Located
approximately 60 kms away from the city's centre lies the Western
Paragliding Association or the WPA, offering a chance to fly free with the
birds. The WPA is a self regulatory body of members aiming to establish
and to promote paragliding in a safe and credible manner.
The
association was formed to promote the sport of paragliding in India. Over
the years various forms of light aviation like hang gliding and
microlighting have come to this country and then disappeared into oblivion
for lack of organisation. The association hopes to keep this sport alive
and kicking. A lot of dedicated effort went into setting up the guidelines
for the association.
Established clubs all over the world
including The United States Hang Gliding Association Inc., The Finnish
Aeronautical Association, The British Hang Gliding and Paragliding
Association, and the Norsk Aero Klubb sent information, materials and
valuable advice. Edel - Korea the world's largest manufacturers of
paragliders sent an instructor and equipment. The Western Paragliding
Association was now ready to set out on its mission. For people unfamiliar
with the sport, a paraglider can be very simply be described as being a
non-porous cloth wing which is inflated by the air through which it flies
via openings in the leading edge of the wing.
The pilot is
suspended beneath the wing on a harness and he has the controls of the
paraglider in his hands. Paragliding differs substantially from other
forms of gliding. For one it is less expensive. One can buy a canopy for
just as much as it costs to buy a scooter. Paragliding is the most
convenient, affordable and least difficult way to fly. A paraglider can be
folded into a back pack, carried with ease to the takeoff site and readied
for flying in minutes.
It takes about three to five minutes to
pack and unpack the paraglider as against the thirty minutes required to
prepare a hang glider. When packed a paraglider looks like an ordinary
back pack and the entire equipment along with the helmet weighs between
ten to twelve kilograms and can be transported with ease. Unlike hang
gliders which are semi rigid in structure, the paraglider canopy has no
solid parts at all. A paraglider is also more manoevreable, flies more
slowly, lands more softly and needs much less space to take off and land
than any other form of gliding.
Like any other air sport
paragliding has its own risks. Veterans however feel that its greatest
danger lies in the fact that it is so easy to learn. Most people make the
mistake of learning for four days and then taking their paragliders out on
their own and flying off any site. While people do learn to control the
paraglider in their basic courses, there's a lot more to be learnt before
one flies without any supervision. Critical judgements in reading the
weather are only learnt over a period of time. So if you are flying in
India and someone offers you a four day course with promises of
unsupervised flying after that, Take Care ! Currently paragliding in India
is a free sport. There are no regulations and no licence is required for a
paraglider.
Worse still if training is not regulated, which
means that unqualified. This could result in fatalities and kill the sport
in its infancy. By adhering to high training standards, comparable to
international levels, the WPA is trying to ensure flying which is
absolutely safe. It is almost impossible to find Indians with instructor's
ratings and consequently all instructors with the WPA are foreigners.
A Korean instructor and competition pilot, deputed by Edel and
an American powered pilot and paragliding enthusiast have been running
courses for the WPA. The WPA is still in its formative stages and is
always looking for new talent in training. Qualified instructors who have
wished to holiday in India might find this the chance of a lifetime.
Facilities are improving by the day and remuneration is handsome by Indian
standards. Paragliding in India, holds a special lure for the foreign
tourist. India is a paraglider's paradise.
There are a wide
range of flying conditions and sites that cater for the beginner through
intermediate to advanced pilots. Whether it is the laminar sea breezes of
Goa, to the more thermic flying conditions of the Western Ghats or whether
it is the tiny bumps in the grounds, to the table top land at Panchgani or
the peaks in the Himalayas, they are all here in one country.
India
has the longest flying season extending from September to March with some
flying possible even in the off-season. To top all this; world famous
equipment is now available in Mumbai and at unbeatable prices for this
fast developing market.
