Flying like a bird was one of the extreme fantasies man ever dreamed about since centuries, as he wanted to discover this wide and limitless sky. Since the invention of aircrafts and helicopters, man was able to fly in the air with the help of the trained pilot and the expensive machine, but independent flying like a bird with wings was still a dream.
After many researches and successful trials, paragliding event was introduced and marketed, which became very popular among all age groups since it gives ultimate flying experience in the air with wings, just like a bird. Thus, paragliding has become one of the most popular recreational flying sports around the world.
History:
Many efforts were made to invent a controlled gliding parachute since the beginning of the 20th century from the time of Leonardo da Vinci, but most of the efforts were unsuccessful or not noticeable. The awareness and progress in paragliding started after 1950’s. In 1952, multiple cells gliding parachute was introduced by Domina Jalbert, but it was not successful. In 1961, improved model of gliding parachute was produced by Pierre Lemoigne (French Engineer) but it was not popular. In 1963, Domina Jalbert filed an US Patent for his Parafoil design which was similar to aerofoil. Meanwhile in 1965, David Barish marketed his ‘slope soaring’ as summer sports for the ski resort which failed to gain popularity. The term ‘paraglider’ originated in 1960’s, and the term ‘paragliding’ originated in 1970’s with reference to the foot gliding parachute. Steve Snyder in 1971 marketed ‘paraplane’ which was the threshold to the increasing popularity and gradual improvements in the paragliding model. The very first paragliding championship was held in 1989 at Austria.
Required Equipments and Working Process:
The equipments required for paragliding are:
• Paraglider wings: for flying and direction controlling.
• Harness: allows the pilot to comfortably sit or stand.
• Variometers instrument: it informs about the altitude above the sea level or the initial point of the ride, generally accompanied with the audio signals.
• Radios: for pilot to pilot communication.
• GPS unit: to know positional information so as to avoid trespassing restricted areas.
In aeronautical engineering, paraglider wings are also known as parafoil or ram-air airfoil or canopy. Wings are made up of 2 fabric layers which are interconnected internally forming cell rows; most of them remain open at the leading edge to allow incoming air inside so that the wings remain inflated and their shape remains same; which form an aerofoil shape when the wings are inflated. The wings are attached to the harness which can be also separated if required. A paraglider is a foot launched non motorized inflatable aerofoil or aircraft. It can also be termed as a set of fabric wings which has speed controlled brakes to control speed and directional wings. The pilot sits in the harness which is suspended to the wings and the air penetrates from the front of wings through its vents. Typical speed of a paraglider is around 20 to 60 Km per hour and the total combined weight of harness, wings, helmet and instruments is approximately 12 to 18 Kg. It can be carried, folded and packed in the bag along with the harness or in case of modern harness, it can become a bag and can be transported anywhere.
