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Paragliding | How and where to start

Start paragliding it is by no means simple or trivial. Although the paraglider is in fact the simplest means of free flight invented by man, to conduct one on your own you need to attend at least two courses, the basic one and the advanced one, and acquire both theoretical notions, aerodynamics, meteorology, piloting techniques and safety maneuvers, and practical flight exercises with take-off, landing and the main basic maneuvers in flight. However it is also true that you can do the baptism of paragliding flight even without any patent but relying on couple flights organized by paragliding schools present numerous throughout Italy.

Paragliding: what is it

As mentioned, paragliding is the simplest flight instrument invented by man. It consists of a wing, similar in structure and fabric to a parachute, a harness in which the pilot flies seated or lying on his back, a backrest structure which functions as dorsal protection against blows and shocks, and of a series of lanyards with which the sail is handled and the paraglider piloted.The paraglider is not a motor vehicle and, like any flying vehicle, it uses lift to stay in the air and its own weight to move forward: normally the paraglider tends to descend and advance, which is why it always takes off from raised hills (or using a motor tow in their absence); however in the case of thermals, currents of warm ascending air, the paraglider will be towed upwards. In practice, the sail, or wing, takes advantage of the lift by keeping the shape open thanks to the air contained inside. Very trivializing the discussion, to pilot a paraglider you operate one of the two controls connected to the glider: pulling the right one slows down the corresponding half-wing and the paraglider turns towards that side (or vice versa by activating the left one)

Start paragliding: the differences with a parachute

If the wing, or sail, of the paraglider is similar to that of the parachute, their functioning and flight modalities are different. With a parachute you jump from a plane in flight and open the canopy only after a phase of free flight, which is the real purpose of skydiving: the parachute therefore serves to bring the parachutist back to the ground without damage and at a manageable landing speed. In paragliding you basically start with the sail already inflated with air and the aim is to sail for as long as possible in terms of flight time and distance travelled. From the point of view of piloting and handling, the paraglider is therefore more similar to directional parachutes for skydiving than to traditional ones.

How to start paragliding

To start paragliding you need to attend a first course basic course at an official paragliding school (here for example the best in Italy): you must be of age (or have the written consent of the person exercising parental authority, and at least 16 years old), obtain a permit from the Police Headquarters of residence (the stamp duty costs 14.62 euros ), pass the medical examination for the certificate of physical fitness, issued by a sports doctor and lasting 2 years, and then obviously pay for the course, the cost of which is normally around 500/700 euros (normally including the use of equipment for the duration of the course).

The duration of the basic course is not actually fixed and pre-established (also because it depends on the weather conditions on the days of lessons) but it is the teacher who decides when the student can make his first high flight, having acquired the theoretical notions and basic practices for taking off, paragliding in flight with basic maneuvers, and landing. Have done the first solo high flight does not mean being able to fly in complete autonomy and start paragliding on your own: for that you need to follow the advanced course during which all aspects of paragliding are explored, from the theoretical ones (aerodynamics, weather, materials) to the practical ones including the main flight techniques. At the end of the advanced course there is a double exam, both practical and theoretical, after which you get the VDS (Sports Pleasure Flight certificate) fromAero Club Italy, upon payment of a fee: at this point you are in all respects a pilot. On average, for the basic course + the advanced one and up to the final patent, it is necessary to estimate a figure between 1500 and 2000 euros.

Where you can fly with a paraglider

Excluding airport areas and other sensitive areas above which it is forbidden to fly (for example barracks) it is theoretically possible to fly anywhere (here the best spots to do it). Of course, it is necessary to take into account the possibility of take-off and landingwhich is why the pre-Alpine and mountain locations (such as Paganella, where we flew) are above all the ones where paragliding is practiced the most: they allow take-off at different altitudes and there is no shortage of meadows on which to land (always bearing in mind that there is no real right to land anywhere, and that the landowner may not agree to).

How to start paragliding

However, the best thing is always to take advantage of the proven take-off and landing areaswhich are now found in many mountain resorts.

How much can you fly in a paraglider

It is almost impossible to say how far you can fly by paraglider. In height you can even reach over 4,000 meters, but they are altitudes for expert pilots and at which the air begins to be too rarefied to face them without adequate physical preparation; normally above 2,000 meters and up to 3,000 is the altitude where most paragliders normally fly. A flight does not have a precise duration, not even in terms of time or distance: the world record for paragliding is over 500 km in distance, and a flight in ideal conditions can last up to 10 hours, for example in competitions such as the Hike & Fly. However, in the theoretical condition of total absence of thermals, it takes about 15 minutes to descend 1,000 meters.

Is paragliding dangerous?

Dangerous no, risky yes, to the extent that a danger becomes such according to the risks that are run. To be clear: a paraglider is a means of transport designed and tested to return to the ground recovering the normal flight attitude even in the face of some drawbacks. Then everything depends on the pilot, who can decide to make risky maneuvers or to fly in unsuitable weather conditions. For example, taking off in the presence of a storm is a risk that the pilot assumes, not an intrinsic danger in the means of flight.

Credits photo: CC – Image by birgl on Pixabay

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2023-05-17 15:36:26
#Paragliding #start

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