| Paragliding |
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 Imagine parking your car at a beautiful upland
vantage point on a sparkling spring day. You open the boot and don
flying suit and boots, then lift out your incredibly light flying
machine in its carrying rucksack and trek off a few yards to where your
friends are preparing to fly. After a few minutes spent inspecting your
equipment you don helmet and harness, look around, allow the wind to
raise the canopy of your glider and launch off into space. This is
paragliding! |
What exactly is it?
 Developed from parachuting canopies, modern
paragliders can be soared effortlessly on windward slopes and across
country in good conditions. It is the same freedom that hang glider pilots have, but a
paraglider is more portable and a little easier to learn to fly. They
are more hampered by strong winds than hang gliders but are easier to
land in small fields.
In the UK paragliding is a thriving sport
and there are numerous importers of canopies and equipment. The
country-wide network of BHPA
clubs offers literally hundreds of flying sites and a
supportive flying and social environment. |
What can you do with one?
 Many paraglider pilots strive to perfect their
skills in cross-country flying. A summer sky filled with fluffy cumulus
clouds provides abundant - but invisible - lifting currents which
pilots use to gain altitude. Setting off on such a day, either towards
a pre-selected goal or just drifting where the wind will take you, is
one of the most breathtaking experiences available today. You'll see
pilots attempting this during the Festival. Most pilots will talk of
the sense of privilege they feel when drifting from cloud to cloud, in
almost total silence, watching the landscape unfold beneath them as
they navigate across the sky.
Flights of over 150km have been made by
paraglider pilots in this country. Abroad, especially in the Alpine
regions, the potential is infinitely greater, and many British pilots
take advantage of the paraglider's portability to visit Europe or more
exotic locations further afield. For those of a competitive bent,
local, national and international competitions offer challenges to
novice and experienced pilots alike. The reigning World Champion is
British and our pilots are a consistent force in international
competitions. |
Do they always need a hill?
Paragliding is not limited to upland
environments. Tow launching, the launch technique use in the flatlands
and practised here today, uses an engine-driven winch to pull pilots
aloft where they search for lift like their hill flying friends.
Parascending pilots use a Land Rover to tow up and then descend onto a
chosen point, displaying incredible skill in landing within centimetres
of their target. Visit the BHPA
Paragliding Accuracy website for further information.
Parascending offers scope for Air Experience flights, and many youth
groups such as the Scouts use it to give young people their first taste
of the air. |
How much do they cost?
 Paragliders are not cheap, although they
represent one of the least expensive ways to get into the air. A new
paraglider suitable for a recently trained pilot will cost up to around
£2,000; secondhand canopies can be obtained for much less.
Training to the level at which you can fly your own canopy in a club
environment costs around £5 - 700; introductory courses cost
around half that. Apart from a glider you need a harness, helmet,
flight suit and boots; later in your flying career you may choose to
buy instruments and other useful accessories.
Paragliding is a great community. You'll
often find championship-winning pilots comparing notes with novices;
both know that theirs is perhaps the simplest and most intuitive way of
flying yet devised. If you want to enjoy the challenges that only being
truly at one with the elements can provide, book a training course
today! |
Learning to fly a paraglider
Expect a full course at a BHPA school to
take seven to ten days of flyable weather. You might also consider a
short 'taster' course or a limited Elementary Pilot certificate.
Training is usually conducted on a gentle
slope. Your instructor will explain how the canopy is laid out,
inflated and controlled by its brake lines; you'll then take it in
turns with other members of your group to have your first short
training hops.
When you've become adept at ground handling,
controlling airspeed and making gentle turns, you'll probably go to a
higher hill for longer flights. The instructor may even take you up
dual on a special canopy to demonstrate an exercise. As things fall
into place you'll learn to soar - to stay up in favourable winds and
make longer flights.
In the classroom you'll cover flight theory,
meteorology and basic airlaw and sit a simple exam. With a positive
assessment from your instructor on your flying, normally on your own
the canopy, you'll be given a BHPA Club Pilot rating enabling you to
fly in the club environment. You'll find that DIY takes a back seat
when you've discovered the unlimited freedom of the sky!
You can also learn to fly lower performance
canopies in an airfield environment, using a winch or vehicle to tow
you aloft. Training takes less time and you can convert to higher
performance canopies later if you choose to.
All photo's marked courtesy of Airports
Photo Library. See their website for more free flying
related pictures. |
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