André is well known in Bitterwasser. He has been a loyal guest every season since 1999. But his sense of humor made him better known. Upon arrival, he likes to introduce himself as the “man with the two women – one for the day, one for the night”. This is his wife Roseline, with whom he has been married for 50 years, but whom he cannot really inspire to fly, and Genevieve Berger from Orleans, with whom he shares the Arcus cockpit on his Namibia flights. "She flies when I have to recover," says the retired Air France captain, explaining the division of responsibilities. The same age Genevieve practiced long-distance gliding in Orleans with her ASH 26. Together with André she only flies in Bitterwasser. André, on the other hand, is at home with his ASW 22BL in the Aero Club Buno-Bonnevaux and in St. Crepin in the Alps during the summer holidays. “I flew there with my wife for the first time –with a Bijave over the Glacier Blanc,” remembers André, since there were only a total of four flights together in five decades.
Even today, at 77 years of age, André does not simply go for a walk. He is always concerned with declared tasks. André: "That is the bigger challenge." And he always shows a good feeling for what is possible. There he is at the top of the daily standings with almost 900 kilometers in Bitterwasser – even ahead of the youngsters.
A stay at the Bitterwasser Lodge is usually beyond the financial means of young pilots. At the same time, the next generation is the key to the future of our wonderful sport—and of the lodge as well. That is why supporting young pilots is a core part of the Bitterwasser Flying Center’s mission.
Early October is the ideal time to prepare the runways for flight operations. You can land at the Bitterwasser Flying Lodge in every which direction—depending on how you look at it, on 8 runways (plus one emergency runway), each in two directions. Jeremias carefully levels the landing area over the course of several weeks.