Fly like a bird in Himalayas; Catch the eagle eye view of surrounding nature!! If you want a fusion of great heights and open spaces try paragliding!
What is Paragliding?
Paragliding is a recreational and competitive flying sport, which is recently getting much popular. A foot-launched aircraft, a paraglide falls in the category of un-powered fixed-wing aircraft. All that makes up the paraglide is an arc of nylon cloth shaped aerodynamically. The pilot has to sit in a harness suspended below a fabric wing. The suspension lines and air pressure entering the vents in front of the wing help form its shape.
The pilot after going through pre-flight checks begins running down a slope. The cloth canopy gets inflated and comes overhead and in few more steps the pilot becomes air borne. The glider is controlled by manipulating the control lines.
Paragliding Destination in Uttarakhand
Paragliding in Uttarakhand can be done at Ranikhet, Mukteshwar and Naukuchiayatal in Kumaon region. Some other ideal gliding places Dayara and Bedini Bugyal (Uttarkashi-Gangotri road), Pratap Nagar and Dhanaulti Ridge.
Safety Aspects
Paragliding is like any other adventure sport where you feel the rush of adrenalin and the element of risk is not any more than probably swimming. A pilot attitude and good judgmental skill are of paramount importance to ensure safety.
The equipment is built so that it will almost never fail. For example, a paraglider happens to have 30 suspension lines, each one strong enough to individually support the full weight of a pilot. Safety precautions include helmets, harnesses with back protection, reserve parachutes, and other pre-flight checks. In addition to this, simple measures like keeping an eye out for the weather to see if it is conducive for a safe flight, absence of any form of turbulence, excessive wind speeds, overcast conditions indicating atmospheric instability always come in handy. Still, a great amount of caution needs to be observed as you are thousands of feet in the air and a minor glitch can result in terrible consequences.
Equipments for Paragliding
The essential equipment consists of a glider and a harness that attaches the paraglider firmly and safely to the pilot. Additionally you will require a helmet specially made for gliding (light and sturdy), shoes & gloves, a reserve parachute and a variometer (may or maynot contain a GPS) to gauge the ascent or descent of the glider.
For More information check Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragliding |
