Willing to taste the sky on your own? If you are looking for some time by yourself and you would like to have your first flights, then you must be wondering: “can I paraglide alone?” “Is it safe to start flying without a tandem flight?”
We know that the questions and doubts that you might have are endless. However, if you are already planning on doing paragliding alone, it means that you have lots of courage and that you are almost prepared to start paragliding on you own.
Keep reading and find out how you can paraglide alone!
Is it possible to paraglide alone?
Yes, it is totally possible to fly by yourself and we promise you it will be one of the best experiences you will have. Lots of pilots paraglide alone and there are even competitions where experts show their best tricks to win the first prize.
However, in Overfly we remind you that paragliding is dangerous. Even the most professional and experienced pilots have had an accident at a certain point in their career. Once you get the hang of it, paragliding can be pretty easy to manage, but you still need to be careful.
You can paraglide alone, but there are a couple of things that you will have to do first before flying by yourself. Do not rush it and enjoy every part of the process: getting to know yourself as a pilot is one of the most important things to know whether you can paraglide alone or not.
Do I need training or lessons to paraglide alone?
By now you must be thinking: “Ok, I can paraglide alone, but how can I do that?”
Obviously, if you have not had any experience at all with paragliding, before beginning your adventure, you should get more familiarised with it. There are lots of ways to do this, but a paragliding course is for sure your best bet.
You can paraglide alone, but to do so you also need to take some lessons to get you started and show you the basics of this aerial sport. It is important to have the right base and then learning the rest by yourself if you want to.
How long will it take until I can paraglide alone?
Depending on the course you choose and how hard you work on it, it will take a different amount of time. Some courses will give you just the right training and then you will have to learn the rest by yourself.
On the first days of training, you will make small jumps of around 40 meters and learn how to take off. Landing will also be important (actually, the most important thing). Most of the times, it will take about 10 or 15 days until you can paraglide alone.
In these courses you will fly alone from the very first day but you will be accompanied by an instructor who will take care of you and your safety. He or she will also assist you during the flights and help you whenever you are struggling.
Before you can paraglide alone, here you have a piece of advice!
Since in Overfly we are experts in paragliding, we have taken all our different tips for beginners and paragliding lovers to make your learning process much more fun and pleasant. To master the art of flying will take much more time that you might think, but be patient! It will be worth it.
Are you afraid of heights? Try a tandem flight
To have a first impression of how paragliding feels, booking a tandem flight might be a great idea. You will be with a monitor or instructor who will take care of almost everything while you get the taste of it.
Are you afraid? Do you have vertigo? How does it feel when you are finally in the sky? Thanks to a tandem flight you will finally know how flying feels like. We remind you that in Overfly we offer amazing paragliding flights in Tenerife for anyone who is willing to try it!
Read and get as much information as possible
Knowledge is power, right?
Try to read as much as you can about how you can paraglide alone and learn more about the different techniques you can practise. There is also a huge amount of videos and information that you can find online that will be really useful.
The more you know, the more prepared you will feel once you are in the sky. Uncertainty can be dangerous, and if you find yourself in a difficult situation and do not know how to get out of it, it will be even worse.
Find the appropriated equipment for you
Do you know what you need as paragliding pilot? What do you have to buy so you can paraglide alone? These are the first questions that you will have to ask yourself when you are finally prepared to fly on your own.
This means, you should look for a harness that fits you and where you feel comfortable at. Also, choosing the right wing is important because it has to be appropriated for your weight, the weight of the harness and the type of paragliding you are interested in.
Surround yourself with people who are also interested in paragliding
To be surrounded by the right people will give you the inspiration you need. Share your improvements and lean on others that will help you when you do not know where to go next. They can use their different experiences to teach you new and exciting techniques or to advise you what you shouldn’t do.
Feel comfortable with your wing
To paraglide alone you also need to understand the glider, to know how to read the signs that it gives you when you are trying a new zone of improvising a new trick. This means that, before trying something complex you should really feel comfortable with you wind, the harness and all the parts that conform the glider.
And this is it guys! If you feel like you need a little bit of extra information, don’t hesitate and take a look at the other post that we have in our blog!
- Choose the right paragliding flight instrument!
- How to identify a good paragliding site → find the best ones
- Which are the parts of a paraglider? Everything you need to know!
See you later, alligator! And remember that you can call us if you have questions or you need more information about paragliding in Tenerife.
