Saturday, June 27, 2009

Paragliding Clubs in India

There are quite a few paragliding clubs in India. A simple search will lead you to their websites.

Space Apple is one such club close to Mumbai.

Why VIRAR and SPACE APPLE
Virar is the closest and the best place near Mumbai for paragliding training. Being a coastal area the winds are laminar, predictable and ideal for training in the evenings and ridge soaring and thermalling in mid afternoon. Sydney hill, Black beauty hill, Twin rock hill, Jivdani hill, Kaner hills and few other small slopes are used for training. Virar is the only place near Mumbai with so many choices all in a radius of about 6 kms from Virar station. You do not spend much time in traveling. Winching is another method used for training. Virar has hundreds of acres of open land where winch based training is conducted. The huge coast of over 20 kms is ideal for paramotoring training, power kiting and parasailing.

Space Apple is a club dedicated to teaching paragliding, paramotoring and power kiting. The chief Instructor enjoys teaching and has been training since 1998. Students are trained by chief instructor on a one to one basis and not by assistants. Theory and video session help in getting the fundamentals right. Maximum number of students in a batch is three. The training team consists of two Chief instructors and two assistants.

ABOUT TRAINING COURSES

There are three courses to complete your training till intermediate level after which you are totally independent. The basic course, also know as EP (Elementary Pilot) course is for about 3 to 4 days. CP (Club Pilot) Course or Advance ground handling course is for about 4 to 5 days. Advance flying techniques – this training is weather dependent and can be completed in about 15 to 20 flights. After this you are independent of instructor and ready to purchase your own equipment.

BASIC COURSE

To begin with you can start with a basic or EP training.

The Basic course is the first step towards making your dream of flying come true. It is a great feeling to be up in the air, enjoy the freedom experienced by the birds and get a sense of achievement. Here's how the course works:

Ground School
You'll start with the ground school. There will be briefing on the theory of flying. We will explain why things fly and how the glider is designed. This way you will know not only what to do but how it works. You'll get a set of notes specifically written for this course that will help you review. Next, you'll get into the equipment and start ground handling.

Ground Handling
Ground handling is where you run with the glider on flat ground. You do this so that you can practice: inflating the glider, running with it, staying centered, making turns and slowing down. In short, practicing, all the basic elements of a flight before you even leave the ground. Becoming proficient in these fundamentals is the most important part of this course. When you find that you can consistently inflate the glider, run with it, steer smoothly and slow the glider down, you'll be ready for your next level of getting lifted off your feet.

Flying

Confident is how you want to feel while leaving the ground and that’s where the instructor plays an important role. You'll be glad that you came to Space Apple for training as we do not train big groups but give individual training. You are trained to takeoff independently without assistance. You'll have flight plan for each flight so you'll know what to do and your instructor will guide you on the radio as you fly. Depending on the weather conditions and the hill we use, your initial flights will be of two to five minutes duration. You'll get a number of flights to practice launching, steering, landing and just enjoying the sheer pleasure of being airborne!

Cost: Rs. 9500/- Non residential. Residential course all inclusive Rs.11,000/- .

FAQ’s

How Long?
This course is usually completed in three days. Weather may extend the course to a fourth day. Training schedule is 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening on the field. Afternoons are spent watching training videos and completing basic theory lessons.

What to wear?
Ankle support shoes are a good investment if you love outdoors adventure sports. An alternative would be your best pair of shoes for outdoor activity. Full sleeves T-shirt is a must along with denim trousers. Plenty of water and high energy fruits or chocolates will be useful. Get your camera along.

Where do we fly?
There are a number of hills we might use depending on the wind conditions. Most of these are around Virar. Ground training field is about 1 km from the club house. We also have the option of winching or towing out on the plains or seashore.

What are other costs?

Generally people from Mumbai return back home in the evening and come back the next morning. So your traveling cost to Virar is the only other expense. But for those who wish to stay back we do provide accommodation @ Rs.250 per head. Meals work at about Rs.50 to Rs.70 per head per meal.

What about safety and risks?

Paragliding is an adventure sport and like any other adventure sport has inherent risk associated with it. We have years of experience in training which helps us eliminate and reduce the risk. Our group size is small and the site is not congested with pilots. Being a coastal area winds too are more predictable. All these factors help us maintain a good safety record. We are equipped with first aid facilities and a stretcher. In any unfortunate incident good hospitals are within two kilometers from the site.

For more information visit www.paraglidingmumbai.com

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