THE OUTDOOR SPORTS LIST: #1 PARAGLIDING

Filed in archive on December 18, 2005

Interested in "stepping off a cliff"? You know, just for the fun of it. With a rise in popularity of daredevil, thrill-seeking sports like base-jumping, kite boarding and of course flying. That could be with a "sail-plane" in which one paraglides. It could also be the good old standard hang glider. Both sports are expensive in terms of gear, maintenance, storage and transportation costs, but the reward is worth more than its weight in gold judging by the high-pitched squeals of joy that I have heard emanating from a recently airborne hang glider on Bolinas Ridge in Northern California. Circling like a native Red-Tailed Hawk, a human being proves that with the aid of alien technology, we too can fly!

Below these links will give you a taste of the growing subculture of outdoor sports that includes the love for flight. One is a hardcore blogger who shares lots of inside information about products, performance, competition and legislation regarding flying sports. Another site is the San Francisco Hang Gliding Center, which not only has a fantastic photo gallery with shots of various Bay Area flights but also provides links to signing up for lessons and profiles of their team of instructors. For those who enjoy attempting to comprehend the physics behind the sport by trying it in cyberspace before a cliff, there is Flight Club, an online simulator that allows you to explore terminology like thermals and ridge lift.

ER Harris

http://www.davisstraub.com/OZ/index.php

photos from: http://www.sfhanggliding.com/news.htm

http://www.danb.dircon.co.uk/hg/hg.htm