Paragliding

Paragliding is an extremely fun and exciting recreational sport which involves a type of free-flying aircraft.  The pilot is harnessed to a suspended section of the aircraft which is directly below the fabric making up the wing, the shape of which is formed by the suspension of the fabric in relation to the air pressure reacting to it.  The wings in a paraglider look similar to those in a common parachute, although they do have different dimensions and design characteristics.  These types of multi-cell and controllable parachutes were originally designed in 1952 and led to the development of the paragliding sport.

Throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, a number of advances in parachute and paraglider design took place.  From the 1980s onward, paragliding equipment has continued to be improved and refined,  and the number of paragliding pilots has increase due to a rising popularity in extreme sports.  There were even enough paragliders around by the late 1980s for the first World Championship, which was held in Kössen, Austria in 1989.  As the paragliding community grows and the equipment develops even more and becomes safer, people are taking more risks and attempting flights from higher locations.

Paragliding uses two major pieces of equipment - the wing and the harness.  It is important that both of these structures are tightly integrated in order for a paraglider to be safe and effective.  The paraglider wing is also known as the canopy or parafoil (or if you are in aeronautical engineering circles - a ram-air airfoil).  This canopy is comprised of two layers of fabric, connected to an internal supporting material where it forms a row of cells.  The harness connects to the wing by a series of lines and is generally designed so that pilots can either sit or stand as they are flying.  Paragliders are free flying ascending devices, making them different from all other parachute craft.

Paragliders do have access to controls, including intricate brakes that are also used as steering mechanisms.  Paraglider pilots also have to learn how to move their weight in order to help steer their craft, and this is one of the parts of being a paraglider pilot that often takes a lot of experience to master.  Extreme sports are growing all around the world, and paragliding is certainly no exception.  As more and more people start to paraglide, and the media picks up on it more and more, it could grow into a major extreme sport.