I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say this, we all have dreamed of lifting
our hands and glide into the sunset.
Yes, this is one of the most vivid and wildest dreams mankind has ever had.
The good news is that you don’t have to break your head over it.
It’s simple. All you have to do is, just paraglide.
Take it to the air, talk it out, call it your second wife or whatever, because when you think about it, you know for sure, paragliding has been the one real thing missing from your life.
And guess what, the folks at OrangeLife Paragliding might be your best chance at experiencing this life-changing adventure!
Now with them by your side, you can glide over hills and tourist destinations
like Kamshet, Lonavala and beyond.
Now strap onto your seatbelts because this article is about to get seriously
enthralling.
With this article, we will help you profoundly to know the essence of
paragliding through its courses.
Up next, the face of Orangelife.
The man, the legend, our paragliding Moses at large.
Our founder and Chief Flying Instructor Mr. Vijay Soni was never a stranger
to challenges, especially the ones that involved flying right over our heads!
He was inspired and invigorated by the idea of paragliding so much that it only took him a few lessons to become a trained & licensed pilot, and that too within his early twenties.
Soon after that, he took it upon himself to bestow great glory to his country as he represented India on numerous occasions and we are super glad that he has been on the winning side more often than what his competitors would have wanted.
With that kind of expertise, one could say that Mr. Vijay Soni is undoubtedly
the no.1 cross country pilot/coach.
Fast forward to 18 years later, he heads one of the best paragliding centers
in India - Orangelife Adventures. And guess what, they are the best for many reasons.
Let's start with number one - the courses they offer.
Before you dive headfirst into the courses, you might need to get the gist of
what Tandem Paragliding is all about.
What is Tandem Paragliding?
Here we are going to extensively talk about what Tandem Paragliding is and
what you can do, in your bid to glide among the clouds.
Tandem generally means ‘a bicycle with seats and pedals for two riders’ one behind another. That’s the idea behind Tandem Paragliding as well. You are strapped onto a harness in front of the pilot.
One could say this is the best way to enjoy the complete aerial experience, and the choice is yours whether to control it yourself or let the expert pilot behind you take care of the launch, flight, and landing for you. But if you are someone who likes to go solo, Orangelife provides you the top of the line courses like a basic course, advanced course, and independent pilot course. More of that in the next article, but for now let’s hold our horses and check out some of the tandem packages:
Basic Tandem
Just like the name suggests, this is more like a beginner's guide to tandem
paragliding. The pilot here has complete control over the glider throughout the flight duration. This highly popular tandem flight is 10-12 mins customized joy ride.
All you gotta do is simply sit back and relax as you truly cruise like an eagle.
The price of this package is Rs. 2500* on weekdays and Rs. 3000* on weekends and holiday seasons.
Be a Pilot
You heard that right! You’d be the first in command for this one and that too without any pilot license whatsoever!
Talk about your luck!
In this course, you take over the controls of the glider once you are in the air. The instructor/Tandem Pilot will guide you on how to maneuver the controls. However, take-off and landing will be taken care of by our pilot.
Your time among the clouds ranges from 15-20 minutes in this course.
The package is however considerably affordable compared to the
competitors around.
‘Be a Pilot’ costs Rs. 4000* on weekdays and Rs. 4500* on weekends & holiday seasons.
Tandem Extendido
Hey, if you are crazy for that adrenaline rush, this might be your favorite out
of the lot.
Extended Tandem Flights involve all the elements of “Basic Tandem and Be a pilot” with a unique experience that can be hard to match for the competing paragliding companies out there. Under this package, you can set up video and photography while in the air. This is a 25-30 minute gliding frenzy that calls for a truly memorable date with the sky.
With the affordable package price of Rs. 6000* on weekdays and Rs 7000* on weekends and holiday season, Tandem Extendido is sure to rule your heart.
Training style
We feel immense pride to let you in on the good news that we are the leading class of paragliding among the innumerable paragliding schools in India. Completely different from the usual approach to gliding, our team of expert pilots brings a completely immersive experience to flying that is second to none. Our training methods will not only equip you with a sound knowledge of the art of paragliding but give you enough zeal and newfound excitement to pursue your path to paragliding. So much that you will be in the running to start your franchise of paragliding!
Our Success story - How we helped a survivor to overcome the odds!
We are more than just a bunch of adrenaline-filled pilots and we’d like you to know that as well. Our promise of filling each soul with adventure will never fade. Reminds us of the time we met a woman who overlapped our tenacity to adventure.
37 years old, Amrapali Chavan became our finest testament to the saying,
“Never Give Up”. On the 9th anniversary of a bomb-blast that took her leg, she took the greatest challenge and virtually kicked terror in its face.
She became the first handicapped woman in India to paraglide from the peaks of Kamshet at 2200 feet. Our chief, Mr. Vijay Soni, and his team consider training her to glide, as one of their finest achievements to date.
How fit do I need to be to paraglide?
You might be wondering the amount of fitness you need to possess to glide.
Perfectly understandable given that you are dancing with gravity here. It doesn’t harm one to be reasonably fit because you might be required to run
and jump around for a little bit for take-off and landing. But it is reassuring to know that, tandem paragliders can safely glide with a total weight up to 240 Kgs.
More power to Tandem Paragliding!
It also depends on the type of destination you select to Paraglide.
On that note, let’s discuss why we push Kamshet in our list of best places to
fly.
Why is Kamshet the best place to fly?
Situated at about 45 km from the populous city of Pune in the state of
Maharashtra, Kamshet reminds us all of the real India. Known as the paraglider’s paradise, this is one of the genuine places suitable for paragliding due to favorable weather, perfect wind conditions, and amazing view. Offering the bird’s eye view of hills and village houses, paragliding in Kamshet is a delight for a lifetime. If soaring over western ghats is in your bucket list, do not give this place a miss!
How to get to Kamshet?
If you are thinking about taking a flight, Pune is the nearest airport. There are many private taxis for hire which will take you to Kamshet. Now if you are someone who prefers the train, frequent suburban train services run between Pune and Kamshet. If you like to take the road, Kamshet is 118 Kms from Mumbai and ahead of Lonavala by 16Kms.
What’s the right season for paragliding?
October to May is considered an ideal time for paragliding. However, the days from October to mid-December are picked to be the best, as the wind remains calm and a little warm which makes way for good flight experience.
The experience during December, January is whole another experience as
you get to glide among the mountains that are covered with low lying clouds.
Till we glide the next time
What are you waiting for?! The exhilaration of flight should have got to you by now. With that being said, we have to pull the curtains on the article and get back to hovering above the clouds. We hope to see you there with us. All you have to do is look for Orangelife.
Feel free to comment in our article and let us know your queries and they shall be answered to the best of our knowledge.
We believe in conquering your dreams if that requires us to go as high as the mountains.
Our mission and vision are to venture really high, sky-high.