What is paragliding?
Paragliding is a form of unpowered flight in which rising air is needed to keep the glider aloft. This rising air can come from two sources:
1. when the sun heats features on the ground, columns of rising air known as thermals are generated
2. when wind encounters a ridge in the landscape, the air is forced upwards, providing ridge lift.
In mountainous environments, flying is mostly based around thermals, which can be used to stay aloft before heading for a landing field below the launch site. In hill environments, ridge lift is used for ridge soaring, and landing can be done either back at the launch site, or at a landing field at the bottom of the ridge. In either case, more experienced pilots can use thermals to go ‘cross country’.

Who can paraglide?
Anyone that weighs between 25-110kg can fly providing they are in good physical and mental health. Children under 18 wanting to fly must be signed off by a parent or guardian.

Who can fly a tandem paraglider?
Tandem paragliders can only be flown by SAHPA (South African Hang and Paragliding Association) approved Tandem Instructor Pilots. Commercial tandem paragliding can only be done on the basis that the flight is an instructional flight and therefore the pilot must either be a certified paragliding instructor or an assistant instructor affiliated with an official paragliding school. We are associated with Wallend-Air School of Paragliding (based in Cape Town).

What is a Tandem Paragliding Flight?
Tandem paragliding flights involve a passenger being securely strapped into a comfortable flying harness positioned in front of the pilot and connected to the pilot and the glider by spreader bars. The tandem paraglider is specially designed to carry two people and is nearly twice the size of a regular solo paraglider.

Are Take-offs and Landings Difficult?
Depending on how much wind there is, take-offs generally require just a few steps to get into the air. The less wind there is the more you will have to run. The most important thing to remember is DON'T SIT DOWN until you are well in the air and your pilot says it is ok for you to get in to your harness.

Is paragliding dangerous?
Our tandem pilots have years of experience behind them and we fly only the safest paragliding equipment. Pilots make decisions based on their own safety as well as yours. Paragliding is not risk free - but then neither is driving a car.

How long can I expect the flight to last?
Weather, as we all know, is very unpredictable, and even when the weather forecast says that we can expect the best possible flying conditions, this often turns out not to be the case. When we have ideal soaring conditions (the right wind direction for the site we are flying and 20-25km/h of wind) it is possible to fly for hours. However, most tandem flights will, depending on the conditions, last anything from 10 - 30 minutes. It is possible to fly for longer if you are prepared to pay an additional sum of R300 for an extra 15mins or R500 for an extra 30mins, depending on how many other people are waiting to fly!

How do I learn to do this cool sport by myself?
Ask us and we will set you up with the best paragliding schools around to complete either an introductory or full basic licence course.

Where do we paraglide from?
As paragliding is weather-dependent, we go to whichever site is best suited to the weather conditions of the day. There are a lot of flying sites to choose from. In Cape Town, the famous Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Signal Hill offer spectacular aerial views of the city. Sir Lowry's Pass, a short drive out of town allows you to look across False Bay towards Table Mountain and the Cape Peninsula. Further afield, Franschhoek , Paarl and Hermanus all offer fantastic paragliding sites.

What must I bring?
- Comfortable running / walking shoes
- Long sleeved windstopper top
- Long pants
- Sun-block
- Drinking Water - A hat (it's often very hot and we don't want you getting sunburned!)

Can I get photos of my awesome paragliding experience?
YES you can! The pilot has a specially designed extendable pole with a wide angle (29mm) camera mounted on it to take stunning pics of you and the panorama from all sorts of crazy angles. Ask your pilot to show you some examples of the pics we take or have a look in our gallery. In-flight photography is an optional extra and costs and additional R100.

How much is it?
Tandem Paragliding Flight: R950
In-flight photograpy is an extra R150
Pick-up and drop-off is an extra R100/person