Paragliding in Lanzarote
Paragliding in Lanzarote….Gentle winds over volcanic pastures – Lanzarote is a paraglider’s paradise!
For more than three decades, British and foreign pilots have flocked to Lanzarote, often in January and February, when winter bites hard back home in the U.K. The steady and reliable winds which blow over Lanzarote, coupled with warm winter sunshine has, over the years, made Lanzarote a “must go and fly this winter” destination for European paraglider and hang glider pilots alike.
Twenty years or so ago, it was really difficult to get a hang glider onto a plane. Even the stripped down versions were twelve foot long and weighed in at 35 kilos .With the massive improvements on the aerodynamic properties of paraglider design, it is now possible to travel with your wing in a sack which is no larger than a normal rucksack.
Due to the improved transportability of handgliders and paragliders, the pilots of Europe now arrive on Lanzarote in great numbers every winter, for this is Europe’s number one winter flying destination.
Famara is one of the best places for Paragliding in Lanzarote. The Famara ridge run gives experts and novices alike, a star spangled, dazzling days flying, with a massive out and return distance being available. The wind however, must be blowing from the north-west to fly Famara..
Whilst Famara may be considered to be the best flying site on Lanzarote, others such as, El Cuchillo, Soo, Mala, Orzola, Quemada, Fernes and Asomada are also incredible sites, where it has to be said, knock spots off all but the very best of the British sites.
British paraglider pilots, Jim Green and Paul Thorpe of the Peak club, regularly visited Lanzarote in the nineties.
“It was beautiful and warm, but we had a bit of bad luck with the wind direction,” said Jim Green. “We both wanted to fly Famara but the wind was not blowing from the north-west. All the same, we had a great holiday and some fantastic flying with the Europeans, particularly the German pilots who were there in numbers,” continued the hang gliding pilot.
Like anywhere else on Earth, you can’t always have the weather exactly to your liking, but if you are determined to fly a paraglider or hang glider in winter, then paragliding in Lanzarote has to be right up at the top of your destination choice list.
The final word must come from Mike Orr, chief flying instructor at the Peak School of Hang Gliding, who said of Lanzarote:
“An absolutely brilliant place. I went flying there year after year in the eighties. It was a hassle getting the old hang glider on and off the plane but it was worth it when I arrived. I was the only member of the peak club who had a sun tan in February!”