With a military plane, they flew from Jerne Molan’s barracks in Cerklje ob Krka towards Ljubljana and Prevčeva dom. Photo: they are
Domen Prevc tried a different kind of flying with a military pilot
Slovenian ski jumping ace Domen Prevc tried a different form of flying than he is used to today. Together with the military pilot Captain Andrej Fiorelli, they flew the Pilatus PC-9M hudournik military aircraft. Prevc said after the flight that he was amazed by the aircraft’s capabilities and described the experience as crazy.
They flew from the Jerne Molan barracks in Cerklje ob Krka to Ljubljana and Prevčeva dom in a military plane, and they also exchanged experiences about overcoming challenges and trusting in their own abilities while flying.
“It was a really crazy experience, what these planes are capable of. At first I was surprised that it arrived in Ljubljana so quickly, and also by how agile the plane was. I admit that I felt a little sick on the way back and I was also happy to land on solid ground,” Prevc described the flight.
As he explained, they flew to his grandmother’s home in Sveti Tomaž, then past their home, around Bled and back to Cerklje.
Prevc, who is usually mainly used to flying on skis, also wants to take the PPL pilot license exam himself. “At the moment I’m working on the theory and when I get some mileage I’ll fly a similar, slightly less powerful aircraft myself,” said the jumping champion.
He admitted that the sensations in the air in an airplane are different than on skis. “Here, things are completely different. You are not limited and you really feel strong. How Andrej does all this is something incredible for me,” he said, adding that he was happy for this opportunity.
“Flying itself is fascinating to me and then this opportunity presented itself as a reward for a good season. It doesn’t get better than that. No one can give me a better thing at the moment,” he explained the purpose of today’s venture.
Despite the company, military pilot Fiorelli did not refrain from various maneuvers in the air. “You definitely have to spin him around a bit. He’s used to being in the air, so it wasn’t anything shockingly new for him. I think he did it with flying colors. We both had a good time, which is the most important thing,” he said.
It’s not every day that he has such a passenger with him, so this time he felt a little more responsibility: “The most important thing was to bring him back to the ground in one piece and continue to give him a long, successful career.”
He also explained that today they were flying at around 500 kilometers per hour. “It can do a little more, but given the weather conditions and the limited airspace we had, today we took it a little more with a margin,” explained the pilot.
