“Flying above the coast was simply exhilarating! The best part of it is that you feel like you are the one in charge since you are in the front seat,” said Swathi, after a sortie over the sea in a powered paraglider from Gokul Park to R.K. Beach and back.
The powered paragliding activities that was thrown open to the public on the second day of the Visakha Utsav on Friday was an instant hit with over 100 people taking the ride. The aerial ride gave a breathtaking view of the coast taking riders over the azure sea in the breezy skies of Visakhapatnam.
A 25-member crew team of Vihang Adventures from Hyderabad are here in the city to conduct aero-adventures with paramotoring activities as part of the three-day Visakha Utsav.
The team conducted a test ride on Thursday to assess the flying feasibility before starting the rides from Friday.
“Vizag has the most favourable conditions for aero adventures. The wind speed is perfect. There is no wind gust or disturbances here that are usually found in coastal areas. The on-air experience in the city is fantastic as the paraglider goes parallel to the coast,” said Surya Teja, director of Vihang Adventures. The team has brought two powered paragliders here for the festival.
The powered paragliders are taking people up to a height of 500 feet in the short sortie here. “We got the permission from ATC to go up till 500 feet. The powered paragliders, otherwise, have a capacity to fly up to a height of 10,000 feet,” Mr Teja added.
Powered paragliding has become quiet popular in India, especially among adventure sports lovers and photography enthusiasts.
“We want to promote aero adventures in AP and plan to conduct a training programme for pilots in Vizag to have a base here in association with AP Tourism,” said Teja, who has seven years of experience in the field.
The adventure was also a part of the Paramotor Championship held in Nagpur earlier this year which saw participation from 70 pilots from across the country.
“Araku can be a great place to conduct a similar championship event. The wind and terrain of the region is ideal for aero-adventures sports and will help boost the tourism potential of the place,” he added. The paramotoring rides will be open for the public on Saturday.
