Vladimír Príslupský

Vladimír Príslupský was born on January 22, 1948 in Klokočov, (Michalovce district), in eastern Slovakia. In 1968 during the so-called Dubček's era he willingly joined the Communist Party. After his high school studies and participating in the compulsory military service he worked in different lower positions within sector of board and services. Gradually he managed to become a head of various boarding and lodging facilities. During one party with his friends he had a fight with some State Security members but wasn't convicted for it. As a consequence, however, the ŠtB members complicated his life in other ways. One year later he had to face a fabricated accusation of larceny of the socialist property and served nine months on remand. After more encounters with the State Security following his release, Príslupský decided to run away from the republic. He chose an air glider, (rogalo), as the vehicle for his escape - a small hang-glider with a Trabant car engine, even though he had never flown anything before. He bought the glider from his friend a few weeks before his escape, which took place on May 18, 1987. With it, he sailed over the state border southward from the town of Domažlice. Despite of minimal experiences with flying, approximately at eight o'clock in the evening he took off near the village Mrakov and nearby the border crossing Folmava he flew over the state border with Federal Republic of Germany. After about a 50-kilometer flight he managed to land on a meadow by the village Unterlintach, not far from a town of Roding, Cham district. Here the local citizens helped him to get to police, where he applied for asylum. After several weeks of living under asylum he got a job as a waiter. Thanks to the media coverage of his story and to the sale of his hang glider he earned some money and was eventually able to open his own restaurant after one year of living in Germany. However, since he longed for coming back to his homeland, in 1992 he returned to Czechoslovakia. Today, he owns a guest house called Rogalo.

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