Ghana holds 11th successful paragliding festival
Ghana held its 11th successful paragliding festival, a flagship event of the Kwahu Easter festivities at Atibie-Kwahu, over the weekend.
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The three-day event, which involved 11 foreign pilots from the USA, Belgium, Japan, Romania and Germany as well as one local pilot, with Mr Ed Stein of the USA as the head pilot, saw a total of 122 flights.
On Good Friday there were a total of 42 flights, including two solo flights, while Saturday saw 46 and Sunday, 34 , comprising 30 flights with passengers and four solo flights.
Briefing the Daily Graphic on the paragliding event last Sunday, the Nkawkaw Police Divisional Commander, Mr Sarfo Peprah, said there were no incidents or injuries, except for a landing on the stadium wall, adding that the event had to end at 3 p.m. instead of the advertised 6p.m. in view of a football match at the stadium, which was the designated landing area.
Paragliding
Paragliding is an aviation sport that is enjoyed by hundreds of people around the world and it is most popular in Europe, where there are an estimated 400,000 pilots.
While in flight, the pilot remains in a sitting position inside a harness hanging below the canopy. Most modern harnesses include a reserve parachute, which may be deployed in case of emergency.
The paraglider is launched from a hillside or towed by a winch and is kept aloft by a ram-air aerofoil canopy and steered by using vertical riser lines attached to the chute.
Opening
The 11th Kwahu paragliding festival was opened by the Eastern Regional Minister, Ms Mavis Ama Frimpong, at an event spiced with music and dance by the Ghana Dance Ensemble and brass band music by a local group.
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Welcoming guests on behalf of the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Ms Frimpong said the paragliding sport had given Kwahu high prominence in Ghana’s tourism market, and added that the socio-economic benefits of the sport could not be underestimated.
“Kwahu is experiencing a gradual but steady economic growth. Hotels, restaurants, entertainment, drinking and amusement spots and other social amenities are springing up to cater for the needs of the teeming tourists that visit Kwahu during the festival time,” Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said.
She, therefore, called for investor participation in the construction of hotels, restaurants and other amusement spots, to enhance the development of paragliding.
Passenger’s paragliding experience
Ms Naa Mateki Tawiah, 27, an employee at the technical department of Accra Brewery Limited (ABL) was ecstatic after her first paragliding experience last Sunday.
She told the Daily Graphic after 20 minutes in the air, “It has been my dream for five years to paraglide, bungee jump, sky-dive, so this is the first one.”
Describing her paragliding experience, Ms Tawiah said: “Ecstatic is the word. I think heaven would be something like that.” Full of praise for her pilot for an exhilarating experience, she indicated her willingness to become a pilot herself if the opportunity presented itself.
Sharing his experience with the Daily Graphic, a paraglider pilot, Mr Dale Covington, USA, said he had been a paragliding instructor for 26 years. He praised his passenger, a tourist, for a good take-off and landing.
Writers’ emails: george.folley@graphic.com.gh / edmund.asante@graphic.com.gh