User:Coline Caron/Loïc Blaise

Loïc Blaise is a French aviator and explorer born on May 24, 1977 in Puyricard. He made his name with the Polar Kid expedition, in collaboration with Russian cosmonaut and test pilot Valery Tokarev. In 2018, they successfully completed the first circumnavigation of the Arctic Circle aboard a prototype ultra-light seaplane.

Biographie
As a pilot instructor, Loïc Blaise was one of the youngest pilots qualified to fly one of the last operational seaplanes: the PBY Catalina, a patrol-bomber veteran of the Second World War.

In 2012, multiple sclerosis deprived him of his flying license.

In 2014, he met an Indian doctor whose traditional approach combines diet, meditation and massage. Although they don't cure him, Loïc's treatments give him the energy to fight back. Loïc decided to illustrate the link between human, environmental and societal health. The Polar Kid expedition was born.

A Siberian prologue
In July 2017, with the Polar Kid barely out of the factory as a prototype, Loïc and Valery Tokarev - a 63-year-old cosmonaut and test pilot who spent 189 days in space aboard the ISS - decided to carry out a full-scale test: Polar Kid Odyssey 2017. The route takes in the Urals from south to north, towards the midnight sun and right up to the gates of the Arctic, passing through the continent's last virgin forest and the Man-pupu-Nyor plateau.

Around the world of ice
On July 3, 2018, 6 years to the day after his diagnosis, Loïc Blaise took to the skies with Valery Tokarev for a round-the-world trip in a microlight along the Arctic Circle. A world first achieved in 45 days and 23,000 km across 3 continents, 3 oceans and 7 seas.

A feat hailed by the aeronautics industry for its twofold message: to fight renunciation and immortalize snapshots of an ice pack doomed to disappear.

Mission in progress
Following this round-the-world ice tour, Loïc now wants not only to help develop concrete solutions to decarbonize the planet, but also to promote them. Since September 2018, he has been working on a new world first: aboard pioneering zero-emission aircraft, to reach the planet's most endangered populations and ecosystems and highlight Planet Heroes to inspire and unite a community determined to reduce its environmental footprint and support or develop initiatives aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

This new odyssey is divided into several chapters. The first public flight is scheduled for spring 2024.

Commitments

 * Chairman and founder of the Fond de Dotation Léonard.


 * Co-founder of the Life Odyssey association.


 * Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Le Monde nouveau.


 * Goodwill Ambassador for the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation.


 * Sponsor of Maisons Internationales pour la Jeunesse et l'Education.
 * Companion of the Guild.

Awards
Alongside his commitments to the planet, Loïc is dedicated to creating tools to make life easier for patients, based on aeronautical culture. He was awarded the Hacking Health 2018 Prize for his "Copilote" app aimed at enabling people losing their autonomy to keep control of their lives.

In 2018, he received the Adventurer of the Year award at the Dijon International Adventure Film Festival and the FAI Air Sports Medal No. 693 from the International Aeronautical Federation for the first aerial tour of the Arctic Circle.

Filmography

 * 2017 : Polar Kid's incredible journey, documentary film by Mike Magidson, 2020: Greenland: Sons of the Sun and Moon by Christine Oberdorff