ZOOM PARAGLIDERS – ALEX HÖLLWARTH

Born in 1982, I, Alex Höllwarth, live with my wife and our two children in Fügen in Zillertal/Tyrol. In 1994, inspired by my brother Hansi, I came into contact with the paragliding scene for the first time. Back then, I was able to watch well-known test pilots at work near my home. At that time, I already knew that I was enthusiastic about working as a test pilot and that I wanted to make this my career goal.

After a few attempts at flying myself, I completed my training as a paraglider pilot in 1997. My first glider was the NOVA Philou. In 2001, I began my career as a test pilot at Skywalk under the guidance of Jürgen Kraus. Here I learnt the craft of testing and trimming.

At the end of 2007, I moved to NOVA as a test pilot and gained my first insights into the development and design work of my mentor Hannes Papesh. This laid the foundation for me as a constructor and designer.

In 2011, I was given the opportunity to prove myself as a designer at Skywalk, initially together with Paul Guschlbauer. From then on, I was responsible for all Skywalk paragliders until 2022. This included successful wings such as the Mescal, Tequila, Masala, Cayenne, Tonic, Tonka and the Xalps 2 to 5.

In 2023, I left Skywalk to found my own brand Zoom Paragliders under the umbrella of Papesh GmbH and with my long-time companion and mentor Hannes Papesh.