The true paraglider is someone who loves flying and respects nature because he or she is aware of being part of it.
The true paraglider is someone who loves flying and respects nature because he or she is aware of being part of it.
What is a paraglider?
The name is a contraction of two names: the parachute and the
hang-glider. The first paragliders were nothing other than parachutes
commonly used by parachutes.
The French, tired of the bureaucracy and costs associated with an
airplane, had the first idea to find a simpler and cheaper means. Some
pioneers tried to take off from the ground with their sails. They had
to run fast from the top of mountains down steep slopes close to
precipices, to be able to reach the speed needed to take off. Later,
the parachutes were modified and enhanced in order to be more
efficient and safe.
An this is how paragliding was born in 1986.
The main parts of the paragliders are: the sail, the strings,
the braces and the saddle, where the pilot can sit comfortably.
When correctly employed, this light and colorful wing
enables you to look at the earth from a different point of view.
Believe me, it is worth trying it!
How do you do it?
To learn to fly is a serious matter.
At the moment, in Sardinia there isn't a proper school for
paragliders or hang-gliders (which belong to the same discipline),
nor a qualified instructor for such sport. Therefore, it is mandatory
to cross the sea to attend a course at a qualified school.
On the other hand, there are some people who teach flying with a
paraglider. Obviously, they haven't any proper qualification. Some
are capable, others are real cowboys of the air,
which means that those people who aren't
very serious who can put other peoples' life in danger just for
the sake of making money.
However, there is the Associazione Sportiva Volo Libero "I Fenicotteri Rosa" (fenicotteri rosa = pink flamingos), which is an official member of the Italian Federation of Free Flight, the F.I.V.L. The Fenicotteri Rosa are a reference point for all the "flying" Sardinians or people coming to the island. All the best flyers of the Island and the pioneers of this sport are members. The Fenicotteri are well known on the Continent because they have organized several flying conventions to which some of the best Italian flyers have taken part together with many other Italian and Foreign practitioners.
This club is open to all the people who are interested in becoming closer to this sport. If you contact them you can get information about all the best Italian schools, the places where you can fly and also where the conventions will take place. Furthermore, it is possible to experience the emotions of flying with a paraglider driven by the few pilots qualified for double-sited paragliders in Sardinia.
Where can you fly in Sardinia?
The are many flying-places, and many others are still to be discovered.
The main ones are the following. First of all Gonnosfanadiga, which is the
capital of the Sardinian gliders, where the flying club has its
center. The surrouning hills of this hospitable village
are well suited for gliding. The take off area is placed at
"Cuccuru Fenugu" (627 meters over the sea), which can be seen easily
behind the village because there is the fire-sighting tower
on the top of the hill.
To reach that area it is is necessary to contact the club to be able
to access at the foresters yard where the road to the
take off area passes. The long ridge between " Cuccuru Fenugu " and
"Is Cuccureddus" is facing North-West and is two and a half kilometers
long. In the most favourable days, this ridge allows several hours
flying time, to gain altitude, and, for the most experienced flyers,
to see the top Mount Linas (1236 m.s.m.).
The official landing place is "S'isca", which is around 3
kilometers far from the take-off area and some 460 meters
below. Another flying area you shouldn't miss is that of Buggerru.
this can be reached through the dusty road that takes you from the
the beginning of the village to the old mines. Once the car has
been parked, there is a 20 minute walk to the take-off area. There you
can admire the breath-taking emerald sea, the large beach of Saint
Nicolao, which stretches from East to North, from the pine-woods to the
cliffs of Cape Pecora. It is really worth going there
even just to admire the superb view, which is enhanced by the
fragrance of the Mediterranean scrub.
Imagine admiring it from the sky, flying in the silence broken only by the sound of the wind through the cords and by the calls of the birds. Unforgettable !!.
Let's move now to Mount Ortobene near Nuoro. The take-off is just
aligned with the aerials, 50 meters below the road, so that
we advice this place only to experts. In the good days, which are not rare
at all, it is not difficult to reach height over 2,500 thanks to the
hot air streams that rises from the valley. Starting from 800 meters above
the sea, it is possible to pass over Mount Corrasi (1463 meters above the sea)
and, for those who are able, to land on Caletta beach. That's a "trip"that only
the paraglider can give you.
Talking about sea, I cannot forget to mention Bosa, the ridge between Bosa Marina and Turas, and that of "Abba Drucche". There a the flying animals, paragliders included, can glide over the sea, sustained by the wind which comes from the sea and which has to rise in order to pass over the hills. These are quiet flights. One has only to be careful about the speed and then it is possible to some great gliding. The breeze that comes from the sea is laminar and pure. In the clear days, it is possible to sweep from Cape Caccia to the Island of Venere. You should try it if you don't believe me. This view is within the capacity of people with a bit of practice.
For the expert pilots there is the possibility to take
off from Mount Pittada (788 m.s.m.) and from there you
can choose whether to head in the direction towards Alghero,
flying over an unspoilt coast, sometimes wildly violated by fires
started by man, or you can choose to go towards Abba Drucche.
Other excellent fights are: those around Oliena (Corrasi), Bolotana (Punta Palai), Turri (a firt-rate school camp), Villacidro (Cuccurdoni Mannu), Santulussurgiu (Funtana Figu), Alghero (La Siesta) plus many more not included here.
Now, let's talk flying as a sport. Why are there people who have this
love of flying? It isn't easy to find the right words to explain it.
Flight, from the dawning of humanity, has been one of man's great
desires. It isn't by chance that the sky has been chosen as home by all the
different religions. For thousands of years our forefathers dreamt of
flying, which gave place to many myths and legends.
Flying was seen as a sign of power raising of the spirit, sign of superiority. It was also a desire of something which was impossible, and this desire continued until it had been realized..
Today, anybody can fly. It's enough to go up in an airplane. It has become a normal thing, but if you want to experience the essence of flying, the only way (in my opinion) is the free-flight.
It is free in every sense: free from bureaucracy which becomes more stifling every day, free from all the hindrances that you encounter on the ground. in the air you only think about flying and enjoy the moment of absolute freedom
The flight is full of different emotions ranging from the anxiety of
the pilot taking off, to the calmness with which he prepares the sails
and carries out the pre-flight check ups, to the almost physical
tension of the take off. Once the feet are off the ground everything
seems to change, everything looks more beautiful and orderly. The
cities and the houses change into a mosaic of colours surrounded by
rectangles formed by the roads. The mountains, rivers valleys and
everything else below can be looked at without meeting any of the
obstacles that they can bring. You have the feeling of having arrived,
without desiring anything else other than what you have in that
moment. it's a feeling of total fulfillment.
When you go in the air with strong wheater conditions, the
pilot doesn't have the time to contemplate: the technical
observer takes over. The pilot becomes a sophisticated
computer that has to work out a great number of items:
air turbulence, speed and direction of the wind, height,
trajectory, obstacles, and the response of the sail.
The pilot must be fully committed without any space for other thoughts.
Fear? Certainly. The healthy fear that reminds you that you are not
so good as you thought. The adrenaline wakes all your senses up
and then leave space to the coolness needed to carry on;
but the reward is great. To arrive at the base of a cloud, contemplate
the world from above, maybe in the company of a grifon.
It is like the soul going up to heaven after being freed from the body with the advantage of being able to make the journey back! This is flying!!
I hope that everything I've written is enough to give you an idea on how to hang-glide. We hang-gliders are not crazy, foolhardy people who risk their skin (or their feathers ?) for nothing. Nothing is more of a mistake and it is our firm intention to live in good health for as long as possible...flying!