Several years had passed since I’d been “airborne” in free flight but apparently my passion for soaring still exists.  About 5 years ago while visiting Brazil, I signed up for a tandem hang gliding flight with Konrad from Rio Hang Gliding.  Rio has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world and flying near Sugar Loaf and Corcovado with the Ocean beyond was another of my most cherished experiences. When I returned, I decided that I wanted to take up the sport but quickly found it to be logistically challenging.  In addition to a requirement for near perfect air conditions, you had to be able to drive to a launch site which didn’t bode well with me so I quickly discovered that paragliding was a more practical option.

Since Colorado has mountains and I’d seen paragliders flying around Aspen, I assumed the sport would fit well with my locale but, upon further research, I learned that wind conditions in Colorado were quite variable and that it was not a good place for beginners to so I turned to the internet and honed in on seeking instruction in Santa Barbara, CA. In addition to perfect flying conditions, Santa Barbara was the base for Paragliding California operated by Chris Grantham who is ranked as one of the best instructors in the US so I arranged for a training course that I could complete in less than 2 weeks.

First of all, Santa Barbara is a beautiful place and the classroom was a hillside overlooking the coast – certainly a great place to spend a couple of weeks! The first day of instruction was getting familiar with the equipment, learning how to inflate the glider and prepare for a launch. After about an hour of familiarization, I was ready for my first short flight. Instruction consisted of about 7-8 days of practicing maneuvers with supervised but intentional chute malfunctions and passing a challenging written exam on the basics of aeronautics. Upon completion, I was issued a license to fly and completed my first solo flight from a 2500’ launch. All I can say is WOW! The feeling of free flight is truly incredible!

I returned to Colorado with all of the necessary gear and a desire to fly but with less than ideal air conditions, my skills got rusty so I sought out a place where I could stay cheap and practice – Hello Crucita Ecuador!