A paragalider is an ultra-light foot launched aircraft. If an engine is used we call this sport 'powered paragliding' however it is not something that is taught at Stellar. Predominately we launch from the top of a hill by inflating the glider overhead and then running downhill. As the glider picks up speed you are gently lifted away from the ground (no cliffs, no jumping and no sensation of falling). Once in the air the glider flies at about 20mph. Paragliders can use lifting air, such as thermals, to ascend to heights well above of where they are launched. This distinction is the predominant difference between a parachute and a paraglider.

When the air is calm we call such a flight a 'sled ride', meaning that the glider is making a slow but continual descent towards the ground. In this case the length of the flight is determined by the height of the launch. A common launch height is around 3000' above ground level and usually allows for a 10 to 15 minute flight. When there is lifting air, a competent pilot can stay up as long as they can continue to find lifting air. It is fairly typical for skilled pilots to be able to fly for several hours on a good day. Beginning flights always occur in calmer air so flight durations at the start of training are much shorter 10 - 20 minutes.

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A paraglider is usually launched by foot. We lay the glider out on the ground then, using the wind to help us, we pull the wing into the air like a giant kite. Once the wing is overhead the pilot runs down a gradually sloped hill. As the glider reaches a speed of about 10mph it will gently lift the pilot away from the hill, no need to jump or run off the side of a cliff and 'hope'!

A paraglider can also be launched from flat ground by towing from a boat or a truck with a hydraulic winch. The pilot can be towed up to a height of 2000' or more! This is used in flat land flying for places like Texas or by a boat over water to practice advanced maneuvers safely (called an SIV clinic).

Landing is very easy for a paraglider. We always land into the wind to ensure we have a nice slow ground speed. As we approach the ground we progressively add brakes in a maneuver called a flare. Flaring allows us to turn forward speed into upward motion. This allows us to land with almost no forward speed and as gently as stepping onto a pillow when done correctly.

A paraglider is steered through two brake toggles which are kept in your hands throughout the flight. Pull left to turn left, pull right to turn right. It's that simple! As pilots advance in skill, they learn to combine the inputs from the brake toggles with weight shifts from their body to fly more efficiently.

A hang glider has a rigid frame that takes about 30 minutes to set up and tear down. A pilot hangs in the prone position (stretched out, stomach down) under a hang glider and controls the glider strictly through weight shifting. It also requires a special rig on a car to carry around it's 12' length. Further it is quite difficult to travel with a hang glider, just think about the over-sized baggage fees. They also require a much bigger landing area then a paraglider to land safely. The plus side of hang gliders is that they fly much faster and more efficiently than paragliders and therefore can fly in strong wind conditions where paragliding would be out of the question.

Sky diving is done from an airplane or perhaps the side of a cliff in the case of BASE jumping. The sky diver deploys their carefully packed parachute at a certain point during their free fall which then carries them safely to the ground. In paragliding there is no free fall and the gliders we use are about 10x bigger than a parachute. As well, their physical dimensions are much different since a parachute is meant for descending whereas a paraglider is meant for ascending. We refer to paragliders as wings because they generate lift as they fly through the air whereas a parachute does not generate lift but just slows the descent of a sky diver to a safe speed.

Parasailing is a recreational activity that is seen in many tropical resorts. One or two people at a time are hooked into a harness attached to a large round parachute. They are towed up behind a boat up to height of a couple hundred feet. The parasailing passenger has no control over the ride and is simply enjoying the ride and the view from above the water. Paragliders and parasailing therefore have not much more in common than their name.

Safe may be a relative term but I don't consider myself a risk taker or a thrill seeker and the things I do take part in are always calculated risks. I would say paragliding is as dangerous as driving a car down the road. Driving a car isn't inherently dangerous but the decisions we make can cause it to be more or less dangerous. For example if you have never driven on the snow it may not be a safe decision to drive 50 miles down a freeway in a blizzard. However if you have learned to drive in the snow and have a vehicle equipped with snow tires and chains then you have just mitigated a large amount of risk for driving in the snow. Paragliding is much the same, we always make small increases in the window of conditions that we fly in so that overtime we feel comfortable flying in many different conditions. Further we learn advanced safety maneuvers to keep us safe and learn how to forecast the weather so we don't get surprised by bad conditions.

In the end paragliding is a risky endeavour; humans are not designed to fly! However I personally believe with proper training and practice it is fully possible to have a life long experience of paragliding without any major incidents.

Some people ask if hang gliding is more or less dangerous than paragliding. To quote fellow pilot Kari Castle, paragliding and hang gliding champion, "They BOTH are!". If you believe one is more dangerous than the other you are kidding yourself. There are differences between the two but fundamentally the risks you are taking are the same.

One of the ways we mitigate risk is by flying with proper safety gear. I ensure that my students always fly with safe modern wings, well padded harnesses and every harness has a reserve parachute in case of an emergency situation. Other things I recommend are good footwear, gloves and full face helmets. I also make sure that all students always fly with a radio and a cell phone. Finally most cross country pilots now use a GPS transceiver device like a SPOT so that people on the ground know exactly where they are. These are just a few of the basic things we do to ensure a fun, safe day but there are many others and safety is at the heart of all Stellar training!

Paragliding is what you make of it. You can take beautfiul relaxing evening scenic flights or decide to learn to fly in strong mid-day conditions where thermals may take you up to great heights. Some pilots decide to pursue powered paragliding so that they can launch from almost anywhere. Other pilots have taken up falconry and developed a branch of paragliding called para-hawking where they teach raptors to fly beside them. Another type of paragliding involves using a very small glider called a speed wing for fast descents from mountains or soaring ridges in strong wind. There are new disciplines every year as people continue to imagine new things they can do in flight.

Beyond that, pilots can decide to specialize and even compete in two distinct disciplines: cross-country flying, or acrobatic flying. In acrobatics, pilots learn to link together complicated loops and spirals. For cross county flying, pilots try to fly as far and as long as possible from one location to another. In competitions, upwards of 100 pilots may all take to the air at the same time and attempt to fly a set course for the day as quickly and efficiently as possible. Scores are then determined at the end of the day by downloading GPS track logs.

Some of the highlights in the paragliding world include:

• The longest flight recorded is currently around 11 hours
• The highest flight recorded was over 30,000' in Australia but the maximum altitude we are allowed to fly in the US is 18,000'
• The current furtherst distance flown is over 500km in South Africa

A tandem flight is the best way to safely experience paragliding without spending hours or days on training. A bit of paperwork is filled out and a 5-10 minute presentation is given explaining what is required for launching, flying and landing. After that you'll get strapped into a passenger harness and securely connected to the licensed tandem pilot who will do all of the complicated parts of launching, flying and landing. All you have to do is follow some basic instructions and be able to run for 10' at a slow run. Once in the air you can sit back and take in the world from a whole different view point. If you are up to it, you can even try flying the glider yourself or let the pilot do some advanced maneuvers for a roller coaster like experience! Typical flight lengths are around 30 minutes; after that 90% of passengers are completely maxed out!! Tandem passengers must weigh between 80 and 225lbs to safely fly with me and be able to safely handle a fall from 3' off the ground in the rare event of a hard landing. Beyond that there are no age or fitness requirements.

While there are many young pilots around the world at Stellar Paragliding I only teach people over the age of 18. I believe there is benefit in having a drivers license and understanding the responsibility of being a vehicle owner before becoming a licensed pilot. Exceptions could be made with parental consent. On the other end of the spectrum there are many pilots that are well into their 60s or older. Paragliding is an incredibly accessible sport for those with patience and determination!

There is no age requirement for tandem flights with Stellar Paragliding but all pilots under 18 must have parental sign-off (ideally they should have their parents present) and be over 80lbs.

Paragliding does not require a lot of physical fitness and is incredibly accessible for those that are determined. There are pilots with one hand, one arm or even in a wheel chair... where there's a will there's a way! The first few days of training can be quite strenuous but once the basics are mastered you will be sitting down most of the day in a very comfortable harness. My only requirement is that students be under 250lbs for solo training and under 225lbs for tandem flights.

Students are welcome to use my gear for free for their first 5 flights. After that they need to start purchasing their own gear and should hopefully have a complete set by flight 10. The gear you will need to purchase includes:

• Paraglider: $500 - $2000 used or $3000+ for new
• Harness: $300+ used or $500+ new
• Reserve Parachute: $500+ used or $700+ new
• HAM Radio: $100 - $150

I also recommend purchasing a full face helmet as early as possible during training. Other gear includes a good set of gloves and boots. After the P2 course there is an endless supply of gadgets you can purchase such as wind meters, GPSs, varios, cameras, etc. I generally recommend spending about $2000 for your first set of gear.

Stellar HQ is located in North Hills, CA in Los Angeles county but we fly all over Southern and Northern California. Predominately we do our early flights in San Bernardino at Andy Jackson Airpark, one of the best flight parks in the country. For students with more experience we do flights locally in Sylmar, just 30 minutes North of LA. In the winter time sites like Lake Elsinore and Santa Barbara are excellent choices but require advanced launching skills. During the Spring and Summer students are welcome to come on road trips to competitions all over California and given a chance to meet and fly with some of the best pilots in the world.