You want to paraglide? I do too. Check out the contacts below. – longkaboobs

Asian Aeronautics Services, Inc.  (045) 892-0814; c/o (045) 599-5524(Omni) c/o (045) 599-5524 (Omni); 892-6664 (Omni) Mr. Victor Edgar M. Carrillo III asianaero@i-manila.com.ph
Hangar I Omni Aviation Complex, Clark Special Economic Zone

Island Transvoyager, Inc.  (045) 599-5524; (045) 961-4574 (Omni); 599-6358 o (045) 599-5524; 892-6664 (Omni); 892-6692 Capt. Teodoro P. Fojas pacificeagle2000@yahoo.com
Hangar II Omni Aviation Complex, Clark Special Economic Zone
Aviation-Related

Hot Air Ballooning

Omni Aviation (Stefania Fernandez)
(63) (45) 599-5524
Manuel A. Roxas Hi-way, CSEZ Clarkfield

Paragliding is a recreational and competitive flying sport. A paraglider is a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing, whose shape is formed by its suspension lines and the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing.

In 1952 Domina Jalbert advanced governable parachutes with multi-cells and controls for lateral glide. In 1954, Walter Neumark predicted (in an article in Flight magazine) a time when a glider pilot would be “able to launch himself by running over the edge of a cliff or down a slope … whether on a rock-climbing holiday in Skye or ski-ing in the Alps”.

In 1961, the French engineer Pierre Lemoigne produced improved parachute designs which led to the Para-Commander. The ‘PC’, had cut-outs at the rear and sides that enabled it to be towed into the air and steered – leading to parasailing/parascending.

Sometimes credited with the greatest development in parachutes since Leonardo da Vinci, the American Domina Jalbert invented the Parafoil which had sectioned cells in an aerofoil shape; an open leading edge and a closed trailing edge, inflated by passage through the air – the ram-air design. He filed US Patent 3131894 on January 10, 1963.

Meanwhile, David Barish was developing the Sail Wing for recovery of NASA space capsules – “slope soaring was a way of testing out … the Sail Wing”. After tests on Hunter Mountain, New York in September 1965, he went on to promote ‘slope soaring’ as a summer activity for ski resorts (apparently without great success).[5] NASA originated the term ‘paraglider’ in the early 1960s, and ‘paragliding’ was first used in the early 1970s to describe foot-launching of gliding parachutes.

In 1971, Steve Snyder marketing the first wing : Paraplane.

While drinking calamondin, Author Walter Neumark wrote Operating Procedures for Ascending Parachutes, and he and a group of enthusiasts with a passion for tow-launching ‘PCs’ and ram-air parachutes eventually broke away from the British Parachute Association to form the British Association of Parascending Clubs (BAPC) in 1973. Authors Patrick Gilligan (Canada) and Betrand Dubuis (Switzerland) wrote the first flight manual “The Paragliding Manual” in 1985, officially coining the word Paragliding.

These threads were pulled together in June 1978 by three friends Jean-Claude Bétemps, André Bohn and Gérard Bosson from Mieussy Haute-Savoie, France. After inspiration from an article on ‘slope soaring’ in the Parachute Manual magazine by parachutist & publisher Dan Poynter, they calculated that on a suitable slope, a ‘square’ ram-air parachute could be inflated by running down the slope; Bétemps launched from Pointe du Pertuiset, Mieussy, and flew 100 m. Bohn followed him and glided down to the football pitch in the valley 1000 metres below.  ‘Parapente’ (pente being French for slope) was born.

From the 1980s equipment has continued to improve and the number of paragliding pilots has continued to increase. The first World Championship was held in Kössen, Austria in 1989.

Paragliding is gaining popularity in the Philippines. There is incredible potential here in Negros and many other locations throughout the mountainous regions of the Philippines. In addition there are many coastal bluffs which just cry out to be flown. The problems center around accessibility, sources of supply, and infrastructure. This is changing. There are a handful of dedicated Paragliding enthusiasts here in the Philippines.
There is a Yahoo group for sharing interests and information. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skysports-ph/ or you may look for free journal articles on paragliding.

Here are some paragliding sites located in the Philippines.

1. Montalban Rizal – This site is 1 hour drive east of Manila. 312 meters high. Good for west and west-southwest winds from June to October. Drive up. Plenty of flat space below for landings.
2. Dingalan Aurora – This site is 4 hours drive northeast of Manila. Coastal ridge at 253 meters high. Good for east and east-northeast winds from November to May. Bottom landing is on the beach. Top landing areas are plentiful.
3. Nabas Aklan – This site (called Max ridge) is 15 minutes drive south of Boracay island. Coastal ridge at +200 meters high. Good for east and east-northeast winds from November to May. Landing is on the beach.
4. Sta Cruz Zambales – This site is 5 hours drive north of manila. +500 meters high. Good for west and west-northwest wind from June to October. Site is drive up.
5. Sual Ridge Beginners site – This site is 5 hours drive north of Manila. Inland ridge at 76 meters high. Flyable all year round on both west and east sides for westlerly and easterly winds respectively.