor at Torremoncha de Jiloca aerodrome in Aragon - Spain, he explored most of Europe and developed a dedication to mountain flying, especially in the French Alps as well as in the Massif Central and also...

Marius Jumolea is from Cluj-Napoca - Romania and although having been raised in an aviation family, he only found his own passion for aviation and especially bush flying at the age of 25. Since then, Marius developed an avid need to fly and perfect his backcountry skills. This dedication pushed him to be one the few European owners of a Cub Crafters Carbon Cub EX2 back in late 2016. First pushing the limits on his own bush plane and exploring his amazing birth country, his passion saw him...

In today´s episode, It is our pleasure to welcome Sam Rutherford from the UK and Belgium. For those who may not know about him, his flying career started at age 13 and pushed him to be commissioned officer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1991. Born a pilot, Sam qualified as an Army helicopter pilot and left the British Army as a Flight Commander after eight years of service. Later, he became an FAA/EASA commercial helicopter and airplane pilot. He logged more than 3500+ hours...

This is the second part of our episode five of TSC together with René Petersen from Greenland. We further discuss about wild animals, René´s wish on rebuilding the only Super Cub in Greenland, safety chutes on bush planes, the use of slats both automatic (Super STOL) or pilot controlled (Zlin NORDEN), his plan on getting skis for his plane, finally the infamous bolter questionnaire. If you want to watch René flying his Super STOL in Greenland, checkout his Instagram account -...

René Petersen was born and raised in Greenland´s capital Nuuk. He has now been working for thirty years as a helicopter mechanic and logged almost three thousand hours on the left seat of different helicopters mostly in Greenland. He is also a private pilot for many years but most of all, he is the only owner of a bush plane (an experimental registered Just Aircraft Super STOL) in Greenland and one of the only two guys flying private GA in the entire country... which is the considered to be...

In today´s episode, we welcome two friends from Scandinavia: Jan Hafsås from Norway and Lars Najbjerg from Denmark. Lars has flown so many airplanes underneath the sun and also in very nasty polar weather. He is a former Royal Danish Airforce fighter pilot having flown the mighty “taildragger” Saab F35 Draken and also the F16 Viper. He is a skydiver, a commercial pilot and he won the 2013 Nordic Aerobatic Championship on the experimental aerobatic plane he built himself. Lars discovered bush...

Craig Lang, the owner of Flying Frontiers, has had a passion for flying for as long as he can remember, and has been involved in various forms of aviation for many years, holding both a Commercial Pilot's License and a Grade B Instructor’s rating. Based in the KwaZulu Natal Midlands, Flying Frontiers is a small company passionate about Bushflying and Classic aircraft. Craig has been one of the very first to import a Zlin Savage Bobber in South-Africa and is the first one who started to offer...

Thomas Tom Huber grew up in the ideal postcard picture you could have of south Bavaria. He was exposed to aviation at a young age thanks to his grand-father who was a pilot during WWII. Finally getting his PPL license during the 90´s while working at a lodge in British Columbia - Canada, he fully discovered the possibilities of UL/LSA type aircrafts while supporting rally races in north Africa at the beginning of 2000. If you have already been around the AERO fair in Friedrichshafen, you...

Roland Primus is a legend in the European and international snowboard industry. But he is also a true aviation enthusiast since a very young age, having explored so many types of flying and airplanes. An award-winning aerobatic pilot, he discovered thanks to a very good friend the ease of use of Ultra Light / LSA bush planes and the awesome possibilities they offer to fly deep in the mountains and land and the most prestigious glacier of the European Alps. Joining us in The STOL Collective,...

Join me, Maxime Compagnon aka vieux_bandit, on a European STOL, backcountry and mountain flying adventure.