NOVA AWARDS PILOTS OF THE YEAR 2024
Strong in XC and Hike & Fly
Austrian Christian Berger flies every possible day and is an incredibly committed, positive person. He also showed that our EN C-twoliner CODEX really deserves to be called a true XC wing. Chris came in 7th in the worldwide sport class ranking of the XContest and third in Austria.
XCONTEST World Ranking Sport 2024
XCONTEST Austria Ranking Sport 2024
Daniele Scarcella has only been flying since 2021 and was able to establish himself as one of the top XC pilots in Italy in the 2023/24 season on his XENON. A very special flight was his almost-200 km FAI triangle from the Viperella launch site, because it lies in Central Italy and is therefore much more difficult than in the Alps. Daniele also impressed with his extraordinary commitment and his communication within the team.
XCONTEST 200km FAI middle of Italy
XENON-pilot Simon Raffeiner actually wanted to "attack" in the 2023/24 season. But apart from a fifth place at the Bordairrace in Salzburg, he did not achieve the results he had been pursuing. Time and again, the Austrian had to cope with setbacks and was very open about it on social media. Pilots Team Captain Timon Weber says: "Simon's honest and authentic way of dealing with his setbacks really touched me. What's more, his risk management and the way he deals with physical and mental limits is a role model for me."
Lukasz Sieminski from Poland has been impressing with his outstanding XC-skills for years and belongs to the world's best cross-country pilots. In 2023/24 he competed on the CODEX and was able to show the potential of this EN C-twoliner, especially with very fast flights in Kenya and Slovenia. Among his seven flights over more than 200 km, a flat 276 km triangle from Sorica stood out. Lukasz took third place in the sport class in the worldwide XContest ranking. He won the national sports class ranking in Poland, where he came in second overall.
XCONTEST World Ranking Sport 2024
Martin Stofner from South Tyrol has two great passions: SkiMo- and hike & fly-races. And he has been achieving the extraordinary for years: despite being a true amateur, he is a lively competitor among full professionals. In 2024, he took second place in the Red Bull Dolomitenmann with his BANTAM 2. He also won the overall classification of the “H&F Treffen Südtirol”. In this series, he took part in six out of the seven races and won five times. This also enabled him to defend his title from the previous year.
All winners received a personalised beer mug and a voucher for 400 euros from NOVA as a token of thanks and a memento. NOVA CEO Ferdinand Vogel summarises: "Congratulations and many thanks to all the winners! Awarding the Pilots of the Year is always a huge pleasure. But at the same time, we find it very difficult because there are various other pilots who also deserve this award. We are particularly pleased that our pilots are able to demonstrate the performance potential of the CODEX. A true NOVA wing: high and accessible performance with low aspect ratio."