Learn to Paraglide

Introduction to Paragliding

BIO:  John Ivey has been flying hang gliders, paragliders and powered paragliders since 1997. He holds an Advanced Pilot’s rating (PARA 4) and is a USHPA Certified Paragliding Instructor. John currently operates Rogue Valley Paragliding LLC in Medford, Oregon.

1. What is paragliding, what is a paraglider?

Paragliding is the simplest form of human flight. A paraglider is a non-motorized, foot-launched inflatable wing. It is easy to transport, easy to launch, and easy to land.

The paraglider consists of a canopy (the actual "wing") constructed of rip-stop nylon from which the pilot is suspended by sturdy Kevlar lines called risers, and a harness. In addition, the brake cords provide speed and directional control and carabineers are used to connect the risers and the harness together.

The pilot sits in a harness for maximum comfort. With a paraglider, you can fly like a bird, soaring upwards on currents of air. Paragliders routinely stay aloft for 3 hours or more, climb to elevations of 15,000', and go cross-country for vast distances.

2. Is paragliding the same as parasailing or parachuting?
No, it is not the same as parasailing. Parasailing is what you do at a beach. You are in a modified parachute tied to a boat. The boat drags you around the harbor. You do not "pilot" a parasail.

No, it is not the same as parachuting. Parachutes are designed to be deployed during free-fall from an airplane and to then descend to the ground. By contrast, the paraglider is designed to be foot-launched from a gentle hillside with the canopy already opened for flight.

Since paragliders do not have to withstand the sudden shock of opening at high velocities during free-fall deployment, they are much lighter and aerodynamic and are designed to go up rather than down.

3. How is paragliding different from hang gliding?
A Hang glider has a rigid frame maintaining the shape of the wing, with the pilot usually flying in a prone position. The Paraglider canopy shape is maintained only by air pressure and the pilot is suspended in a sitting or supine position. The Hang glider has a "cleaner" aerodynamic profile and generally is capable of flying at much higher speeds than a Paraglider.

The paraglider folds up into a 30 lbs. backpack in about five minutes and can be easily transported – people commonly carry their paragliders to the top of peaks in the Cascades, Alps, Andes, and Himalayas. The hang glider, due to its weight and rigid frame, must be transported on a vehicle with a roof rack and requires about 30 minutes to set up and again to take down.

Because hang gliders fly faster, they can cover greater distances more easily. But paragliders, which have advanced rapidly over the last few years, can now cover distances almost as great and, due to their tighter turning radius, can often stay aloft in light lift when hang gliders can’t.

It's somewhat easier to learn to fly a Paraglider. Paragliding has a faster learning curve than hang gliding due to the paraglider’s slower forward speed and more forgiving design. Your launches are not "committed" with a paraglider; if you want to stop your launch, you just stop running and the canopy floats down behind you. By contrast, once you start your launch in a hang glider, which weighs anywhere from 60 to 100 lbs., you are committed.

4. How is paragliding different from powered paragliding?

Paragliders are usually flown without engines, from hills or mountains, or can be towed aloft using a suitably designed winch. In order to extend the flight, the paraglider pilot needs to find rising air (lift) in the form of warmer air rising in "thermals", or ridge-lift, where the wind is deflected upward by mountain slopes. Finding and using lift to stay aloft is known as soaring. Without this lift, a paraglider will glide, gradually descending until reaching the ground.

Combining a paraglider with a backpack engine forms a Powered Paraglider, also known as a paramotor, which can be flown from level ground, without the need for hills, mountains, a winch, wind or thermals.

The engine is used to gain or maintain height and the pilot can cover vast distances without the assistance of wind or thermals. The engine can then be switched off to glide or soar as desired and re-started in flight when required to gain altitude.

5. What can you do with a paraglider?

Paragliders are designed to soar. The duration record is over 11 hours and the distance record is 300 kilometers. In training you will start out just skimming the ground. As you progress and become more skilled and confident you will probably want to go higher and use the wing for its designed purpose -- soaring!

Average recreational pilots, utilizing thermal and ridge lift, routinely stay aloft for 3 hours or more, soar to altitudes of 15,000' and travel cross-country for great distances. In addition, paragliders can be easily carried and launched off of most mountains. Paragliders have been flown off of almost every major peak in the United States and Europe as well as off of Mt. Everest.

6. What happens when the wind stops?
Here we will have a brief lesson on aerodynamics. A paraglider flies relative to the air around it. Please look at the diagram “A” on the last page. You can see that the cross section of the wing or airfoil is shaped like a teardrop with a flat underside. Paragliders are not powered by wind, but by the pull of gravity. As gravity pulls the wing towards the earth, the airfoil penetrates the air that flows over and under the wing. As the airfoil forces its way through the air, much like a diver plunging in to a pool of water, the air moving over the curved upper surface must travel a longer distance compared to the air that flows below the flat bottom surface to reach the end of the airfoil. This difference in distance stretches out density of the air molecules and causes an area of low pressure relative to the higher pressure underneath. The higher pressure under the airfoil creates a lift force on the airfoil. Alone, this is not sufficient to over come gravity, but it greatly increases the glide that a falling object would have. Thus it is the substance of the air and the shape of the wing that resists the pull of gravity that powered the airfoil and creates its glide. The glide of all objects will be affected by the air mass that they travel through. Even a person would have some glide ratio. Let’s assume a 1:1 glide ratio for a person falling through the air. For every foot in height, the person will glide a foot forward. Modern paragliders have about a 9:1 glide ratio. So if a paraglider starts gliding at 1000 feet elevation in a no wind situation, then it will glide for 9000 feet before landing.

            The average airspeed of a glider is 28 miles per hour. If the glider is flying down wind, with the wind pushing along behind, then the ground speed is 35mph. Conversely, if the glider is flying into a headwind, then the ground speed is reduced by that 10 miles to 18mph. It is possible to be flying relative to the air around you, but moving backwards if the wind is blowing more that 28 mph. Paragliders are designed to be flown in calm conditions with winds speeds up to 15mph. My students take their first flights on days that the wind is blowing 5-7 mph. Just gliding to the base of a mountain is fun, but as a pilots skill progresses, maintaining flight and covering distance becomes the goal.

Two types of lift exist that will enable the pilot to fly longer than just a glide.

1) Ridge Lift Flights- The wind must be coming on-shore for the ridge or cliff to be working. The direction is best when the wind is coming in perpendicular to the ridge. All this wind pushes into the cliff and has no place to go but up. This creates a giant lift band, a cushion of rising air. The wind speed usually needs to be blowing in at a minimum of ten mph for it to be working. The higher the cliff, the less wind you need. This type of condition is excellent for learning to fly for longer periods of time and the smooth laminar air conditions allow pilots to really learn how to control their gliders. Unfortunately, the area of lift is limited to the ridge and is in direct proportion to the wind strength and the ridge height.

2) Soaring or Thermal Flights-are flights when the pilot can gain altitude by navigating the paraglider into rising pockets of air. What causes lifting air? As the sun heats up the ground, the air close to the earth’s surface also heats up. It is warmer than air hundreds of feet above the ground. This temperature difference is called a temperature gradient. The air near the surface starts to expand as it heats and tends to stay together in something of a bubble, being held down by the mass of cooler air above. As the pressure builds up the hot, high pressure air will naturally want to move to equilibrium and move up to areas of lower pressure above, where the air is cooler. Something will trigger the bubble to burst, a passing car, a gust of wind, and the air will flow upward in a column much like a mushroom cloud. Pilots call these rising columns of air thermals. Paragliders, much like soaring birds search for these thermals and like the birds enter them and circle around to stay close to the strongest parts of the lift, called the core.  The phrase "thermaling" means to turn in such a way as to stay in the core of a rising column of air and ride it upwards as far as it will go. Eventually, the air will begin to cool and the thermal will encounter an inversion layer and mushroom out at the top. The thermal will begin to visibly condense and the result is a cumulus cloud. When the pilot get to cloud base, he or she sets off on glide to cover distance, looking for the next thermal to climb in. This is where the fun really begins! Setting off on a cross-country flight in search of thermal lift is the ultimate cat and mouse game with Mother Nature. Lots of factors like safe landing fields in glide, weather, and time of day all limit distance, on good days at strong thermal sites, flights of 100 miles are not uncommon.

7. Is paragliding safe?

You can make paragliding, like most adventure sports, as safe or dangerous as you make it. The conditions that you choose to fly in, the equipment that you choose and the instruction that you continue to receive, are all controlling factors in how safe your flying experiences will be. Paragliding is an outdoor sport and Mother Nature is unpredictable -- weather is always a big consideration. The primary safety factors are personal judgment and attitude. You must be willing to learn gradually and use good judgment and have an appropriate attitude.

Paragliding is the simplest and most serene way to fulfill your dream of free flight! You jog down a gentle slope and glide away from the mountain. You do not free-fall or jump off of a cliff. Your launches and landings are slow and gentle and, once in the air, you will probably be surprised by how quiet and peaceful the experience is.

Even if you have a fear of heights, it will rarely be a factor, since there is no sensation of falling. Your solo lesson will require more effort (physical and mental) than your tandem lesson, but it lays the basic groundwork necessary to becoming your own pilot.

8. Who can paraglide?

Paragliding is about finesse and serenity, not strength and adrenaline. As in rock climbing, women often do much better than men because they don’t try to muscle the paraglider around. If you choose to hike to launch then you’ll want to be in good physical condition, but you can also drive to most popular flying sites. More important than physical conditioning, is being physically and mentally alert and prepared. To be a successful paragliding student and pilot, you need to be able to think clearly and to listen well. In Europe the sport is immensely popular, with an estimated 200,000-paraglider pilots worldwide. Pilots are as young as 10 and as old as 80. You want to be in good physical shape, because there will be some hiking involved. Being physically and mentally alert and prepared is more important than physical conditioning. To be a successful paragliding student and pilot, you need to be able to think clearly and listen well.

9. How much does a paraglider cost?   and  How long does a paraglider last?

A new paraglider runs $3,200-3,800, harness between $400 and $1000 and reserve will cost somewhere between $400 and $700. After four years of fairly active usage and exposure to UV light from the sun, a paraglider is generally in need of replacement. This of course varies with how you care for your wing. It’s easy to test your lines and sailcloth for strength and thus determine your need to replace your paraglider long before it becomes unsafe. Harnesses and reserves should last indefinitely with good care. Most pilots who get into the sport also purchase a two meter ham  radio ($500) and aviation electronics like a GPS altimeter / variometer combination (which tells you are going up or down and how fast) which run between $300-$1000.

Good used equipment is often available for half as much though it will have a shorter life span. In addition, because the sport is evolving rapidly, newer paragliders can have significantly better performance and safety behavior characteristics than older ones.

10. How do you get started?

The best way to start is with an Introductory Course. Under radio supervision, you will fly solo from the training hill and progress to higher flights, all in a few days. The basic techniques of paragliding -- launching, turning, and landing -- are fairly easy to learn. The length of the course is designed to compensate for weather constraints and different learning curves. If after your introductory flights, you want to continue with paragliding, the next step is to enroll in a Novice Certification Course which will teach you about micrometeorology, different launch and flying techniques, safety procedures, etc. It is best to complete the Novice Course in a concentrated period of time.

11. Do you need a license to fly?

Paragliders are regulated under the Federal Aviation Regulations Section 103 and therefore a license is not required to paraglide. So, in essence, paragliding is a self-regulated sport under the auspices of the United States Hang Gliding Association (USHGA) to keep it self-regulated, pilots and instructors alike adhere to the policies and pilot proficiency program of the USHGA. In order to qualify for insurance, local flying sites e require pilots to have certain USHGA certified ratings, such as Novice (Para 2) or Intermediate (Para 3) in order to fly there. The ratings are earned based on number of flights, hours of airtime, specific demonstrated skills and passing written examinations.  

12. How long does it take to learn to fly?

You’ll be flying solo with in your first few days of paragliding instruction, which is one of the advantages of the sport. However, in order to acquire the basic skills necessary to fly on your own without instructor supervision, you need to take a Novice (Para 2) Certification Course, which generally takes a total of 7 days and a minimum of 25 flights. During such a course, you will complete the USHGA-mandated amount of ground-school time, flights, and flying days, and will learn about high altitude flight, advanced maneuvers and reserve parachute deployment. Whether you complete your training in consecutive days or spread out over several months is up to you, although the more concentrated your training, the better.

13. What should I look for when signing up for a lesson?

When selecting a school for paragliding instruction, first make sure that the instructor is certified by the United States Hang Gliding Association (USHGA). Things to look for include:

     ·        What USHGA ratings do the instructors have? (The highest rating is called Advanced Tandem Instructor.)

     ·        How many instructors are at each class, what is the student to instructor ratio?

     ·         Are the flights radio supervised?

     ·        Will the training proceed gradually up progressively higher hills?

     ·         Does the school have hills to accommodate more than one wind direction and thus more flying days?

     ·        What is the safety record of the school and of the instructors?

14. What do you need to know when purchasing your first glider?

Your instructor will assist you with picking the right type, size and classification of glider, harness and reserve parachute suitable to your weight height and skill level. Paraglider manufacturing is regulated and gliders are certified and divided into the following classifications: Beginner class or Novice glider DHV 1 is very stable but also slow and high in sink rate. Performance class or Intermediate glider (DHV ½ or DHV 2) is designed for pilots who fly 30-100 hours per year. A High Performance or Competition glider is definitely NOT your choice for first glider. It is very fast and requires the pilot's precision input and is designed for pilots who fly in excess of 100 per year.

15. Competition and the paragliding world community.

As mentioned earlier it is estimated that there are over 200,000 paragliding pilots worldwide. Annually, local regional and national competitions are help to promote the sport, excellence and unit among pilots. Each year, larger countries establish a national team to represent them in a world cup series of events. These events are held in several different sponsoring countries, usually 5 per year. A final World Cup of Paragliding is held and the team with the most accumulated points wins. Races are similar to sailing races with a start cylinder instead of a line and a course to race around with turn points (GPS coordinates) to round similar to marks. Average races are 60-100 kilometers and last 3-6 hours. A competition last 6-10 days and requires 3 valid racing days. Competitions on the local and regional level are great opportunities to hone your skills fly new and challenging site and meet pilots from all over the country. Despite the large number of pilots in the air, the competitions are a safe way to learn to fly cross-country as the race committee works out safe flight plans each day based on weather considerations and local emergency crews are in attendance and best of all retrieval vehicles are organized for the ride back to the start. It is very common for local pilots to host visiting pilots and show aloha and site introductions. It is also common for us to receive the same fellowship all around the world.