Soaring over Lumby a thrilling paragliding adventure

If you’ve ever wanted to fly like a bird over the Okanagan, paragliding may just be the adventure for you.

Paragliders use a wide canopy resembling a parachute and take off from the top of a mountain in free flight. Using rising columns of air called thermals, the paraglider lifts higher into the air.

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Depending on the type of experience the adventurer prefers, the ride can be calm and relaxing or an intense roller coaster ride in the sky.

The Freedom Flight Park in Lumby offers tandem flights. A certified instructor will sit behind the passenger and control the direction and height of the flight.

Instructor Dave Underwood says learning how to navigate in the air takes some practice.

“The sun creates thermals by heating the ground and then the air pops up and creates these invisible elevators that we ride up into the sky and fly like birds,” he said.

The sport is not to be confused with hangliding, which has a triangular rigid wing and has the passenger lying face down.

Anyone wanting to try paragliding should be able to run about 20 to 30 feet and weigh between 100 to 240 pounds.

Flights typically take place mid-morning to late afternoon from April to October. They can last between 10 to 45 minutes depending on weather conditions.

For more information on paragliding in Lumby, visit the Freedom Flight Park website.