his wife of almost 40 years, Mia Schokker, have been pursuing records out there on their beloved “flats” for decades. Between them, they have knocked out a couple dozen records, both Canadian and World, and they’ve done it without jostling other pilots at a crowded competition launch waiting for a stranger to call the day. “It’s simple. It’s carving turns, climbing in the invisible air and making the glide,” Martin adds. “It’s dust, wind, wheat and sun. It’s perfect.” Martin was in high school when he learned to fly. One of his schoolmates showed up in class with precisely the same issue of National Geographic that hooked Bob Wills on the sport—the 1972 Otto Lilienthal Meet issue. “When you consider that flying a sailplane was very, very expensive and these were the days when anyone could run off a hill with a rickety thing made of bamboo and
plastic, it makes sense,” Martin explains. “Lots of people got into flying hang gliders because it fit their budget. I was a high school kid with a Volkswagen Beetle and not much else, so I certainly qualified. I found some plans and built one. In 1973, I ran my wing off a tiny little hill near Vancouver and never looked back. That was the spark that inspired me for the next 42 years and keeps inspiring me today.” Martin had taken a break from flying when he and Mia opposite Martin and Mia celebrating Mia’s 2008 150km FAI (class 05, rigid
wing) world record (with her favorite Dutch beer). LEFT Mia paragliding training, Burnaby Mountain Park, Vancouver B.C. Canada. TOP Mia’s early hang glider flights, Sumas Mountain, Fraser Valley B.C. Canada, 1979. BOTTOM Martin, 1973 home-built glider.
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