Adventure Tour | Gliding to Africa

The expedition's goal is to demonstrate the possibilities of gliding and exploring new areas on the African continent - a small piece of aviation history - as gliders from Tyrol will fly to the African continent for the first time.

On May 25, 2024, five Stemme motor gliders will embark on a unique adventure tour to Ouarzazate, Morocco. Three will start directly from Innsbruck, one Tyrolean pilot will start from Berlin, and a fifth from southern France.

The journey spans ten days and takes the four Tyrolean pilots from Europe to Africa - an extraordinary undertaking, as navigation relies solely on the weather. The crew: Markus Lewandowski, Aurel Hallbrucker, Dominik Senner, and Jakob Prior will fly with co-pilots from Sri Lanka, Japan, Germany, and Switzerland.

The innovative technology of the Stemme motor gliders combines the efficiency of gliders with the performance of motor planes. Thanks to this advanced technology, the pilots manage to cover the entire distance of around 2500 kilometers in four days, mostly gliding - using slightly more than half a tank of car fuel. The engine was used only for takeoff and bridging areas without thermals - such as the 200 km crossing of the Mediterranean Sea.

We are proud to show with this tour what is possible in gliding and that adventure and elegance can go hand in hand - Markus Lewandowski

The route takes the pilots over breathtaking landscapes, from the Alps, the Pyrenees, Spain, and across the Mediterranean, to the expanses of the Sahara and the Atlas Mountains. Each stage is carefully planned to ensure both engineless flight and crew safety.

The adventurous character of the tour is also emphasized to explore new gliding areas. The pilots have been able to gather unforgettable impressions and experience the cultural diversity of the regions they flew over. This makes the tour not only a technical achievement but also a human and cultural enrichment.

The arrival in Ouarzazate on May 29 marks the highlight of this remarkable journey, which will undoubtedly go down in aviation history.

The Tyrolean pilots and their Stemme motor gliders impressively demonstrate that the limits of what is possible can be continually expanded.

After sandstorms in the Sahara and gliding over breathtaking mountain ranges in Africa and Europe, the pilots landed back at Innsbruck Airport on June 5, 2024. Do you want to learn more about the courses and projects of Mountain Soaring? More info can be found here: