For some, Paragliders are dream machines

Pilots strap on harnesses and ride the wind

Albuquerque, N.M. -- It's the kind of personal flying machine the Wright brothers might have dreamed about.

"My first thought was 'Put a motor on your back? What a risk!' " said Michelle Daniele, soaring above the New Mexico desert near Albuquerque in her paraglider.

Light enough to strap on your back, small enough to stow in your closet, portable enough to haul in your car.

They are powered paragliders: small "microlight" aircraft that are essentially strap-on harnesses with rear mounted motorized propellers for takeoff and forward motion, and large, colorful parachutes - also called paraglider wings or canopies - for riding the wind, maneuvering the craft and floating the pilots and their rigs back down
to Mother Earth.

They look like there're out of a James Bond movie, and for some they are the stuff of
dreams. Flying dreams.

This month, about 70 powered Paragliders, piloted by fliers from around the world - including Frenchman Francois Largarde, who has been featured in National Geographic - are putting on a series of demonstrations at the 1999 Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

The pilots will perform low-level "fly-bys" and aerial slalom maneuvers.

"The Europeans--especially the French - brought it into existence 20 years ago. But in the last two years Americans have been adding a lot of new technology," said Jerry
Daniele, 52, a Paraglider who co-owns Paramotor Southwest-American Flyer and
teaches power paragliding in Albuquerque.

The average power Paraglider weighs between 55 to 65 pounds. They cost from
$2,600 to $8000, and basic flight training, which runs from three to five days, costs about $750.00

Power Paraglider frames are usually made of aluminum, and the harnesses are cushioned
with nylon padding. Optional equipment can include an electric starter, altimeter, tachometer and vario -- a combination altimeter, speedometer and barometer.

Barometric pressure is of particular importance to power paragliders because
subtle meteorological changes can add risk to a flight.

Canopies are about 2 1/2 times larger in surface area than regular parachutes
- about 30 to 40 feet long and 8 to 12 feet wide - and are equipped with toggles - left and right "brakes" used for steering and landing.

A powered paraglider circles balloons near Albuquerque. Abour 70 fliers were scheduled to put on paragliding demonstrations at the 1999 Kodak Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Pulling both toggles simultaneously converts the canopy into a giant airplane flap, capable of bringing the microlight to a virtual halt moments before touchdown. Mr. Daniele was drawn to the sport after first seeing a power paraglider three years ago.

"My first flight was like a dream," he said. Describing a recent twilight flight over Acoma, an Indian pueblo and archaeological site west of Albuquerque, it's clear that he is hooked. "I let go of both brakes and just let the thing cruise to where I was gliding," Mr. Daniele said. "I could see the sites, the impressions of the ruins. It was surrealistic."

Mr. Daniele's wife, Michelle, 41, a former flight attendant, said she was initially hesitant to take to the air in a micro light. "My first thought was 'Put a motor on your back? What a risk!' " she said. "But after a
couple of years I decided I'd better learn all about it just to make sure he'd be all right.

These days Michelle trains prospective pilots and flies a modified version of a power paraglider called a "trike" -- a rig that resembles a flying go-cart, in which the flier makes a three-wheeled rolling takeoff and landing instead of a running start and feet-first touchdown.

Mr. Lagarde started power paragliding in 1988. He flies a machine that weighs about 65 pounds and is small enough to transport around the world as standard airplane luggage.

Over the past 10 years, he has flown over Cameroon, Niger, Tunisia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico and the United States. "It's an amazing vision for any spectator to (see) such a strange flying human." Mr.Largarde said in an interview from Paris. "And in every country everybody
smiles and applauds!" He and his associates usually fly close to the ground at air speeds averaging 20 to 25 mph. "Our ground speed is like jogging in the air," he said.

Karl Boris Mayforth, 49, an Albuquerque-based power Paraglider and certified hang-gliding instructor, has been flying "foot launched aircraft" - hang gliders and non-motorized Paragliders - for 30 years. Like so many high-adventure enthusiasts, Mr. Mayforth was drawn to flying at an early age. "As a kid, I always dreamed about flying," he said. "I used to jump off barn roofs holding onto a bedsheet." But these days, Mr. Mayforth isn't quite the daredevil he once was.

If time and conditions aren't near optimum - low humidity, calm winds - he's less likely to take to the air," And if storm conditions appear to be even a remote threat, he's likely to radio up to pilots and advise them to land. When it comes to risks, he abides by one important axiom: "It's much better to be down here wishing you were up there, than up there wishing you were down here," he said.