Welcome to Heaven

    • Switzerland is a paraglider’s paradise. The sport is has over 14.000 active pilots, and is seen as a respectable sport, practiced by skilled enthusiasts who care for the landowners and the environment. To use the mountain creed, we take only photographs, and leave only footprints. To fly in Switzerland you will need to have a valid licence and insurance, or be under instruction by a Swiss school.

      The swiss paragliding association, SHV-FVSL, and local clubs have established nearly 700 official starting places. Most are served by mountain cable or rail ways, and several have a frequency that can allow you to fit in 5 or 6 flights in a day.

      Landing places are even more abundant, and provided that pilots take care of the grass and respect property, farmers are very tolerant of ‘plan B’ landings. Xc-flights are made all the more enjoyable with the certainty of a timely return home using Switzerland’s extensive public transport network that extends even to the most remote locations.

      Switzerland is a small country, and has many competing demands on its airspace. The Swiss Federal Authority has taken a very pragmatic view, freeing up airspace to gliders during times of military inactivity, and extending the freedoms we enjoy during the ‘gliding season’. In practice this means that if the conditions allow, we can traverse the length and breadth of the country while remaining well with in VFR restrictions.

      The national weather service, MeteoSwiss, provides specialised weather models which are specifically tailored to the needs of pilots, with a section dedicated to glider pilots. This subscription service provides detailed wind predictions which take into account the local topography, and have been shown to be remarkably accurate.