UAE
The Man Who Loves to Fly
The once eyeglass-wearing man, my Clark Kent, transformed. He stopped wearing glasses (laser eye surgery). Cape-less, wearing an engine behind his back (like a gigantic electric fan) holding on to a glider, he took off.
At 5AM he woke me up and I sleepily got out of bed. After a few minutes, we found ourselves darting through the highway as the sun appeared on the horizon. The cluster of 4x4 vehicles appeared from a distance. The smell of gasoline and a surge of progesterone lingered in the air as the paramotorists prepared for flight.
According to Wikipedia, paramotoring, also known as powered paragliding is a form of ultra flight aviation where the pilot wears a motor on his back. The engine provides enough power to thrust the pilot up in the air.
He started paragliding in the UAE. Once he became comfortable with the wind directions, maneuvering himself in various settings, both jumping off a cliff and landing, he got himself to learn paramotoring in Atlantic Paramoteur, an aeronautical school in Montaigu, France during our summer vacation. I was supposed to do a tandem paramotoring flight, but missed it. The wind velocity was too strong that day. Maybe next time.
He started paragliding in the UAE. Once he became comfortable with the wind directions, maneuvering himself in various settings, both jumping off a cliff and landing, he got himself to learn paramotoring in Atlantic Paramoteur, an aeronautical school in Montaigu, France during our summer vacation. I was supposed to do a tandem paramotoring flight, but missed it. The wind velocity was too strong that day. Maybe next time.
I took pictures of him as he happily flew in the sky.
We have yet to get radios, in case he lands somewhere else
so I could drive and pick him up.
Like a kid, he soared with a big smile on his face.
The other gliders were circling around like birds,
performing aeronautic exhibitions.
A graceful landing. Happiness and contentment engulfed him.
2 comments
Oh wow wow wow! These photos are incredible. I must admit to being a big scaredy cat (I even have to take beta-blockers to go to the dentist) but my husband has been nagging me to go sky-diving for ages, I think this is just the kind of thing he would love!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like so much fun! The only odd thing I've done up in the air, was ride in a hot air balloon. That was a wonderful experience!
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