RRI Live!

Listen to Radio Romania International Live

Beautiful Flights

Although it is part of the extreme sports category, there is no need for special training to fly a hang glider. You only need to be able to run a little bit upon taking off and landing.

Beautiful Flights
Beautiful Flights

, 29.03.2015, 17:31

Although it is part of the extreme sports category, there is no need for special training to fly a hang glider. You only need to be able to run a little bit upon taking off and landing. If there is no age limit to practice hang gliding, there is, however a weight limit, ranging from 40 to 100 kilograms. Stefan Adam will tell us how his passion for this sport started, which he first discovered by reading an article about it. Stefan was a student at the Faculty of Automatic Control and Computer Engineering when he first learned about hang gliding.



Stefan Adam.: ”During my last year as university student, I came across a newspaper article on hang gliding, entitled ‘Hang Gliding, an Extreme Sport’, and I found it interesting. Thinking about it, I realized that could be the way for me to fulfill my dream of flying. First I contacted several flight instructors whose names were mentioned in that article, and later I got to in touch with another flight instructor from the town of Piatra Neamt. We had a tandem flight together and some low-altitude flights (the control of the wing on the ground). And then I started training under the guidance of a student from Iasi. We exercised flights on some hills near the city, some low-altitude flights at first.”



We found out that hang gliding does not involve jumping or throwing ourselves forward. The takeoff from a grass-covered decline only involves a few running steps and then…gliding begins. The hang gliding experience took Stefan Adam to places he had only dreamed of.



Stefan Adam: ” I’ve been to exotic places such as Nepal, India, Kenya and Brazil. In Romania, I’ve been to lots of places where hang gliding is practiced. I’ve also been to Italy, Slovenia and Austria. I tried to cover as many areas as possible, an extremely varied relief and also to practice different types of flight, in both upland and flatland environments. Nepal was very special to me: apart from the fact that it is a very interesting country, with special people, the relief enables you to take some very beautiful flights, which are relatively easy to do, as a local microclimate is created and flight conditions are about the same every day, the wind blows from the same direction, with the same velocity, with slight variations. And you can practice long distance flights. A threshold nearly everybody dreams of is the 100-km threshold, which means a four or five-hour flight. If you fly in the plain, the wind from the back might help you, since as a rule, you take off, lift yourself up at the cloud base and then keep on flying, helped by the wind from the back. “



We asked Stefan Adam how Brazil looks like, when you fly over it:”Brazil is a very beautiful country, due to its landscape and vegetation, which is a lush vegetation. I flew in Rio de Janeiro and Govarnador Valadares. Hang gliding in Rio has been spectacular, as the city itself is very interesting. It lies on the ocean shore, also stretching between the rocks, which are about 800-1,000 meters high, with tropical forest, a mix of city, forest, sea and mountain – something really special. And in Governador Valadares there is a hilly area, with hills 200-300 meters high one next to the other which creates a spectacular landscape.”



Wherever you may go and fly, it is the sheer pleasure of the flight that matters most, and the joy of what you get to see from above, as the perspective changes and the landscape is not accessible to everybody.



Stefan Adam: ”Romania seen from above is very beautiful, we have lots of breathtaking areas, such as the Fagaras mountains. I flew above the entire area, from Fagaras to Brasov. I flew over the Bucegi Mountains but also over Ceahlău, Vatra Dornei and Rarău, in the Parâng Mountains, Miercurea Ciuc, and around Sfânta Ana ( Saint Ann) lake. Romania has its charm as well. You can also fly during winter, it’s just that you cannot do distance flights in our country, as temperature differences are not that big so as to build us thermals. We fly using some hot air streams which go up, and which are called thermals. And during winter you can’t feel these thermals, or they are very weak, which means that you can take off from a mountain or a hill only for low-altitude flights. For me it’s not that interesting, although the landscape is different, with everything being covered in snow, something beautiful and spectacular.”



In the near future, Stefan Adam plans to fly in the Alps, for their beautiful landscape, the high mountain tops, always covered in snow, and the deep valleys. And then he plans to go to Columbia and Australia.



Furthermore, Stefan Adam has encouraged us all to fly a hang glider, provided we are properly equipped, that is wearing mountain boots or shoes with a good grip, and long-sleeved blouses: ”What can I tell the listeners? First they should try hang gliding, they should try a tandem flight, as it is something special, they should try it at least once in a lifetime. Maybe they get a taste of flying all by themselves. “



I am not so sure if we dare to fly, but we join Stefan Adam in wishing you, just like a hang glider pilot would, ”Beautiful flights” or “Front wind!”

Anul Nou care n-a fost (sursa foto: facebookANCNF filmul)
Inside Romania Tuesday, 05 November 2024

The New Year That Wasn’t

Today we are discussing a movie. And we chose this theme, because “The New Year That Wasn’t”, the first feature film of the...

The New Year That Wasn’t
Muzeul Arhitecturii Populare de la Curtișoara / Foto: Ștefan Baciu, RRI
Inside Romania Tuesday, 15 October 2024

Traditional crafts in Gorj

In 2008, the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list was officially created, in accordance with the provisions of the “Convention...

Traditional crafts in Gorj
Bacademia
Inside Romania Tuesday, 24 September 2024

Baccademia: the baccalaureate exam for everybody

The 2024 session of the baccalaureate exam in Romania has seen the highest promotion rate in the last decade, accounting for 76.4%. Notwithstanding,...

Baccademia: the baccalaureate exam for everybody
Srouce: Facebook FRUI VITA. Credit: Gabriel Mădularu
Inside Romania Tuesday, 17 September 2024

The Doina

The Botanical Gardens in Bucharest hosted a new edition of a very special festival called Dor de doină dedicated to the doina, a type of Romanian...

The Doina
Inside Romania Tuesday, 10 September 2024

George Enescu and AI

  The George Enescu International Competition is under way in Bucharest, impressing the music lovers night after night with outstanding artistic...

George Enescu and AI
Inside Romania Tuesday, 06 August 2024

The Romanian Designer Floor

Alina Gavrilă started making clothes when she was just a teenager. The passion developed over time, and today the fashion designer aims to support...

The Romanian Designer Floor
Inside Romania Tuesday, 30 July 2024

Stories from 1974

Every moment in life brings with it something new. Sometimes, the everyday rush makes us move away from who we are, preventing us from becoming...

Stories from 1974
Inside Romania Tuesday, 16 July 2024

Seeds with Romanian soul

In her garden in Săhăteni, in Buzău county, Rodica Meiroşu grows so many species of plants one might think she is trying to compete with the...

Seeds with Romanian soul

Partners

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român
Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS Liga Studentilor Romani din Strainatate - LSRS
Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online Modernism | The Leading Romanian Art Magazine Online
Institului European din România Institului European din România
Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti Institutul Francez din România – Bucureşti
Muzeul Național de Artă al României Muzeul Național de Artă al României
Le petit Journal Le petit Journal
Radio Prague International Radio Prague International
Muzeul Național de Istorie a României Muzeul Național de Istorie a României
ARCUB ARCUB
Radio Canada International Radio Canada International
Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti” Muzeul Național al Satului „Dimitrie Gusti”
SWI swissinfo.ch SWI swissinfo.ch
UBB Radio ONLINE UBB Radio ONLINE
Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl Strona główna - English Section - polskieradio.pl
creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti creart - Centrul de Creație Artă și Tradiție al Municipiului Bucuresti
italradio italradio
Institutul Confucius Institutul Confucius
BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți BUCPRESS - știri din Cernăuți

Affiliates

Euranet Plus Euranet Plus
AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters AIB | the trade association for international broadcasters
Digital Radio Mondiale Digital Radio Mondiale
News and current affairs from Germany and around the world News and current affairs from Germany and around the world
Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona Comunità radiotelevisiva italofona

Providers

RADIOCOM RADIOCOM
Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company Zeno Media - The Everything Audio Company