Paragliding: Fly like a bird

For the fanatics, paragliding is more than just a recreational sport - it is a way of life

BY SAMIDHA SATAPATHY
January 30, 2006

Ever wish you had wings? That's the question an experienced paraglider might throw at you, with only the barest hint of a smile. For them, paragliding is not just a recreational or competitive sport. What they will tell you, with a glint of the fanatic, is that it is a way of life.

Sounds drastic? Well, this is how the philosophy goes – why be a couch potato when you can follow your dreams? And whether it's Luke Skywalker's X-wing that caught your fancy, or Superman skimming across vast expanses of land, or even the speed of Harry Potter's Firebolt, one thing has been abundantly clear in the fantasy worlds that have been most popular over time – flying is one dream that refuses to go away. Even religions acknowledge it, if only obliquely, when they refer to the lightness of the soul and the heaviness of the body. Being land-bound, having to defy gravity with every step, is a state of existence that feels out of sync with the surrounding nature.

In comparison, flying requires a streamlining of the craft, using the energy around oneself, some would argue, becoming 'one' with the environment. Unlike walking, where inertia is a necessary hindrance, flying is all about becoming a part of the surroundings. As Nirvana Adventures puts it, talking about the experience of one of its founders, "Sanjay is witness to the positive effects of adventure with every course he runs. He has come across countless examples of people over the years of people who have had no adventure background and have learnt to paraglide simply because flying like a bird has been a dream. While learning to fly limits get pushed and people discover more about their own abilities. The charm of adventure lies not only in what you achieve but in realising what you are capable of." And one of the 'adventure sports' that allows one to experience this is paragliding.

So what is paragliding exactly? A paraglider is a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft. The entire ensemble weighs less than twenty kilos. It is a slow aircraft with a very small speed range. In unpowered flight, it uses rising air to stay aloft. Rising air can come from two sources – thermals and ridge lift. When the sun warms the ground, some features get more warmed than others (such as rocks and factories), setting off thermals, which rise through the air. This is used more frequently in mountainous environments. When the wind encounters a ridge in the landscape, ridge lift is provided by the air, which is forced upwards. Ridge soaring depends on a steady wind within a defined range, which is determined by the performance of the wing and the skill of the pilot.

Some of the advantages paragliding has over other adventure sports are that it is cheaper, safer and doesn't require any extraordinary athletic ability. One could say, it delivers the thrill with minimum risk of the kill. While more commonly practiced in Europe, in the Alpine regions where it originated, the sport is becoming increasingly popular in India as well. Some of the popular flying spots are in the Himalayas and in the Western ghat regions of Kamshet, Panchgani and Pune in Maharashtra, Nandi Hills in Bangalore, and Arambol and Anjuna in Goa. Nirvana Adventures in Kamshet and Melissa's Place, also in Kamshet offer training courses for new pilots.

Equipment for paragliding consist of the paraglider wing (or 'canopy'), a self-inflating structure consisting of a row of cells, most of them open at the front and all of them closed at the back, joined together side by side. Moving through the air keeps them inflated because air goes in the front but can't get out the back. Then there is the pilot's harness, to which are attached a web of lines strong enough to support the pilot and attached to the wing. Controls are held by the pilot, who can determine speed and turn by pulling down the trailing edge of the wing. The bucket-seat harness in which the pilot is strapped contains a reserve parachute and has a 'speed system' which pulls down the leading edge for maximum flying speed. Modern paraglider wings are made of high-performance non-porous fabrics such as Porcher Marine & Gelvenor, with dyneema, superaram, or kevlar lines. In addition to this, a good helmet, ankle length boots and gloves are considered mandatory.

Although it is classified as a high-risk sport, technological advances in the design of paraglider canopies have significantly reduced the number of recorded incidents, and the most common injuries are twisted ankles and back injuries sustained during take-off and landing. According to experts, a big part of learning any of these sports is making it safely through the learning period when you don't realize how much you still don't know. It's common, they feel, to see relatively new pilots eager to launch their paragliders while other pilots with thousands of flight hours are waiting patiently on the ground for the conditions to change in some way.

So is paragliding humanity's dream finally come true? The answer to that can only be subjective, of course, but Sanjay Rao of Nirvana Adventures had this to say about the first time he flew: "The experience of being alone in the air with only the sound of the fluttering wing, pure bliss, pure freedom, pure peace. Once back on the ground, a feeling of excitement, aliveness like never before pervaded his body and [his] senses." One would have to head for Kamshet to see if dreams can really come true.