the.com/paragliding
the closest a human gets to thinking 'I am a bird' and being briefly correct
means The recreational sport of flying through the air using a lightweight, foot-launched fabric wing with no rigid frame, riding rising currents of air with the pilot suspended in a harness below.
from A compound of 'parachute' and 'gliding.' 'Parachute' comes from French, stitching together 'para-' (a guarding-against, from Italian 'parare,' to shield) and 'chute' (a fall) — literally a thing that guards against falling. 'Glide' is the older, homegrown word, from Old English 'glīdan,' to move smoothly. The activity itself emerged in the latter half of the 20th century when people realized a steerable parachute could be coaxed not just to drop but to soar, and the word followed the wing into the sky.
- no engine
- rises on warm air alone, like a hawk freeloading
- packable
- entire aircraft fits inside a backpack
- altitude record
- pilots have soared past 7,000 meters, near jet height
- thermals
- invisible columns of rising air are the fuel
- foot launch
- takeoff requires running off a hill, that's it
interlaken switzerland — world's most popular paragliding destination with thousands of flights annually over the alps
olympic wings greece — mountain ridge near meteora producing consistent thermals for cross-country records
oludeniz turkey — famous blue lagoon landing zone and host of the world paragliding championships in 2013