General questions

1When to paraglide?
It’s easy! You have just to contact us and make a booking. Because paragliding takes place outside in the natural environment, we are restricted by the weather, but no more so than going to the beach or to an outdoor concert.

We can fly throughout the year, with the different seasons offering the opportunity to experience a variety of sensations. Crisp cold; summer heat; the landscape of grassy green hills and fields, or the dry desert like summer landscape; snowy winter mountains and almond blossom spring. The valley changes with the seasons and the flight experience changes too. That’s why so many people come back, no two experiences are exactly alike!

Flight bookings can be made throughout all the year, although the activities will take place only during the months of February to November, always conditioned by meteorology.
2What is a paraglider?
It is an ultralight flexible glider that flies thanks to its aerodynamic capabilities driven by the force of gravity, which uses the aerodynamic forces resulting from its special design and allows us to move taking advantage of the updrafts of air.
3How does a paraglider fly?
Paragliding obeys the same aerodynamic forces that govern the flight of birds or airplanes. Its movement in the air creates what we call relative wind which causes the forces that make flight possible (lift and drag).
4How is it controlled?
The pilot carries in each hand a handle that rotates or adjusts the speed of the glider. The pilot lowers his right hand to turn right and the same for the left, causing increased resistance on the side to which he wants to rotate. This happens because the controls that the pilot carries in his hands are attached to the rear part of the wing, folding the middle of the wing that is attached to each handle, increasing the strength of that half and reducing the rate at which said wing flies. The handling is very intuitive and easy.
5How long does a flight last?
It depends on several factors:

1- weather conditions. The air is continually changing depending on many factors that cause both vertical and horizontal movements. Horizontal movements affect the speed in which we move through the air and vertical movements affect what we call the drop rate, ie considering that the paraglider is always lower than in the air, the movements of this air can cause it to go down more or less, depending on the vertical velocity of that air.

2- The type of wing. There are wings with different yields, ie, with different fall rates, maximum and minimum speeds, etc...

3- The skill of the pilot. As we said air moves and taking advantage of these movements depends on the skill of each pilot. A skilled pilot is able to predict these movements and get a better performance for your flight. In general tandem paragliding rarely lasts more than half an hour, as passengers who are not used to the movements in the air risk getting dizzy, turning a wonderful experience into something unpleasant.

As a curiosity, the records of paraglider flights exceed 24 hours, but the most usual flight for an expert free-flying pilot is between 2 to 6 hours depending on weather conditions.
6What areas are most appropiate for takeoff and landing?
For taking off we need a slight slope free of obstacles and with wind facing the hillside. It is also possible to take off windless, although in this case it’s necessary to run to generate the speed you need so you can take off.

The landing is quite simple as long as you have available a large surface free of obstacles.

The Vall d'Ager fields are big enough to land. In addition, we also have different launch sites for different wind directions.
7Why flying in Ager?
The valley d'Ager because of its geographical configuration from east to west has ideal conditions for free flying (paragliding and hang gliding). The Montsec located in the region of the Noguera, Lleida, because of its southern orientation, has the optimal characteristics for generating thermal air waves. It also has excellent access by paved road to the main takeoff area, equipped with ample parking for vehicles.

The countless fields of Ager offer us many large and safe landing areas. All of this makes this area the best of Catalonia and one of the best in the world for paragliding and hang gliding, and has been internationally recognized. Access from Barcelona is done largely by a free motorway so it makes the trip to Ager very comfortable. Although there are other flying sites in Catalonia this valley is worth a visit to enjoy its magnificent flying conditions and its beautiful landscapes.

Questions about safety

1Is it safe to do a paragliding jump?
First of all we must clarify that in paragliding we don’t jump from any precipices or planes like in parachuting, therefore the term "paragliding jump" is not correct. Likewise, it is not correct to say, as many people do out of ignorance, the term "paragliding jump" because what we do is "taking off" from a slope like planes take off but at a much slower speed.

We should know that the air rapidly changes, and pilots must know well to assess the conditions which are optimal for flying. Therefore it is dangerous for someone who does not know the environment and doesn’t have enough experience, unless they are under the supervision of a training school or doing tandem flights with an experienced instructor.

Ager Parapent’s pilots not only have all the accreditations from Escuela Catalana del deporte de la Generalitat de Cataluña and the Federación Aérea Catalana, but have a long experience and have taught how to fly safely to hundreds of students.

A paragliding flight is the safest way to fly for anyone who wants to feel the sensation of flying without having prior knowledge, as long as it is done with instructors with qualifications and experience. Ager Parapent have a strong commitment to safety and stop the flights if conditions are not optimal.

In our school the students of paragliding courses are supervised at all times by professional instructors who are responsible for all matters regarding security, minimizing every risk. Our paragliding courses are done with level A wings, suitable for beginner students.

The professionalization and control over the qualifications has made it possible for paragliding schools to reduce the number of accidents at very low levels.

Something entirely different is paragliding competitions which as in any competition of any sport, pilots fly to the limit of its possibilities, thus increasing the possibility of accidents.
2Why do we cancel flights?
As we explained in the previous sections there are different causes that make paragliding a dangerous activity, so when one of them compromises the flight safety for our students in paragliding courses, or of the passengers who come to tandem paraglide with us, our instructors will never hesitate to cancel the activity.

We are constantly assessing weather conditions, as they are fairly predictable. So if at any time before starting the activity we are quite sure that the weather is not perfect, we try to always get in touch with the students or passengers going to come fly with us to cancel the activity on that day so we can reschedule it to another day.

Sometimes we are on the takeoff zone and see other paragliders flying, that does not mean that the day is airworthy as there are experienced pilots who assume the risks of flying regarding the existing conditions at that time.

Ager Parapent’s instructors will never exceed safety limits, neither in school courses, or tandem flights, so in these cases and even in the takeoff we have the right to cancel, always thinking about the safety of people who have trusted us both to learn and to enjoy the wonderful experience of flying.
3What physical conditions must one have to paraglide?
We must distinguish if our choice is to take a course or make a paragliding tandem flight:

To take a course in paragliding, you don’t need to be an athlete, you just need to have a normal physical condition, allowing you to do small races, being able to carry your equipment (weight approx. 15 kg), have more than 14 years old and until you’re 18 always with permission from parents or guardians. People weighing less than 45 kg. may have difficulty finding a glider in its size, because manufacturers don’t usually do small paragliders.

For flights in a tandem paraglider it is not necessary to have any special physical condition, simply being able to make a little run, since in this case the instructor does everything. We have flown with 2 year old children and with people up to 80 year old. It is suitable for all audiences. Weight limit for the passengers: 90kg.

The most important thing that the school should know is the existence of injuries or limitations which we will assess in each particular case.
4Can i fly if I have vertigo?
Vertigo does not affect the flight because all references are far from us and we are also seated, so the sensation of vertigo does not exist. There are pilots who suffer from vertigo in their daily life and do paragliding flights normally.
5 Can I get dizzy during the flight?
It is not common but sometimes it happens. We advise everyone who is prone to motion sickness to take motion sickness medication before the flight. It is also important not to drink or overeat before flying. Taking pictures looking at the camera or mobile phone, greatly increases the chances of getting dizzy.
6Will I have fear in the flight?
In general, all that is unknown to us creates some concern, so it is normal to feel some nervousness before the activity. Usually people often feel this concern in the pre-takeoff times, but this feeling fades for mostly everyone when you are comfortably seated in the air.
7Are we covered by insurance flying paraglider?
Ager Parapent has a liability insurance covering accidents in all of our activities.

Questions about meteorology

1What are the best weather conditions for paragliding? Do you need a lot of wind?
As mentioned above, the glider takes off in a similar way a plane does, but in our case the engine is our legs. You can take off without wind, but to do so we have to reach the minimum flight speed of around 20 km/h.

We may have wind but in a direction that is not the appropiate, ie wind that’s coming from one side or the tail. In these cases this wind can hinder us or even stop us from taking off. In any case, it will be the instructor or pilot the one to decide whether or not takeoff is possible. The ideal is to have facing wind during takeoff, the more intense, the less we will have to run. But considering the glider is a slow aircraft, this wind strength has a limit, which is the rate at which a paraglide can run, and this is approx. 30 km/h; ideally a facing wind of around 15 km/h.

In tandem flights the pilot is responsible for the safety and the only one to decide whether the wind direction and speed are appropriate for takeoff and landing for the flight.

In our courses through theoretical classes students are taught to identify the optimal conditions to fly.
2What if the wind changes while we're flying?
The wind changes all the time and it is normal when it happens. Once in the flight this affects us in various ways, such as: the speed at which we move away from the ground, drifts in the direction of flight and turbulences. Also the air not only moves horizontally, but it also moves vertically, enabling us to take advantage of these vertical movements to stay longer in the air when they are rising or to gain altitude if they have enough intensity. There are cases in which these changes happen rapidly and could seriously compromise flight safety, such as storms. Fortunately these situations are predictable and the flight can be canceled to avoid them.