Paragliding
In 1997 I took part in a paragliding course in the French Alps at Millau. This gave me such a thrill I decided to continue flying and in 2001
I got my pilot licence. Being an independent pilot it was time to spread my wings !
I started this homepage to give you an impression of this exciting sport. It describes the two kinds of paragliding I practice:
Mountainflying and Dunesoaring.
There will be given some attention to the equipment I use to be able to fly. By means of some videocompilations I'll literally give you a close-up of the sensations you encounter flying a paraglider.
Mountain Flying
For me, Mountain Flying is the most natural way to fly. Your equipment packed on your back you walk to the take-off area close to a mountain top. You gear up and get ready to take off. Leaning backwards the wing comes overhead. A short check to make sure everything is like it's supposed to be and off you go. A couple of steps downhill and you are airborne.
While flying away from the mountain you notice the air is everything but calm. Your wing gets lifted at one side by a thermal of warm rising air. By leaning into that lift you can circle yourself all the way to cloudbase.
Dune Soaring
Recently I started with soaring at the coastal sites. You can fly there due to the laminated breeze which is blown up against the dunes. In this lift-area of upward moving air you are able to soar just like a sea-gull does. This way, you can fly for hours and travel many kilometres along the coast.
While soaring you need to watch the wind conditions carefully. When a gust of wind approaches you with a higher speed than the speed of your wing, you could be blown backwards over the top.
Soaring dunes makes other demands on a pilot compared to flying in the mountains. First, there has to be enough wind. A windspeed of 5-7 m/s is sufficient, which makes about 3-4 Beaufort. Because of those strong wind conditions it's absolutely necessary to be in full control of your wing when launching. Therefore groundhandling is an important aspect of soaring. For best wing control it's recommended to launch backwards, for example, like an Australian launch
Behind the dunes you have the 'rotor', an eddy of wind, that brings strong turbulence. It can blow you up and down like you're in a washing-machine and throw you down to the ground. This is at least an uncomfortable, and potentially dangerous situation. You definately should try to prevent it from happening by applying your speedbar in time.
Dunesoaring brings somes additional dangers with it and in fact it's almost more dangerous than mountainflying. Due to the low altitude and strong wind-conditions the margin for safety is very small. Reason enough to be extra careful when practicing this kind of paragliding.
When you're up there, the whole world laying down below you, it gives you an incredible feeling of freedom. Flying like a bird, in silence, just you and the space around you. Enjoying the landschape and working the thermals you travel along peaks and ridges to explore and challenge your boundaries. In a threedimensional environment you can reach for experiences only a few can encounter.
Those feelings high above make paragliding a way of life...
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