Grégoire Coudert balances Brest goalkeeping with flying lessons over Brittany | OneFootball

Brest goalkeeper Grégoire Coudert is learning to fly light aircraft in his downtime. L'Équipe reports that we joined him for a 45-minute sortie from the Brest aeroclub on Wednesday.

He has been training for a year and a half and had 15 hours logged before take-off. The day before he squeezed in eight landings, saying turns and departures now come easier than landings in Brest’s tricky wind.

A childhood fascination, reinforced by Top Gun, earned him the nickname Goose. His uncle holds a Light Aircraft Pilot Licence, which Coudert now targets to be able to fly across Europe.

After morning training with Brest, he briefed at 14:00, selected a diesel DA 40 four-seater rather than his usual Aquila, and checked weather and notices, with the runway set to close later. Cleared after giving way to an arriving Air France, he climbed to 2,000 feet over Plabennec and the Abers, savouring the calm.

Traffic calls flowed, a second aircraft sat 700 feet below, and he drilled go-arounds plus 360-degree turns at a 30-degree bank. A missed checklist call-out drew a nudge from instructor Le Quintrec, yet the landing was smooth before logging a sortie in a cockpit with unfamiliar button layout.

Coudert fits flying around matches and recovery, which he says helps him handle pressure. He hopes simply to reach family in Brive or take his partner or friends up, with Lens to come on Friday.

Source: L'Équipe