What is paragliding?
The sky isn’t
out of reach.
It is a way to leave the ground on your own feet, find lift in the moving air and see the world from a place few people ever reach.
01 — 05
Foot-launched
No motor. No aircraft door.
Nature-powered
Lift from wind and warm air.
Packable
Your aircraft fits in a backpack.
Learnable
Skill grows through good instruction.
01
Not falling. Flying.
More aircraft
than parachute.
A paraglider is a lightweight, foot-launched aircraft. The wing inflates above you, your harness becomes the cockpit, and your hands control your direction and speed.
There is no engine. You launch from a slope, glide through the air and use rising currents—thermals and ridge lift—to stay up, climb and travel. When the day is done, it all packs into a bag you can carry home.
One wing. Many kinds of freedom.
What could your
flying become?
Some pilots want quiet evening laps with friends. Others want mountain journeys, precise skill or the challenge of advanced manoeuvres. The same simple aircraft opens every door.
01
Soar
Use smooth wind rising over a hill to stay aloft, explore the ridge and return to land beside your friends.
Presence
02
Explore
Circle in warm rising air, climb above the peaks and link thermals to travel across the landscape.
Possibility
03
Master
Deepen the relationship between pilot and wing through precision, energy management and advanced skills.
Progression
02
From backpack to aircraft
How a flight
actually happens.
01
Build the wing
You lay the canopy out, check the lines and use the airflow to bring the wing cleanly above you.
02
Launch on foot
A committed run down a suitable slope creates the airflow the wing needs. Your steps become a glide.
03
Work with the air
You steer, feel what the wing is telling you and use rising air to climb, soar or travel.
04
Choose the landing
You plan the approach, manage your height and return to the ground on your feet, ready to pack and go again.
The invisible engine
The air is moving,
even when you cannot see it.
01
Thermals
Sun-warmed ground heats pockets of air. As that air rises, pilots circle inside it to climb—much like a bird of prey.
02
Ridge lift
Wind meeting a hill is deflected upward. A pilot can fly in that smooth band of rising air and soar along the terrain.
“ The first flight changes the question from
‘Can people really do this?’ to ‘How do I learn to do this well?’
See what words cannot explain
Four windows
into flight.
Paragliding can be a first training-hill launch, an afternoon shared with friends, a fast mountain line or a journey across immense terrain. Press play and see the range.
01
First Day
The beginning: when ground handling becomes your first real launch.
02
Scott & Chris
A simple New Zealand flying day shared with a friend.
03
Speed Riding 2014
Blake Round and Russ Wilson in the Remarkables and Cardrona.
04
Chasing Summits
The far edge of possibility: a paragliding adventure in Pakistan.
What learning really involves
Freedom is the result.
Judgement is the skill.
The wing is simple enough to carry. Flying it well asks more of you: patience with weather, precision on launch, awareness in the air and the discipline to make sound decisions before excitement takes over.
01
Wing control
Understand the canopy on the ground before height is added.
02
Weather
Recognise what the air is doing—and what may change next.
03
Decisions
Know when to launch, where to fly and when to land.
04
Progression
Build capability in layers rather than chasing big moments.
The questions underneath the question
What most people
really want to know.
You do not need the vocabulary yet. You just need honest answers.
Your first step
You do not need to decide
today that you will become a pilot.
Choose the first experience that answers the question you have now.
I want to feel it first
Tandem flight
Fly with an experienced pilot and experience the air without needing to learn everything at once.
I want to start learning
Intro course · PG1
Learn the wing on the ground, then begin flying it yourself under close instructor guidance.
We teach people to fly.
© 2026 Infinity Paragliding NZ Ltd · Queenstown, New Zealand.