Up, up and away on a paragliding flight of fancy

By Sadie Mah

PUNCAK, West Java (JP): To soar like a bird, to have the world spread out below you as you glide weightlessly by. These flights of fancy are yours for the taking if you have a sense of adventure and are willing to brave the drive to Puncak.

Good news also is that you do not have to pay the earth for this exhilarating experience. Newcomers can get a taste of the airborne thrill by going tandem for as little as Rp 100,000 (US$13.50) on their maiden voyage.

Many who have tried it are addicted to the experience of free flying, and weekends and public holidays find them making the short trip to Puncak or other paragliding destinations.

One of the exciting things about paragliding is its simplicity and freedom. Unlike other sports, there are not huge amounts of heavy equipment to lug around.

Basic equipment is the glider and seat harness. Together, they weigh a mere 10 kg to 15 kg.

"All you have to do is pack them into a backpack," said Gendon Subandono, the chief instructor at Mera Para Layang Indonesia, the school component of a Jakarta-based paragliding club, Kelompok Merapi.

Gendon said paragliding also was comparatively cheaper than other aerial sports. "To transport a hanglider, you need a car with a roof rack. For skydiving, you need a pilot and a plane. With paragliding, you simply carry your backpack."

Buying your own equipment can still be an expensive affair. An imported glider and seat harness cost between US$2,500 and $4,000. Although you can rent these from schools for Rp 150,000 a day, many prefer to use their own gear. A new glider will last a total air time of 300 hours, which translates into more than 1,000 flights in Puncak.

Paragliding enthusiasts in the country are mostly young, Indonesian male executives. Asked what attracted them to the sport, most use words like "exciting", "exhilarating" and "a miracle". "You have to try it to know," they respond enigmatically.

"I love flying," said Bruce Comrie, a teacher from Tangerang who took up the sport more than two years ago. "It has always been a dream for me to be able to fly."

Although he is active in a host of other outdoor sports, Comrie said that paragliding remained his number one passion.

Surprisingly, it is fear that draws some to the sport.

"I love the feeling of being able to conquer my fear," said Ratnawati, a 23-year-old Telkomsel employee. She tried a tandem flight for the first time three years ago and was instantly addicted to the feeling. She immediately signed up for a pilot certification course and has been gliding every weekend since.

Paragliding uses a foot-launched glider, which is inflated before the pilot takes off. Once in the air, the pilot adjusts himself in a comfortable sitting position. Unlike parasailing, where the participant is simply dragged around by a boat, paragliding allows the participant to control where he wants to go. Hence, paragliders are called "pilots".

Depending on the type of weather conditions, paragliders can cover a distance of up to hundreds of kilometers and elevate to tens of thousands of feet.

Like Comrie, most gliders are adventure-sports lovers. Wahyu Yudha, a 25-year-old pilot, also sky-dives, but said he preferred paragliding.

"With skydiving, I just drop down from a plane. But paragliding allows me to enjoy the view from up there for as long as I want."

Paragliders can stay aloft for three hours or more. In Puncak, however, pilots normally fly for only 10 minutes.

"Occasionally, we get to fly for more than an hour here, but that's only 10 percent of the time," said Gendon.

Nevertheless, Puncak remains the most popular destination for paragliders from Jakarta, Bandung and Bogor. Since the conditions are not very challenging, it also is ideal for less experienced pilots.

The more experienced make occasional trips to Wonogiri in Central Java and Mount Haruman in West Java, where the winds and thermal lifts are much stronger, making flying more challenging. Other popular sites in the country include Bali, Yogyakarta and Malang.

While anyone from the age of 14 can learn how to paraglide, one must have patience to prepare for hours of waiting for the winds to change direction.

"The winds have to be blowing against the pilots when they launch, so that their gliders are properly inflated before they leave the ground," explained Gendon.

For tandem flights, a bigger glider is required, and hence stronger winds are needed, which means even more waiting around. And since the pilots land a fair distance away and have to take shuttle vans back to the launch site, there is an hour's wait between tandem flights with the same pilot.

What about the dangers? Gendon said he knew of only one fatal accident in the past 10 years in Indonesia. "The most common injury is to the ankle, which often happens during landing."

Like with other adventure sports, more serious accidents can happen. Several weeks ago, he said, a kite cut into a pilot's glider. Luckily, the pilot managed to land safely by inflating a reserve glider in his harness.

Although paragliding may appear simple, Gendon said it was a challenging sport that required special skills. "Pilots must be aware of how the wind, clouds, thermal and ridge lifts can affect the flight, and judge soundly based on these conditions."

It is therefore crucial to get instruction from certified professionals. In Indonesia, paragliding is regulated by the Indonesian Paragliding Center (PLGI). A list of paragliding clubs and certified instructors is available from the Federation of Aero Sports Indonesia (FASI), a member of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI).

For Rp 750,000, a five-day course will equip you with the basic skills to fly on your own. On the first day, you will be flying solo from a 20-metered hill in Lido or Sentul. If you are confident, you can proceed to Puncak on the second day for your first "real" flights. All your flights during the course will be done under radio supervision.

Paragliding as a sport began in Indonesia in 1990 when Gendon inherited a glider from a friend, who had bought it from a French tourist. Gendon taught himself to fly by reading books and magazines. Together with a few friends, he promoted the sport and helped set up PLGI in 1994.

There are more than 500 paragliders in the country. National competitions have been held since 1995, suggesting the rising popularity of the sport.

Forty pilots took part in a four-day competition in July in which requirements included traveling cross-country and racing to specific sites. A similar competition is scheduled for Malang from Sept. 3 to Sept. 12.

"The best time to go paragliding is around August to September," said Gendon. It means that now is the ideal time for you to find out what free flying is like. Once you do, there will be no more watching birds fly and wondering how they feel.