Paragliding EquipmentThe paragliding scene is very active, particularly in Europe, with more people than ever buying paragliding equipment and signing up to give it a try. It is truly the cheapest and easiest way to fly on your own! In response to this demand, paraglider manufacturers are busy doing research and development of ever safer and better flying canopies. Paragliders generally belong to one of three broad
categories.
Some Top ManufacturersOk, ok, ok, you're itching to read up on some good paragliding equipment, learners' wings and so on. What I've done is to organize and summarize some information on various DHV1 and DHV-1/2 wings. It's all in a consistent format, so if you want to, print off some pages to easily compare wings.Don't take performance figures too literally. Measuring paraglider performance is not an exact science. So don't reject a wing because another one has a slightly better L/D ratio, for example! Let's see... A very well known company these days is Firebird Paragliders. They manufacture the popular Spider paraglider.
Just by the way, I fly a simulated Spider over simulated French Alps using a program called Micro-Flight, I'm a hopelessly addicted sim-pilot... From Airwave Paragliders, another big paragliding company, there is the Airwave Flite paraglider.
For the sake of any keen Brazilian pilots out there, let's not forget SOL Paragliders, and their SOL Impulse paraglider. Actually, SOL have released a few more since then.. Now to look at an Asian country in which people go paragliding like Aussies and Californians go surfing! Renowned paraglider manufacturer Gin Paragliders are based here. They have just come out with a great new DHV-1 paraglider, the Bolero Plus, which is a handy improvement over the old Bolero. Mmm Bolero sounds Spanish... come to think of it, there is a notable manufacturer from Spain. Windtech Paragliders is their name, and they produce the excellent Tempus paraglider. Do you consider yourself a talented learner, or you are ready to move up a notch because you fly quite often? Then consider a DHV-1/2 wing from Mac Para Paragliders, the exceptional Eden 3. Moving now to sunny Gourdon in southern France, the guys at Ozone Paragliders make plenty of use of the good weather to test paragliders such as their DHV-1 Mojo. Last but definitely not least, is Gradient Paragliders, who make leading-edge wings from the Czech Republic, in central Europe. One of their latest wings at this time is the surprisingly innovative DHV-1 design, the Bright III. This is just a selection of paragliders that are available. If you have the money for the latest and best new paragliding equipment, the choice is growing all the time!
A small piece of handy advice.. This relates to buying paragliders made outside your own country. Don't buy from a poorly established importer. It's likely you will have trouble with repairs, parts, information, and resale. So how do you tell if they are 'well established'? The importer's website should provide a few clues. It should have a great 'look and feel'. If they are doing well, they should be able to afford great web-design talent! You should get a sense of their depth of knowledge of the industry. They might tell you the considerable length of time that they have been in the paragliding equipment business. That would be a good indication! To repeat myself, because its very reassuring to know, safety and handling are continually improving across the entire range of paragliding equipment. Some serious R&D (Research and Development) is happening among the top paragliding equipment manufacturers. Interestingly, some top aeronautical engineers are actually helping out with this stuff in their spare time! Last updated: 24 Feb 2007 Back to Home Page from Paragliding Equipment
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