Rio Hang Gliding

Hang gliding was always on my bucket list and in rio what more can I ask for ! I wasn’t nervous at first but just before the run down the roof I felt my stomach churn. I just wanted to run damn hard even in the air .that was all that was instructed. Few considerations to note — my helmet wasnt buckled tight enough so it kept moving over my face restricting my view. Honestly you are just floating around without anything to hold while the instructor is trying to direct the glider. I would recommend to wear full tights or something that covers the legs or hands. The equipment is obviously sticky and heavy and I had some blue black spots on my arms and legs with the tug and pull of the equipment — nothing major. Also I want told to cross my feet once in the air. The video shows me dangling all the way almost and I felt uncomfortable and not balanced ! The views were majestic and definitely worth it all :) love love love

The flight itself was great, I felt safe and it was really a great experience! That being said, We were told it would take about an hour once we arrived. We arrived at 11:00 (our scheduled time) and we didn’t get out of there til 3:00. We just sat around waiting for our guide to go down the mountain and back up. Expected him to have enough trainers so that all 3 of us could go close together rather than waiting for the 2 of them to go up again.
Also, the CD of the front go-​pro comes with the package, but the side is extra. We purchased the extra and waited around 30 minutes for computer problems and a CD to burn. Got home to the states the next day, and one of our CDs (the one that comes with the package) is corrupted. We’ve tried everything… but sadly no video of the front angle.

I made the mistake of reading the following snippet from a life insurance company website before hang gliding:
1. Hang Gliding
Deaths: 7 (2011)
Causes of Deaths: Pilot error, equipment malfunction
Hang gliding is actually one of the most dangerous in-​air sports possible. According to HSE, a U.K.-based watchdog group, the risk of death in a hang-​gliding accident is 1 out of every 116,000 flights. In 2010, according to the National Transportation Safety Bureau, there were 32 accidents, resulting in seven fatalities. There have already been seven deaths this year, with another three months to go. Regular hang gliders seeking life insurance can see their premiums rise substantially, or be declined for coverage altogether.
But out of all the stupid insane stuff I do on a regular basis, this was the safest things I have actually done. Most of it was due to the fact that Rio Hang Gliding runs a efficient, safe program with excellent pilots. Let me explain how the process works:
1-​Sign up on line for your party in advance for a lesson, and include people’s height and weight. If you sign up on line ahead of time, you can pay by credit card. If you make last minute arrangements (within 48 hours) please be aware you have to book by phone and pay in cash. Also be aware prices are increased during Carnival, World Cup and New Years, and all operators do this so it’s hard to shop around for a bargain.
2-​I am not gonna start a controversy by posting the weight limit, but be aware there is one, and this is not the time to lie about your weight. Paragliding is open to those who are over the weight limit.
3-​After you book your appointment, you can either have a driver pick you up or meet the owner, Konrad Heilmann (a great guy) at a location by the beach in Sao Conrado.
4-​You will be directed to sign up for insurance at this small building on the beach. You pay 30 R$ and get this awesome hang gliding license. This is a separate charge from the fee you pay for the lesson, so have cash on you.
5-​You drive up with your pilot to the Pedra Bonita launch. This is actually the scariest part of the day. Basically in Brasil drivers go at two speeds: traffic slow crawl and warp speed. Warp speed up a one lane road mountain road with no seatbelt is kinda terrifying.
6-​You get harnessed up and you practice running about 8 or 10 steps with your left hand on their shoulders and your right hand at their waist. They keep emphasizing not to stop running, I don’t know who would actually stop running, and I would run as far as you tell me to if my life depends on it.
7-​In all actuality you run about three easy steps, and then you’re just floating.
8-​Enjoy the ride for about 15 minutes with a great view. The landing is a breeze too.
Being in the safe hands of Rio Hang Gliding, I feel like the only dangers now are:
1) Sunburn
2) Potentially Empty Wallet

I told myself that if I didn’t get dead, I would be giving this business an awesome review.
I had a little trouble registering, but only because the site does not say that flights around Carnival cost more. Not a lot more, just a little… and they come with a t-​shirt and video (with photos).
The day of, a driver picks you up. He takes you to a national forest, where Konrad or one of his other 2 pilots are waiting for you. He then gets you geared up and gives you a quick lesson, being; he has you run while connected to him for about 20 paces, twice, so you know what to do when it is your turn to jump with him. What he tells you is «If you don’t run fast, we drop on the landing 20 feet below. We don’t die, but it hurts». That was good enough for me! I was going to run my hiney off!
Side note: the landing below that he refers to is where the para-​sailers take off from (but that hang-​gliders fly over).
You then wait for the wind to be right for the hang-​gliders in line before you to take flight.
When it is your turn, it is as simple as «One, Two, Three!» and then you walk 2 steps and then run — FAST! — until your feet are dangling in the air.
The difference between sky-​diving and hang-​gliding is that sky-​diving makes you feel like you are falling. Hang-​gliding makes you feel like you are floating. It’s very different and very surreal. I am a huge chicken, but discovered that I could even look straight down (hundreds if not a thousand feet down) and not be afraid. It’s like large, warm gusts of wind are suspending you in the air — and that is a very safe feeling.
Konrad, the owner, is incredibly pleasant, charming and reassuring. So much so that my friend who came with me, solely to take photos and who swore she would «Never» jump, decided to do it… and had a blast! Like me, Konrad made her feel safe and excited to «fly».
What also made me feel safe was when I asked Konrad if he’d ever base-​jumped. His reply was «Are you crazy? That’s dangerous!». Well, okay then. Hang –gliding must not be dangerous. At least not when the pilots have a tourist attached to them. I think when a customer is involved, they take every precaution and don’t do anything fancy (in Oregon, the sky divers that get hurt are the ones that are competing and doing tricks).
When it is time to land, you make a very slow decent over the beach. Your pilot will then make a quick little dive towards the sand, but it isn’t scary and your stomach doesn’t hit your throat. Instead, you just have a «bummer» feeling that the flight is over. He puts his feet down first, so you really don’t have to do much until you are stopped. You then walk with him up to the snack shack so he can download your photos and video (from the Gopro camera) and you can buy a celebratory drink.
My friend had ridden down the mountain with Konrad’s assistant, and upon seeing I was unscathed and beaming from excitement, decided to go. That and she knew she would always regret not doing it. «When in Rome!» I told her.
I would recommend hang-​gliding to anyone. I am afraid of heights but am slowly getting over that fear by forcing myself to do things like this. Not anything dangerous, just activities that are safety monitored. Like Konrad’s website states «The numbers speak for themselves. There are about 10,000 tandem flights done in Rio every year with no accidents».