Daycourse paragliding

Paragliding is perhaps the purest form of flying. Without a motor you float silently through the air. A surreal experience. During the course you make one or more solo flights under radio supervision.

You start with the help of a winch. Slowly the winch pulls you in and you climb to a great height.

Location

You are expected in Almelo. From here you go with the other students to one of the winch fields in the area. The location varies slightly depending on the wind direction.

What are you going to do?

The day starts with the theory lessons in the morning. You get an explanation about the materials, terms used and rules that apply on and around the winch field. Of course, everything is about safety. After the theory part, it is time to practice on the ground. You learn how to get the screen above you before take off. During the screen control lessons you learn how to hold the screen above you. You will be busy with these exercises until the afternoon. In between there are enough short breaks, because setting up the materials and taking in all the information takes a lot of energy.

When you have sufficient control of your paraglider, it is time for the instruction flight. You go to one of the winch fields in the region. From afar you can see the brightly colored paragliders floating through the air. This will get your heart pumping for sure, are you ready?

You start off easy. You calmly go up a few meters in the air to get the feeling of being pulled by the winch. With the Basic course you make several of these flights. Everytime it goes well you get pulled a little higher by the winch. You see and feel for real what to do once you are in the air. Operating the screen in the air is feels a little different than on the ground.

Solo!

If you have learned enough (instructors discretion) and weather permitting, you can fly solo. Of course you are under constant (radio) guidance from an experienced instructor. He or she helps you from the ground with the entire flight. Flying solo is very special experience that will stay with you for the rest of your life. You float all alone above the Dutch landscape. This is the time when many people fall in love with the sport. If you prefer, you can also start with a tandem flight.

Introduction day

The introduction day is exactly that: an introduction to paragliding. It lasts one weekend day and includes:

• extensive theory
• practice while hanging in the armor
• lesson in preparing and checking the flight equipment
• various exercises under the paraglider, such as steering and walking
• your 1st solo or tandemflight at the end of the day!

For whom

You do not need any experience for the courses. You fly under the guidance of an experienced instructor. There are a few things to keep in mind:

• put on sturdy work or sport shoes and clothing in which you move easily. Put on something that can get dirty and that can take a bit of a beating. You can stumble in the meadow during take-off and landing
• in terms of condition: you must be able to run a few steps
• during the flight it is no colder than on a bicycle
• paragliding is an active sport. Sometimes it produces dirty clothes or a few bruises