A brief history of paragliding

A brief history of

paragliding

Chloé Capoulade - English for MEEF2 - Université pau pays de l'adour -2020/21

Index

what is it

the beginnings & the early contibutors

CRAZY times in mieussy

developement & popularization

What it looks like today

bibliography

What is it ?

SPort

Competitive and recreational

Pilot flying a paraglider

Free-flight glider

No engine

Foot launched

What is it ?

PARAgliding 101

Wing divided into cellsUpper and lower surfaces

Suspension lines & brakes

Harness (or cocoon)

The beginnings

military resarch : how to steer a parachute ?

Rogallo's Parawing (1948)

Parafoil (1966)

Para-Commander (1961)

Sailwing (1964)

Mieussy, center of the universe

three broke parachutists and a sunday afternoon

June 27, 1978 : First flights from Pertuiset

Jean-Claude Betemps

André Bohn

Gérard Bosson

Mieussy, center of the universe

A busy summer

Bosson keeps on flying and starts training his friends from Annemasse parachute club.

In June 1979, he creates the club "Les choucas". At the end of the summer it has over 50 members.

Developement

A new sport is born

1980 : Creation of other clubs, including the first in the Pyrénées in Aucun and Accous

1981 : 100 pilots

1982 : over 500 from all over the world

Developement

The sky is the limit

1982: Roger Fillon : l'Aiguille Verte, l'Aiguille du Midi and Mont Blanc

1985 : Alain Estève : the Aconcagua Pierre Gevaux : Gasherbrum II

Developement

new goal : staying up there

"In Mieussy records are broken every other week"

In 85 : the first wing dedicated to paragliding : "La randonneuse" by Laurent de Kalbermatten

Popularisation

californians made it cool

Paragliding schools everywhere

Tourists

Extreme sports enthousiasts

Evolution of the gear

Parafoil 7 cells 3m long

Fabrics and other material

Safer, more performant, lighter

Adapted to the pilot needs

Ozone Enzo 3 101 cells 13m long

Paragliding nowadays

Acro (freestyle)

Cross country

Hike and fly

In 2018, over 21 000 in France

Estimated aroud 150 000 world wide

Bibliography

Murillo, X. (1989). La folle histoire du parapente. Glénat.

Wiesmeier, U. (1993). Wing over. Manutara.

Nos débuts en Parapente (1988/91). (2009, 8 juillet). [Vidéo]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMcUH5N3dUM

TF1. (1979). Le vol de pente [Vidéo]. Ina.fr. https://m.ina.fr/video/CAA7902072101/le-vol-de-pente-video.html

Jorand, D. & Suchet, A. (2018). Le décollage du parapente en France : développement, évolution et structuration fédérale d’une activité de vol libre (années 1980, 1990). Staps, 3(3), 47-62. https://doi.org/10.3917/sta.121.0047

Thank you for your attention !