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After all this time, you know perfectly what tandem paragliding or regular paragliding is. Nevertheless, it is probable that some of you still don’t know what acro paragliding is. That is the reason why today we are going to talk about acro paragliding in our blog.
Most of the time, we refer to acro paragliding simply as “acro”, which is short for the word “acrobatic”. It is named acrobatic paragliding due to it is more or less like the art of pulling off amazing airborne tricks and stunts, but that is not to say that it is simple or lacks depth.
There is a lot to learn about acro paragliding, and at Overfly Tenerife, we want to tell you everything you need to know. Hence, if you are the kind of people who gets bored on the roller coaster, you have to try our acrobatic paragliding tandem flight in the south of Tenerife. It is the perfect choice for you!
Let’s jump in together and you will live the best acro tandem paragliding experience of your life. (CITA)
How can I get started in acro paragliding?
The best way to get started in acro paragliding is trying it first with an expert in this aerial sport. Advanced paragliders can be extremely helpful, even just telling you their own stories. It is a different way of receiving paragliding lessons.
If you understand what acro paragliding is, you comprehend its inherent risks, and you still want to practice it, the next step will depend on your current training. You must be aware that acro paragliding is generally considered an extension of paragliding, a serious sport, and is not something that should simply jump into to impress anyone but yourself. Your safety while you practice this sport will depend in large part on following a natural progression path.
It doesn’t matter if you are a newbie — if you keep that in mind, you will do it right! Remember that even those with their paragliding license should plan to spend a long time — months or even years — improving their skills before considering moving up to acro paragliding.
You will start feeling comfortable in the air, and as that feeling appears, maybe you will start practicing tighter turns and reaching more precise angles of attack while out enjoying your flights. It is essential that you train regularly. Regular training is essential, as it is essential to build a good relationship with your instructor.
Remember that Overfly Tenerife offers you an acro paragliding tandem flight, which is one of the most amazing ways to get started in this aerial sport!
What kind of stunts are done in acro paragliding?
We could say that acro paragliding is “freestyle” by nature. There is no a set list of allowed stunts because the sky is not the limit. If you have some imagination and creativity, together with a great number of skills of course, expert paragliders often come up with new manoeuvres that challenge their own abilities.
Down below, you will find five acro paragliding tricks and stunts that we strongly recommend you not to try at home:
1. Obstacle Flying
Some nutcase paragliding pilots have improved the art of practicing paragliding extremely close to structures and some other dangerous obstacles, like charting courses along cliff edges, next to radio towers, or even between buildings.
It is not necessary to say that this type of stunt is extremely dangerous, so only much experimented paragliding pilots are allowed to practice this kind of flying, due to the margin of error is extremely small.
2. The Deep Spiral
If using Big Ears is not enough, the Deep Spiral offers an effective and alarmingly fast way to drop altitude — but this is assuming you don’t mind a little motion sickness. By shifting weight to one side and pulling the break, pilots reach drop sink rates around 10-18 metres per second with a rotation speed of 125 kilometres per hour and up.
It is a kind of carousel in the air, except that you are descending to the ground with a gravitational force up to four times stronger than what a regular paragliding pilot is used to.
3. The Helicopter
This relatively “simple paragliding trick” is also one of the trickiest manoeuvres to pull off. The paragliding pilot has to keep the glider fully open, and this way, he or she will be able to rotate the wing in a controlled and slow spin. Just like a helicopter!
In contrast with the Deep Spiral trick, this stunt feeds a fairly low sink rate in the neighbourhood of 2 to 3 metres per second. Hence, it forces the pilot to stay straight under the wing. Maybe the hardest part of this stunt is avoiding that the riser gets twisted during the rotation, making it crucial for pilots to fly seated with a wide open chest strap.
4. Infinity Tumbling
If there was ever a trick to end all paragliding stunts, Infinity Tumbling is it. This stunt is one of the most punishing inventions in terms of paragliding for pitting pilots and their paragliding equipment. Essentially, the Infinity Tumble is a series of consecutive pirouettes and tumbles that sends the pilot over the wing in a perfect vertical line. Among the possible side effects, you might find vertigo or dizziness.
5. Synchronized Pitch Pendulums
The Synchronized Pitch Pendulums, also known as the Molineti, is a trick executed in pairs. Let’s see the case of the Rodriguez brothers — Raul and Felix. These two devised this particularly wild synchronized stunt for the first time in 2001. To execute this manoeuvre, you need two paragliders flying alongside each other and performing alternating dolphins or pitches.
The result is amazing, a real show! It is worth to see how they form a perfectly timed double pendulum. There is no need to say that even the smallest miscalculation of timing can send both paragliding pilots crashing into each other. Thus, once again we want to remind you that acro paragliding is a very serious sport, not a child’s play.
How safe is acro paragliding?
We could say that acro paragliding is more dangerous than paragliding itself if you are not an expert and you do it on your own. Acrobatic paragliders are normally those pilots with very developed wing skills and extensive experience. All of them have one thing in common — they are looking for pushing their limits.
Hence, if you are still wondering if acro paragliding is safe, the answer is that if you train enough and you gain lots of experience, there will be no problem — it is totally safe. Once you are ready to practice it on your own, remember to bear in mind the weather conditions and any other risk factors.
However, if you want to make sure that you will be safe and you simply want to try and know how it feels, we strongly recommend you to visit us in Costa Adeje and enjoy the best acro paragliding experience with Overfly Tenerife.
This is all for now. If you are interested in acro paragliding and you want to learn more things about tandem paragliding or regular paragliding, you can take a look at these posts of our blog:
- The best paragliding launch techniques you need to know
- The best paragliding sites in Tenerife
- The 3 best paraglider folding techniques you need to know
We hope that you have enjoyed this post about acro paragliding, as well as we hope that we have solved all your doubts. However, if you need more information, if you still have any doubt or if you are interested in our services, don’t hesitate to contact us. We will be waiting for you in the south of Tenerife! ✌
