Flying in Goa, India

25/04/2008 by Dunc1261.

Over the Easter Holidays in March this year I flew out to Mumbai and on to Goa for a Paragliding/Site seeing break. I’ve been to India before. A country diverse and full of culture and you are never lonely with 1 Billion people around!

Goa lies to the south of Mumbai on the Arabian Sea. There are plenty of beaches on North and South Goa with a number of take off points above the cliffs. The location I was flying was above Arjuna Beach in North Goa. There are many hazards to consider in the form of coconut trees and shrubs all over the area. Also tree landings are common there where the locals will endure the biting red ants to retrieve a deflated canopy. I saw one unfortunate incident where a pilot decided to go tree hugging. Careful flight planning was the order of the day where there were limited options for both top and bottom landings. There were local pilots around who advised on flying conditions and the best spots to go.

If you enjoy coastal soaring then Goa is a great location for a flying trip. I did not get a chance to go XC but going over the back was a real risk because of the density of the trees and consideration for the retrieve.

But getting good height on some of the days provided worthwhile with splendid views of the area.

Food drink and accommodation are relatively cheap with Beer around 70p a bottle, a two course meal for £3, and a room with A/C for £13 a night so for the Tight Fisted Scotsman it is Heaven.

Mumbai is around a 9 hour flight from London Heathrow. BA, Virgin, Air India, Sri Lankan Airlines all operate regular flights there.

My next trip away is to Chamonix in France in May with Ian Archer to fly from the steep slopes and hopefully avoid the strong valley winds in the afternoons.

Hope to see you on the hill soon.

Fly Safe!

Duncan

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