Paraglide Tandem Q&A
Q: How did you end up paragliding? What led you to open a business around it?
I came to Lookout Mountain in Golden, Colorado which is primarily a paragliding site as an adrenaline enthused speedflyer. I came from world of speed-flying where descent and flying close to the terrain is the goal, to paragliding where pilots soar thousands of feet in the air for big distances. I was given a glider to fly until my first paraglider arrived in the mail from France. After flying up and down the front range, I know get to share the experience with others on a tandem paragliding flight.
Q: Tell us more about your background in the aviation industry?
In college at the University of Colorado I learned to fly airplanes at the Boulder airport. My goal was to fly the heavy iron for a major airline, but I would first need to gain the thousands of hours of experience required. After getting my commercial license I finally had the take-offs down and was given my first job flying skydivers out of a Cessna 206. Although I thought the people jumping out were crazy at first it wasn’t long before I became one of them and fell in love with canopy flight.
Q: What us something readers would be surprised to know about you or your business?
I hold the tandem distance record from Lookout Mountain in Golden. I flew with a good friend Bridget Tursi from Golden to Lyons, Colorado. A distance of over 30 miles! https://xc.rmhpa.org/flight/1100
Q: Tell us about your Paragliding Trips- where they take off from, what people will see along the way.
A tandem paragliding flight is the absolute best way to experience paragliding for the first time. No experience is required as each student is paired one-on-one with an experience instructor. After a van ride to our launch point atop Lookout Mountain we will go over the entire launch, flying and landing portion before we take to the air. With just a few steps the glider comes into the air like a giant kite as you are lifted off the ground. Once flying you are in a comfortable seated position moving about 30 mph through the air. This is fly as you remember it from your dreams!
Q: What do you tell people who are nervous to try it?
Little bit of a confession, I am scared of heights too. Luckily I only get the feeling when I am standing near the edge of a cliff. Even those that were originally nervous generally are relieved by what an enjoyable non-scary experience it becomes in the air. Paragliders are flying forward, not down and at speeds where holding a conversation is possible. With large high performance tandem gliders, launch and landing speeds are generally under 5 mph and as soft as stepping off a curb. The landing speeding are much slower than typically experience under a skydiving wing.
Q: What is the biggest challenge of running the business? And biggest reward?
The biggest challenge of running a paragliding business is the weather! In the summertime and fall we are luck to have super consistent conditions in morning. We fly 5 out of 7 days a week. The spring and winter provide equally as awesome flying but unfortunately with the less constitent weather scheduling is a challenge. We are usually flying two or three days out of the week in the spring and winter.
Q: Why is Golden the perfect place?
Golden is the premiere flying site on the front range of Colorado. Only 20 minutes from Denver, its an easy van ride to our launch spot over a thousand feet above picturesque Golden. From our launch point downtown denver is easily visible. As well as flying Golden is home not only to the famours Coors brewery but also an awesome selection of backyard mircobreweries. Before you make it to the brewery be sure to hit up one of the many world class climbing spots in clear creek canyon, tube the river, or mountain bike one of the Table Mesas.
Q: Do you see more people interested in activities like paragliding? If so, why?
With events like the Redbull X-Alps in Europe growing, more exposure is brought to the sport. Paragliding as a whole is entering its Golden Age. The technology of the gliders and skill of the pilots has improved so much in the last 3 years that all of the records and firsts are being set now. To be exploring Colorado from the air on a paraglider more advanced than ever in history is exciting. Every flight leads to the possibility of a flight or line that has never been flown before! World class climbers and kayakers are discovering paragliding and forgetting their old passions in exchange for a true extreme adventure!
