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There is no evidence to tell who was the first man to paraglide. Some suggest that it was David Barish in 1963. But, of course, that is not sure. Photos and videos show a group of skydivers in eastern Montana in the late 70's. They were flying their parachutes off from the small hills. In the French Alps, some climbers used small ram-air canopies in order to make their descents from the peaks safer and more efficient. These parachutes weighed only eight pounds, flew at 20 m/h., and lost 3 feet height per every one foot. Soon (by the mid-eighties), a new challenge was found. Man had just found a way to prolong the distance and duration of such flights. The secret was in the areas of rising air. Many attempts were made in order to improve parachute glide performance, for example, increasing the wingspan, using non-porous fabric, and modifying the shape and trim of the airfoil. A new design meant changes in the flight characteristics and new pilot skills and techniques were needed. Designs that appeared to be successful were produced in large numbers to meet the demands of the paraglider pilots, whose number grew drastically. And so, by 1986 the sport was well established in Europe. Europe, Asia, and the US have developed a wide range of equipment in the last several years. Manufacturers put their products thorough number of tests to insure the pilots' safety. In the US, in the developing and marketing paragliders were involved at least three manufacturers of skydiving equipment. Their products were extremely safe and stable. But, as a disadvantage, they lacked the performance of the European designs. Fewer radical new designs emerged by the early nineties. Production was concentrated on paragliders that had very stable handling characteristics, and were suitable for the general flying population. Step by step the wings were classified in different groups, according to their usage. There were different canopies designed for student pilots, intermediate (recreational) pilots, and competition pilots. In France and Germany were established standardized procedures for testing and certifying paragliders. Now this standard represents the benchmark for all manufacturers around the world. The development of the wings from a ram-air skydiving parachute technology, the two sports led to the developing of to kinds of sports - skydiving (parachuting) and paragliding. In fact, they become full-circle in some regards. Presently, there are several sport-jumping-canopy designs. Their wings are non-porous, elliptical shaped and with thin-profile airfoils, which allow higher speeds, better glide performance, and greater aerodynamic efficiency. These features, which were especially developed for paragliders, are now being incorporated back into skydiving parachutes. Of course, though some paragliding wings look at first sight similar to some skydiving canopies, they have very different flight characteristics that require completely different pilot technique. |