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WHAT IS
PARAGLIDING?
Paragliding is the purist form of aviation, unless you have
feathers and hollow bones. Paragliders are foot launched ultra-light
aircraft that have evolved from the very first paragliders that were
experimented with in the early 1980s in Europe by some
mountaineers. They first retuned some skydiving parachutes and
launched into the air by skiing downhill. Thanks to modern
technology and the efforts of these early pioneering enthusiasts
today’s modern paragliders are used to catch rising air, called
thermals, and travel for hours and great distances. Paragliders are
sized depending on the weight of the pilot, and in the case of
tandem paragliders the combined weights of the pilot and
student/passenger. Generally, tandem paragliders are approximately
seventy percent larger than a solo paraglider.
CAN
ANYONE ENJOY THE PARAGLIDING EXPERIENCE?
We have flown the very young to the elderly, handicapped, the fit
and the not-so-fit. Anyone with the desire to soar can do so. We
go to the extreme to accommodate any physical challenge. For those
who are challenged by a fear of heights you could consider a tandem
paragliding flight a form of therapy. Many of today’s paragliding
pilots have experienced that same fear. One of our instructors
says, “I just can’t stand at the edge of a cliff or tall building
without being petrified. Attached to my paraglider I feel okay. At
first I was terrified of being high above the ground, but once I
learned to trust my equipment I conquered that fear. Still, today,
tall buildings and high cliffs without my paraglider are still a
challenge for me.”
WHAT
KIND OF CONDITIONS DO PARAGLIDERS NEED TO FLY?
There
are four meteorological conditions that can produce extended
flights:
1 –
RIDGE LIFT. This occurs when a wind blows into a vertical cliff
face creating a wave of air that is reflected up. The angle of the
slope of the cliff, the angle and velocity of the wind needs to be
factored into whether or not any particular ridge site is flyable.
Air density also plays a role (the colder the air the more dense the
air is, resulting more lift).
2 –
THERMAL CONDITIONS. A thermal is created when a patch of ground is
heated by the sun’s rays more rapidly than the ground around that
patch. The ground then heats the air above it creating a bubble of
air that eventually is released and as it rises it draws in colder
air. A river of air rising. Generally, the air in the center of
that thermal is rising faster than the air on the outside of that
same thermal. Wind also plays a factor. The stronger the wind the
more the thermal will lean downwind.
3 – CONVERGENCE.
Points where winds and air
masses come together can be great sources of lift, and is often
predictable depending upon location and conditions.
4
- WAVES. Occurs as air masses rise high over mountain
ranges. Not common in the locations we fly.
TESTIMONIALS
“My
tandem paragliding flight was like being cradled by angels….”
Laura
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