GliderTV to film the Louis Vuitton Trophy

Online, June 4, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA), organizers of the Louis Vuitton Trophy, will test a unique method of filming the races at La Maddalena in cooperation with GliderTV. In addition to a helicopter, a motor glider will follow the racing teams and film the sporting event.

The S10 motor glider, produced by STEMME, a leading edge manufacturer of power gliders, combines the qualities of a sailplane and a powered airplane. It has been chosen to film the event, because it is more environmentally friendly than a helicopter. The fuel consumption of an S10 glider is 14 liters per hour. This is 25 times less than a helicopter consumes. Working with GliderTV is the perfect and only real alternative for reducing the carbon footprint of obtaining aerial footage.

The S10 glider not only has a low carbon footprint, it causes no noise disturbance at all and has an airtime of up to 10 hours. Moreover, it can generate the same and even better footage for the media: All sorts of camera systems can be attached, its operating radius is up to 2000 km and it enables live streaming to the internet. An additional competitive advantage is that a glider does not produce a downwash, so risks from this force are avoided.

A crowning achievement for the S10 glider was the world record for cross-country soaring in 2000; flying a distance of 2,463 km in about 14 hours in the updraft of the Andes in South America. The manufacturer of the glider, STEMME AG, has worked for 25 years on perfecting its products.

"The S10 is the best performing sailplane ever built and is the easiest to handle. With a minimum speed of 70 km/hour it is the ideal way of taking the overall shoots. Not only can the glider be used for filming sports events, but also for observing all kinds of outdoor occasions. Our clients benefit from this new method, because it enables us to provide a better service with lower emissions at a competitive price," says Benedikt Horber, chairman of GliderTV.

"Sailing is one of the most environmentally friendly of sports. Sailors have a direct connection to the water and to environmental protection. We would like to show that even with small steps it is possible to reduce the damaging effects of our carbon footprint on the landscape," adds Laurent Esquier, CEO of the World Sailing Teams Association.

About WSTA
The World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA) was founded in 2009 by a group of professional yacht racing teams to develop regular high-level match race regattas in large and complex racing yachts. The WSTA is jointly owned by its nine shareholders (the teams) and represents the interests of those teams in the pursuit of fair and highly competitive racing. The WSTA, in conjunction with title partner Louis Vuitton, co-organises the Louis Vuitton Trophy.

About Louis Vuitton
The world leader in luxury, Louis Vuitton has been synonymous with the art of stylish travel since 1854. Since 1987, it has been part of LVMH/Moët Hennessy - Louis Vuitton, the world's most prestigious luxury goods group headed by Bernard Arnault. Since 1997, with the arrival of the designer Marc Jacobs, it has extended its expertise to women's and men's ready-to-wear, shoes, watches and jewellery, eyewear, combining traditional craftsmanship with flair and innovation to create a complete lifestyle experience. Today, Louis Vuitton has an exclusive network of stores all across the world.

About the STEMME Group
The STEMME Group, located in Germany, is developing and applying technologies to produce challenging high-end mid-class airplanes for sophisticated pilots. The core staff consists of 50 specialists working worldwide in all areas, ranging from market research, to development, production, final assembly, quality control and service. The first product, the S10, is now recognized as the ultimate motor glider, with more than 200 now flying around the world.