Flying down the hill with paragliding

Wear your courage, go paragliding and see the beauty of nature from the sky.

"Everything is breathtaking from above," said Tri Lestari, a paragliding pilot.

"The view, the green and the blue, the wind blowing in your face, it's different when you're in the sky, and I'm amazed that I'm flying," the coordinator of paragliding division at Trisakti University's adventure club said.

Despite having flown many times, Tri admitted that she was nervous when taking off each time.

She said that most accidents usually occurred during takeoff and landing.

In paragliding, those who control the parachute are called a pilot, and to be a pilot, people have to first obtain a license to fly from the acknowledged paragliding clubs or association.

But that does not mean people cannot enjoy the scenery from the sky for their own pleasure.

For a joyride, Gendon Subandon, the owner of Mega Raya Paragliding Indonesia and a former chairman of Indonesian Paragliding Union (PLGI), said that they could fly together with the licensed pilots without having to take a course first.

"But one thing, you have to be brave enough to fly," he said.

He said that anyone from 14 to 60 year's old with no heart disease and epilepsy could try paragliding.

Gendon said that paragliding entered Indonesia in early 1990 and the number of people interested with paragliding kept rising, including athletes. Since 2000, paragliding has been a sport that features during National Sports Week (PON).

Paragliding was dependent on the weather condition and the wind, Gendon said. Pilots take their position from a hill using dynamic and thermal wind as an elevating source.

"That and other meteorological aspects, techniques on how to fold the parachutes, how to open the back-up parachute and control it once you're in the air are taught during the class," said Gendon who has been flying for 20 years.

Indonesia has several good spots for paragliding in Greater Jakarta and Puncak in Bogor, West Jakarta. But there are other spots, such as Gajah Mungkur Mountain in Central Java, Banyak Mountain in East Java, Nusa Dua in Bali, and Maninjau Lake, in West Sumatra.

"I often fly from Puncak, but I've tried Malang and Bali also. Each place has its own sensation, but Bali so far has been my favorite," Tri said.

Clubs offering the courses and joy rides:

1. AangSky Paragliding Jogja Club: http://www.aangsky.webs.com

2. Bali Paragliders Club: http://www.baliparagliders.com/

3. Merapi Paragliding: http://www.merapiparagliding.com

4. MPA Aranyacala Trisakti: http://www.aranyacala.org

5. Papatong Fly *n' Play: http://www.papatong.org/