The 17th International Paragliding Festival, organized by Clube Asas de São Miguel, will take place August 25-28, on São Miguel, Azores.

Paragliding in the Azores originated on the Island of Faial in 1990. In 1993, the International Paragliding Festival was launched festival. Clube Asas de São Miguel, a training school, was founded in 1997.

Almost all of the 9 Islands of the Azores provide excellent flying sites for the sport.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x62lWv-ZZqY&feature=related [/youtube]

Created in 1952, paragliding is a new recreational and competitive flying sport. A paraglider is a free-flying (no engige), foot-launched glider aircraft. Controls are held in each of the pilot’s hands.

Despite not having an engine, paraglider flights can last many hours and cover many hundreds of kilometres. Training and certification are required to operate the paraglider.

Numbers of actively flying pilots can only be a rough estimate, but France is believed to have the largest number, at around 25,000. Next most active flying countries are Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, and Korea, at around 10,000 – 20,000, followed by Italy, the UK, and Spain with around 5,000 – 10,000. The USA has around 4,500.

WIKIPEDIA: Paragliding >>

17th International Paragliding Festival: For more information >>

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