You would have, but have you ever looked up and followed the movements of the bird's body, the wings, the tail. Try it. Because if you do you will realise that the birds actually have fun while they fly!
See the Pariah Kites….those common black eagle like birds you will find flying high up and anywhere and everywhere. Swooping down to pick up tidbits dropped by humans, they weave amongst the branches as they fly down, turning and twisting as they angle themselves with the wind in the most complex manner and with amazing ease.
You will often see them flying for hours and hours without flapping a wing. You will see them loving it.
Now imagine...
.. flying along the sea shore, along with the gulls, twisting and turning, skimming down to the waves and then up again……feeling the salt spray against your skin, the cool breeze on your face. No…why imagine, do it! Yes even you can do it……Paragliding has come of age!
Paragliding..
.. is the closest form of pure flight that you can dream about. What looks like a seemingly untidy mass of a fancy coloured fabric, once properly deployed, this cloth metamorphoses into an amazing aircraft which fulfills your dream of flight at the closest and makes you At One With The Birds.
..evolved from parachuting..
..and specifically from sky diving or free falling, as it is also known as. The first paraglides took place when the free fallers decided to launch their chutes from hill tops. Thereafter there has been no looking b ack in the sport.
Paragliders are so simple and so effective that they seem almost too good to be true!
This is a personal aircraft that can be kept at the bottom of a cupboard and carried in a rucksack and at the same time is capable of carrying you up thousands of feet in silence and over hundreds of kilometers.
Technically speaking, a paraglider is an aircraft which has no primary rigid structure, and is hill launched (or tow launched in case hills are not available),to enable soaring flight using thermals or columns of hot air or up draughts.
What it involves?
The first step would be to see whether you are up to it.
Try it. Go to any reputed paragliding school or club and try a tandem joy ride. See the other pilots take off and land etc. Talk to them. Get a feel of what the sport will invove.
Paragliding presupposes a certain degree of fitness.
You will not enjoy it much if you are panting for breath all the time. There will be much walking uphill and some amount of struggling with the canopy during ground handling….especially during the beginning.
In any case if you suffer from heart problems or other medical conditions, you should definitely consult your doctor.
Piloting and intoxication do not gel, so if you are sozzled or high, stay away till you are sober.
Irrespective of whether you have any experience in aviation, please do not try to teach yourself….always get proper instruction from a qualified instructor. Your experience in the other form of aviation will be useful, but there will glaring differences as well.
Starting out.
The second step would be to find a safe school or a safe person from whom to learn.
Checking Out the School.
Start with the instructors first.
Most countries have very strict regulation and issue licences at each level.
A Tandem pilot would have a Tandem endorsement on his licence while an Instructor would have an Instructors rating endorsed.
The other thing to check out in any school is the quality of equipment.
Standard paragliding equipment is expensive, and many schools cannot afford to invest in safety equipment.
The training.
Assuming that the school meets up to your requirements of safety, your training will begin with a Basic Course of a duration of 4 days to up to 7 days in some schools.
This will involve a day (and a half maybe) of ground handling in which you will essentially be taught to inflate the paraglider by laying it out against the wind and running into the wind and keeping it over head.
Thereafter some theory lessons on turning and flaring. Some instructions on a simulator if the school has one, and then your first flight from a short height allowing ample room for error.
The instructor would be with you on a radio set guiding you through the paces and backing up the radio instructions with hand signals using coloured batons.
As the flights increase, so will your confidence in turning and doing circuits and landing.
Moving on.
At this stage you will have to decide whether it would be better to call it a day or to move on to the next stage.
The next stage would mean an Intermediate course of another week or a little more.
Ideally this would mean you purchase your own wing, harness, reserve, helmet, radio set, alti-variometer, GPS, boots, flying suits etc etc..the list goes on but you can do with out some of the above..but ask your instructor.
After this you will be basically flying with a club and gaining experience and hours, flying cross country etc and slowly but surely flying independently and confidently.
Additional courses include the thrilling SIV (Simulation of Violent Incidents), the XC (Cross Country ) courses and even now some Acro courses.
But..
...what ever the decision, I can safely say that you would not regret having been At One With The Birds.
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