Calef Letorney
Calef's mom will tell you his "need for adrenaline" started in utero, when she rolled her Land Rover while 8 months pregnant. He denies being a junkie, but he did learn to ski at 2.5 years old and by 10 he was sledding off the 2nd story roof. Calef went on to compete in freestyle whitewater kayaking, winning medals at National and World Championships. He learned to paraglide in 2005 in Colorado and Utah from some of the best instructors in the Nation. Calef fell deeply in love with soaring paragliders and has traveled the world chasing the dream. When he moved home to Vermont, Calef found few local pilots capable of keeping up. It just wasn't the same without a gaggle of friends, so in 2009 Calef got his first Paragliding Instructor rating and he has been training fledglings ever since. In 2017 Calef received an USHPA P5 Master rating, but he'll be the first to tell you there's always room to grow and he’s focused on continually improving his flying skills and instruction techniques. On 9/20/2020, after 6 years of trying, Calef realized his dream of setting the Vermont State Distance Record on a paraglider, flying 120.9km from East Burke, VT to Hartland, VT. The record didn’t last long as on 5/15/21 Calef and a group of friends enjoyed what has been described as “the best soaring day ever in New England”. Launching from W. Rutland and climbing to 13,000’ (!) the team flew from Western, VT to the border of Maine! Calef’s flight was 164.8km, crossing the fabled 100 mile mark, but after flying cooperatively for over 6 hours Eduardo Garza ultimately made it the furthest, claiming the Vermont and New England record. So if you want to soar in the mountains, tandem or solo, Calef’s your guy!
Andrey Kuznetsov
Andrey “The Cosmonaut” Kuznetsov is a proper canopy artist. Hailing from Ufa, Russia, he learned to skydive in 1990 at just 15 years old and has completed over 4000 jumps. He spent 10 years in the Russian National Canopy Formation Team, and has held three world skydiving records, including being part of the current world record for a 100-person canopy formation. In 2003 Andrey moved to the USA and pursued a career in mechanical design engineering. It was here in New England he learned to fly paragliders in 2009. With his previous canopy experience, Andrey progressed quite rapidly and within just a few years he was flying 200+km flights in Texas. Andrey got his USHPA Tandem Instructor certification in 2011 and he’s been thrilling passengers ever since. Andrey is also an avid cross country pilot. In 2020 he flew a 5.5 hour, 88km triangle on his tandem in Colombia and he set that Vermont State distance record twice- once at 110km and a month later at 116km. Andrey also set the NH record in 2021, with an incredible flight that originated from a tiny 250’ tall training hill! He launched into rising air and climbed to an incredible 6,800’, traveling 76.75km! Andrey currently resides in the greater Boston area and offers tandem instructional flights for PGNE at many different sites all over New England. Also, with his extensive parachute packing experience, Andrey also repacks much of New England’s reserve parachutes via his company Airquest Paragliding.
Alek Jadkowski
If its got wings (or otherwise produces lift) chances are Alek not only flies it, but also teaches others to fly it. His journey into aviation started at the age of 19, when Alek joined the Army to fly helicopters. Later he earned a degree in aviation and became a professional airplane, seaplane, and sailplane pilot and instructor. Now he has over 3000 hours (and counting!) of flying 21 different types of aircraft. His current “day job” is flying helicopters for an air-ambulance service. He’s also a backcountry ski guide. His paragliding career started in 2016 when his ski buddy Calef taught Alek to fly a “bag wing.” He was soaring in no time. Now paragliders are what this aviator chooses to fly for fun because it combines his love for exploring the mountains with a peaceful, pure form of aviation. Joining the PGNE instructor team in 2020, Alek has quickly distinguished himself as one of our most gifted instructors, leveraging his wealth of aviation instruction experience to help new paraglider pilots jumpstart their progression.
Dan Deleo
Don’t compare yourself to Dan. He’s a natural athlete that’s frustratingly good at everything he does. Lookout, because just when you’re feeling fast on a downhill mountain bike, Dan will pass you riding a borrowed bike (because he hasn’t ridden in years) with blown shocks and no front brake. No big deal.
Dan learned to paraglide in Montana in 2014 and a few years later moved home to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, where he quickly started flying with the Paraglide New England crew. In short order Dan was sending long distance cross-country, regularly flying across much of the state of Vermont. Hooked on flying, he’s been chasing paragliding all over the world and some of his favorite flying sites are in Colombia and France. Dan’s also officially the coolest Dad in the world, having amazed all the kids and teachers when he flew cross-country to land at his daughter’s school just as they were getting out for the day. When he’s not flying, Dan works as an arborist and builder. In 2021 he earned his USHPA Tandem Instructor and we’re excited to have Dan on the team teaching and sharing his love of paragliding through tandem flight.
Sarah Robinson
When you’ve just landed your first flight in Mexico, it’s Sarah that’s going to greet you with fresh fruit and guide you to the taco stand. Sarah’s on location to capture the moment whether it’s lifestyle shots or launch videos for instructional review. She takes care of a majority of PGNE’s bragging on social media, so people know how much fun we are having. At home or abroad, Housemother Sarah make the PGNE experience special. Master of the camp kitchen, she’s typically catering the experience or at least providing incredible snacks, but don’t worry because belly ballast just makes you fly faster.
Petunia Waffles
You would not guess it from the cute outfits (bunny rabbit, unicorn, Mini Mouse, etc.), but Petunia is PGNE’s chief of security. She’s also way into flying. Theres nothing this little Fly’huahua likes more than checking out the view while her ears flap in the breeze. Whether at the training hill, mountain launch, or tow beach, this little one is the life of the party everywhere she goes. Check out the video HERE.
