ABOUT
Vijay
Soni
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Founder / Chief Flying Instructor
NO.1 CROSS COUNTRY
PILOT IN INDIA
An acclaimed paragliding competition pilot, Vijay has experience in training, NDA, BSF, the Indian Air Force, the Indian Army, and the Indian Navy in the skill of Paragliding. Instructed the Indian Army Tran’s Sahyadri Paragliding Expedition 2009 from Goa – Ahmed Nagar, covering 1000 km in 20 days.
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INDIAN NATIONAL CHAMPION 2012
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INTERNATIONAL PARAGLIDING CHAMPION 2012
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CURRENTLY RANKED NO 1 XC PILOT IN INDIA
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ONLY INDIAN TO REPRESENT INDIA IN 7 FAI CAT 1 COMPETITIONS
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Civil Engineer
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Paragliding Cross Country Pilot
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Paragliding Accuracy Pilot
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Paramotor Pilot
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Paragliding / Paramotar Instructor
VIJAY SONI BECAME THE NO.1 PILOT IN THE FIRST INDIAN CROSS COUNTRY PARAMOTOR COMPETITION BY INPAF, PUNE IN 2001. TODAY, 18 YEARS SINCE, HE’S STILL THE NO.1 XC (CROSS COUNTRY) PILOT IN THE COUNTRY.
journey so far..
The year 1990: Journey Begins!
His journey began as a teenager in 1990, when, Vijay learned about the Wild Venture Club from Delhi from magazines. The club held various flying courses across India, and he soon became a part of it, but couldn't participate in their courses because of his engineering studies.
Year: 1995 - 2000
It wasn't until 1995, when Pune hosted the First Paragliding Festival that Vijay, then in his early 20s, got his first taste of flight. Having started to learn flying right after his Final Year of Civil Engineering, he became a paragliding prodigy training at Harley India Para School, Pune and continued his relationship with the school while having learnt a myriad of paragliding variations such as Solo Paragliding and Paramotoring, Tandem Paragliding and Paramotoring, Paratrike etc. by teaching the art of flying to a new crop of aspiring pilots.
Year: 2001- 2002
Having had 5 years of flying experience, he had a hand in bringing Paragliding and Paramotoring Competitions at a National Level to India. In 2001, having won the Paragliding as well as Paramotoring Championship at the inaugural Indian XC Paramotor Competition by INPAF, Pune, He continued on his winning ways the following year by capturing the Paragliding Championship again. It was only due to the success of these events that India held its first formal Paragliding Competition at an international level in 2002 in Himachal Pradesh.
Year: 2004
He started representing the country in several International Competitions since 2004, when he made his international debut at the First Asian Paragliding Championship in South Korea. He continued representing India in various competitions across the globe, in countries like Bulgaria, South Africa, Serbia, China, Japan, Colombia, Kazakhstan, and Macedonia just to name a few.
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Since then, He has been racking u accolade after accolade and setting international records adding to his already impressive body of work.
Year: 2009-12
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In 2009, He became the first pilot to complete a 100KM FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale ) Triangle in India on a paraglider.
In 2012, He became the First Indian Pilot to win a Championship in an International Competition held in India. In 2010 and 2012, he secured Bronze medals in the 2nd and 3rd Asian Paragliding Championship held in Japan and China respectively as a part of Team India.
Year: 2016 -17
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In 2016, he was the first Indian Pilot to take part in an International Accuracy Championship held in Kazakhstan. In 2017, He brought the 1st CAT 2 competition in India, which was held in Sikkim.
Year: 2018
In 2018, He was the chief judge at the first Inter-Services Paragliding Accuracy Competition held in Bir-Biling, Himachal
Vijay Soni works towards making India a better place for paragliding enthusiasts and bringing higher level competitions to India. One of the few men who truly care for the sport enough to do something about it, he strives to create smarter pilots who can potentially represent India across the globe like he still does.
Orange Life Adventures is a passion project through which He seeks to make Professionals who can take the sport further and represent themselves internationally as he does for Team India. Building the future of Paragliding in India is the first priority for everyone at the facility. With Vijay in the forefront, he offers knowledge through his vast experience in Paragliding.