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Cook Islands And New Zealand
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POINTS OF INTEREST:
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G Force Paragliding
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Photo #1 of 1 . Swipe for more photos.
About Paragliding
1970's, it all started with parachute pilots playing around thinking of new ways to get airborne without the expense of having to take a plane up. One story is told with a pilot landing in a paddock in the French Alps, the paddock was full of bulls, he decided to keep running towards the cliffs and his parachute inflated as he came to the edge, he flew away from them. Back in the parachute factory they started making adjustment's to the materials and shape that made them glide and perform better which in turn made it easier to fly from the hills.
1986, the first paraglider's started to fly around Queenstown, this was the first place in New Zealand that the sport came to. Shortly after the Queenstown Paragliding Club was started and flying sites were established. With the Skyline cable car above town the sport quickly took of with 'keen locals' wanting to get in the air with very little expense and with lots of freedom!
1989, the sport was taking off in Europe. The paragliding manufacture's had been making significant progress in the design and safety of the gliders. Several companies started making equipment and pilots started pushing the boundaries with distance flights and acrobatics. Then paragliding pilots became professional and that gave the sport high exposure and media coverage.
1990, the manufacture's designed a paraglider that could take two people, mainly with the purpose of teaching. An experienced pilot could take a person who had not flown before and show them different technique's and control's of the paraglider's in a safe environment. On that note many of the Queenstown pilots just grabbed the gliders from friends and went up and flew down with very basic instructions all by themselves!
On one particular day we were up flying and a tourist approached one of the lads who had a Tandem Paraglider and asked to fly down, he did not want to learn he just wanted a 'thrill' and the tourist paid! That night the phones were ringing hot with us ordering the equipment required to operate Tandem Paragliding and that's how it all started.
2009, testimony to the G Force company we have four directors that are still involved and fly passionately who have over eighty years combined paragliding experience!
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Video #1 of 2
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G Force Paragliding Video
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Overview
Take an exhilarating Tandem Paragliding flight from the top of the Skyline Gondola. An adrenalised flying trip or a relaxed sightseeing tour - its your choice.
Queenstown's G Force Paragliding are the only company permitted to fly from the Skyline Gondola over spectacular Queenstown and stunning Lake Wakatipu. We are one of the largest and most established tandem operators in the world, and the longest standing in Queenstown, Est. 1991.
NZ G Force is Tandem Paragliding at its best!
Want something a little more extreme? Try a Heli tandem – a scenic helicopter trip from the Skyline up to Bowen Peak 6000ft high, then an exhilarating paraglide flight down over magnificent views of the entire Wakatipu basin and beyond.
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