The other day I visited the fabulous country of Rublevka. Yes, I did not just visit, but flew over it. Already at the entrance to this country, you feel yourself, as in Europe: the asphalt is smoother than the skin of an infant, and the tall pine trees cling to the clouds, and they exude a wonderful smell. It turns out that not everything is so bad in Russia, and people live in the mansions of the rich, and they ride on gold carriages. So, if someone thinks that we live badly, then immediately he should be sent to Rublevka.
But my tale is not about this wonderful country, but about my paragliding flight. Honestly, it was a little scary, this is not for you hot air balloon fly, where everything is safe and comfortable, there is only what a rag holds in the air, and any wrong action can fold the paraglider in the air. That is why I flew not alone, but in tandem with Yaroslav, a positive instructor who gave us an interesting lecture about cumulus clouds, air currents, and the structure of the paraglider canopy..
As part of his post What to do in Moscow, I tried a few things, and I can say that it is paragliding that really deserves the attention of those who are not indifferent to altitude, air and adrenaline. That is, you could start with it and end it with it 🙂
The price of a paragliding flight is 2000r, but with a discount it turned out 1000r. And I bought a coupon here - Biglion.ru, only it does not always happen there, and therefore it is necessary to monitor other services, like Groupon.
The content of the article
- one Before the flight
- 2 My paragliding flight with an instructor
- 3 About birds
- 4 Some technical characteristics
- five Paragliding video
Before the flight
To paraglide, we had to wait until the squalls ended. Therefore, we first bathed, then listened to a lecture and talked. I advise you to take food and drink with you to such events, and regard it not only as a paragliding flight, but also as a picnic and a pleasant pastime. In our case, the weather was excellent, but windy.
Take a swim before flying
The field where paragliders fly
Unpacked
Serious guys are exercising
Serious guys are exercising
Serious guys are exercising
The first serious guy went!
Do you like to fly, love and carry a paraglider
A man somewhere inside
Wind direction indicator
Yaroslav gives us a lecture about flying
Paragliding wing
Someone is returning to earth
Like a balloon on a string
The blonde is also waiting for the flight
Sometimes you have to catch below
My paragliding flight with an instructor
First, I put my squiggles on important papers stating that neither I nor my family pretend that I should return from this flight in the same form in which I took off. Standard procedure, and it seems like there were no accidents. And then some girl flew first on a paraglider, and looking at her, the fear itself disappeared.
I put my autograph
Paragliders also sign
We are waiting in line
The first tandem with a girl returns
A little takeoff workout
I'm like a fighter pilot
We hook me up in tandem
Almost everything is ready
Since there are no mountains in the Moscow region, they lifted us up on a cable. It happens in this way - we stand on the ground with the instructor, a cable is hooked to us, and from the other side of the field they begin to pull with a winch - the paraglider soars up. When a certain height is reached, the check is pulled out, and the cable falls down.
Paragliding begins!
Hold the rope with a hammer
The winch that returns the cable, and the one that pulls at the other end of the field
And this is where the fun begins! From a height of 400 meters, all the surroundings open before us! It captures the spirit from the understanding that you are not standing on the ground, but floating in the air. And when Yaroslav laid the spiral, so generally the heart froze, and the soul fell below the heels. But in reality it was not scary, but simply very, very unusual. Gradually descending, we circled over the field for about 10 minutes, and it seemed that all half an hour. The landing was very soft, as if something had jumped off a stool.
Paragliding
Paragliding
We fly with the instructor
We fly almost under the clouds
I'm trying to shoot a video from above
My faithful helper on earth
Back to earth
About birds
It turns out that birds often mistake paragliders for their own, that is, for birds. It is not uncommon for a person to turn the spiral to the left, and the birds fly up and try to guide them on the right path - they say, here you need to turn the right one. Likewise, signals are given about where the upstreams are. And when mistaken for a bird of prey, they can break the paraglider, starting to defend their nest..
Some technical characteristics
- The area of the smallest paraglider is about 22 sq. m. and the carrying capacity depends on it.
- In a large backpack behind your back, a reserve parachute and a damper for a softer fall.
- The length of all lines is about 400 m.All of them are of different colors, so as not to confuse which ones to pull.
- The canopy of the paraglider is double and connected by partitions.
- The maximum speed is about 60 km per hour.
- The maximum altitude depends on the region, in Moscow up to 1800 meters, in the mountains up to 5000 meters.
- The flight time can be calculated in days, and the distance can be hundreds of kilometers.
- If the speed of the headwind is higher than the speed of the paraglider, then it will fly back.
As I understand it, the main difficulty is to understand where the upstream and downstream are, and thereby calculate your trajectory. As they explained to us, you can hang in the air for as long as you like, and this is not interesting, therefore the competitions are held at a distance, or to reach certain points.
Paragliding video
FullHD video, so it's best to watch at maximum resolution.
P.S. I wrote an article and realized that the enthusiasm had already subsided. I had to write straight from the airfield, when there was fire in my eyes and my hands were shaking with excitement. True, it is possible that apart from «aaaaa» I would hardly have been able to write something intelligible 🙂
