Shortly after arrival on March 5, we were taken to a parking lot turned into a launch pad, to fly over a procession of campaign supporters.

It's warm and the wind is calm. Off I go to land in the stadium where the procession ends. What a magnificent view of what sprawling city bordering the Caribbean. The scowled buildings forbid an engine break down. I suppose I could land in a few parks or some rooftops if necessary but I trust my 4 blade F2 (equipped with a Gold 28) to give me no trouble. Francesco de Santis accompanies me on his tandem F2 (and 29 m Phöenix).

The heat is an obstruction to any fancy performance, in fact the wind and thermals that kick up in the afternoon are a considerable drawback. However the President's successive processions are scheduled daily between noon and 3 pm. I have no choice but to follow or fly over them and the result is a spectacular closure above Pedernales, a town near Haiti.

This is how it happened: at 12:30, the wind was really on the limit, and the more I waited, the stronger it blew. Eugene Matos, the coordinator and a parachutist himself insisted that I fly because he wanted the presidential procession to see the red lettering on my white wing and the Dominican flag on my harness. I took off from the beach in a 20 km/h wind with hardly reassuring clouds. After 2 failed reverse inflation launches, I managed to get airborne but could hardly advance. I took some lift to try and approach the gathering when I soon realized I was in a difficult spot. Stuck 100 m above the crowd, I was absolutely unable to move. Then, barely after 10 minutes in the air, my wing suddenly and completely collapsed. Then, just as abruptly, a monstrous sink hurled me downward with a spectacular and miraculous reopening.

I wanted to return to the beach to land but the clouds prevented me from going down as fast as I intended.

I kept the motor running to avoid landing in the village with such a strong wind and slowly descended. Eugene exclaimed his fear for my life so I had to reassure him - and myself as well. At least, from then on, I think he understood our hesitation about flying in the afternoon conditions.

On that same day, even the parachutists had a hard time landing in the stadium because of the wind. Many of them ended up in the village, stuck on rooftops, to the delight of all the gaping children and adults who thought they were seeing extra-terrestrials, as you can imagine the news papers recounted. At the end of the day, we all gathered at the local pub for a "Presidente", the local beer.

During the campaign, on each landing I was immediately surrounded by friendly, curious people, even some journalists. Almost all the local papers focused on the paramotor which unwillingly gave me stardom compared to the parachutists who were in Dominican Republic for the 3rd time. At first the locals were quite upset about our machines which took up so much space in the already overloaded buses. Then, thanks to the press, they understood the importance of these flying marvels and their potential. I was allowed to take off right from the town squares, day or night, with the help of policemen or soldiers, and to spin around the historical monuments.

The parachutists got a bit ruffled* perhaps because I was getting too much attention. And yet I thought their free fall feats and precision landing were marvelous. It took them a few days to come around to the paramotor but they finally realized its assets. At the end of our stay, 2 parachutists flew my machine with genuine pleasure and 3 others were introduced to paragliding. I wouldn't be surprised to have some of them as customers one day.

The last week, we were housed in the luxurious "Casa de Campo" (world-famous club) where I did some leisure flying. My campaigning adventure gave me a total of 12 flights in 10h30 min but my last one was the best. After emptying my gas tank, I flew over Casa de Campo at 300 m, taking off my helmet to fully enjoy a few minutes of peace and I let myself soar down to the villa's courtyard near the swimming pool. Five minutes later I was in the Jacuzzi savoring a "Presidente".

After the great success of the paramotor, Eugene asked me to go back to Santo Domingo in may, just to remind the locals who they should vote for!

* I was a parachutist myself for over 10 years with more than 850 jumps.