Wind Tunnel HandiFly 2021. The project is not yet fully off the ground and still depends on the formal approval by the powers that be in Bruxelles, the capital of Europe. But the organizers around project leader Jérôme David, the Deputy Director of the French Parachute Federation (FFP), have high hopes that the Erasmus program of the European Union will come through again.
“When you can’t walk, you can still fly!” is the powerful message that was conveyed through an international program launched by the FFP in 2016. Jérôme David, a panelist at the recent Indoor Skydiving summit, is the FFP Deputy Director and as such coordinates the HandiFly program which seeks to create opportunities for the motor-disabled (and possibly others) to discover and to compete in skydiving – and in certain other air sports.
On 21 November 2019, the HandiFly Euro Challenge was selected from a total of 144 projects as one of nine nominated for the European Commission's #BeInclusive Sports Awards.
A new HandiFly project has been launched since, more ambitious and with its focus widened to include indoor skydiving as well. There will be the mass development program through the consolidation of a network of wind tunnel partners to experiment, implement and disseminate best practices for the first accompanied flights, for solo progression and, lastly, for, competitions.
Then follows the first global Handifly indoor skydiving event including the 1st World HandiFly Indoor Skydiving Competition in Marseille, FRA, from 4 to 7 March 2021.
The HandiFly organizers are looking for wind tunnels across Europe as partners. Jérôme David is the point of contact. Here are the WH2021 Call For Partners and the Project Description for downloading.