Editing Paragliding (section)

==History==
In 1966, Canadian [[Domina Jalbert]] was granted a patent for a ''multi-cell wing type aerial device—''"a wing having a flexible canopy constituting an upper skin and with a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs forming in effect a wing corresponding to an airplane wing airfoil{{nbsp}}... More particularly the invention contemplates the provision of a wing of rectangular or other shape having a canopy or top skin and a lower spaced apart bottom skin", a governable gliding [[parachute]] with multi-cells and controls for glide.<ref>{{cite patent |country=US|number=3285546A|title=Multi-cell wing type aerial device|fdate=1964-10-01|gdate=1966-11-15|pridate=1964-10-01|inventor=Domina C. Jalbert|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US3285546A}}</ref>

[[File:MG - Pico da Ibituruna - Governador Valadares.jpg|thumb|left|Governador Valadares, Brazil is known internationally for the [[World Paragliding Championships]] that has been held at [[Ibituruna]] Peak (1,123{{spaces}}m; {{cvt|1123|m|disp=out}})]]

In 1954, Walter Neumark predicted (in an article in ''Flight'' magazine) a time when a glider pilot would be "able to launch himself by running over the edge of a cliff or down a slope ... whether on a rock-climbing holiday in Skye or skiing in the Alps."<ref>Walter Neumark, "The Future of Soaring", ''Flight'' magazine, 14 May 1954</ref>

In 1961, the French engineer Pierre Lemongine produced improved parachute designs that led to the Para-Commander (PC). The Para-Commander had cutouts at the rear and sides that enabled it to be towed into the air and steered, leading to [[parasailing]]/parascending.

[[Domina Jalbert]] invented the [[parafoil]], which had sectioned cells in an [[Airfoil|aerofoil]] shape, an open leading edge, a closed trailing edge, and was inflated by passage through the air{{px2}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}}the {{em|ram-air}} design. He filed US Patent 3131894 on January 10, 1963.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.circlinghawk.com/history.html |title=History of Paragliding |publisher=Circlinghawk.com |access-date=2010-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090913071154/http://www.circlinghawk.com/history.html |archive-date=2009-09-13 |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

[[File:PARAGLIDING2019.jpg|thumb|right|Paragliding with instructor at approximately 3,000{{spaces}}m ({{cvt|3000|m|disp=out}}) over [[Lake Sils]], [[St. Moritz|St.{{spaces}}Moritz]] (2018)]]

About that time, David Barish was developing the sail wing (single-surface wing) for recovery of [[NASA]] space capsules—"slope soaring was a way of testing out{{nbsp}}... the Sail Wing."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ushpa.org/page/david-barish-the-probable-inventor-of-the-paraglider.aspx |title=Pilot Profile: David Barish, the Probable Inventor of the Paraglider |publisher=Ushpa.aero |access-date=2019-10-14}}</ref>  After tests on [[Hunter Mountain (New York)|Hunter Mountain]], [[New York (state)|New York]], in September 1965, he went on to promote slope soaring as a summer activity for [[ski resorts]].<ref>Note: apparently without great success</ref><ref name="flyaboveall.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.flyaboveall.com/articles/davidbarish.htm |title=David Barish, The Forgotten Father of Paragliding |publisher=Flyaboveall.com |access-date=2010-05-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029042939/http://www.flyaboveall.com/articles/davidbarish.htm |archive-date=2010-10-29 }}</ref>

Author Walter Neumark wrote ''Operating Procedures for Ascending Parachutes'', and in 1973 he and a group of enthusiasts with a passion for tow-launching PCs and ram-air parachutes broke away from the [[British Parachute Association]] to form the British Association of Parascending Clubs (which later became the [[British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association]]). In 1997, Neumark was awarded the Gold Medal of the [[Royal Aero Club]] of the UK. Authors Patrick Gilligan (Canada) and Bertrand Dubuis (Switzerland) wrote the first flight manual, ''The Paragliding Manual'' in 1985, coining the word ''paragliding''.

These developments were combined in June 1978 by three friends, Jean-Claude Bétemps, André Bohn and Gérard Bosson, from Mieussy, [[Haute-Savoie]], France. After inspiration from an article on slope soaring in the ''Parachute Manual'' magazine by parachutist and publisher Dan Poynter,<ref name="flyaboveall.com"/> they calculated that on a suitable slope, a "square" ram-air parachute could be inflated by running down the slope; Bétemps launched from Pointe du Pertuiset, Mieussy, and flew 100 m. Bohn followed him and glided down to the football pitch in the valley 1000 metres below.<ref>[http://homepages.nwc.fr/bedouet/jean_claude_betemps.htm Jean-Claude Bétemps: "J'ai inventé le parapente"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080219072506/http://homepages.nwc.fr/bedouet/jean_claude_betemps.htm |date=2008-02-19 }}</ref> Parapente ({{Lang|fr|pente}} being French for 'slope') was born.

[[File:Paraglider Golden Gardens 07.jpg|thumb|left|Land-based practice: Kiting]]

From the 1980s, equipment has continued to improve, and the number of paragliding pilots and established sites has continued to increase. The first (unofficial) Paragliding World Championship was held in Verbier, Switzerland, in 1987,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ccsa.admin.ch/cgi-bin/hi-res/hi-res.cgi?image=VSBCVS_B3451.jpg&return_url=http%3a%2f%2fopac.admin.ch%3a80%2fcgi-bin%2fgw%2fchameleon%3fskin%3daffiches%26lng%3dfr-ch%26inst%3dconsortium%26host%3dbiblio.admin.ch%252b3603%252bDEFAULT%26patronhost%3dbiblio.admin.ch%25203603%2520DEFAULT%26searchid%3d1%26sourcescreen%3dINITREQ%26pos%3d1%26itempos%3d1%26rootsearch%3dSCAN%26function%3dINITREQ%26search%3dAUTHID%26authid%3d84285%26authidu%3d4 |title=Catalogue collectif suisse des affiches |language=fr |access-date=2013-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120004149/http://ccsa.admin.ch/cgi-bin/hi-res/hi-res.cgi?image=VSBCVS_B3451.jpg&return_url=http%3a%2f%2fopac.admin.ch%3a80%2fcgi-bin%2fgw%2fchameleon%3fskin%3daffiches%26lng%3dfr-ch%26inst%3dconsortium%26host%3dbiblio.admin.ch%252b3603%252bDEFAULT%26patronhost%3dbiblio.admin.ch%25203603%2520DEFAULT%26searchid%3d1%26sourcescreen%3dINITREQ%26pos%3d1%26itempos%3d1%26rootsearch%3dSCAN%26function%3dINITREQ%26search%3dAUTHID%26authid%3d84285%26authidu%3d4 |archive-date=2016-11-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> though the first officially sanctioned [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale|FAI]] [[World Paragliding Championships|World Paragliding Championship]] was held in Kössen, Austria, in 1989.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fai.org/events/events-calendar-and-results?id=34877&amp;EventCalendarId=91 |title=1st FAI world Paragliding Championship |publisher=FAI}}</ref>

Europe has seen the greatest growth in paragliding, with France alone registering in 2011 over 25,000 active pilots.<ref name="2011 FFVL Member Accident Report">{{cite web|title=2011 FFVL Member Accident Report|url=http://federation.ffvl.fr/sites/ffvl.fr/files/accidentologie%20parapente%202011.pdf|publisher=French Federation of Free Flight (FFVL)|access-date=18 January 2012|language=fr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319210634/http://federation.ffvl.fr/sites/ffvl.fr/files/accidentologie%20parapente%202011.pdf|archive-date=19 March 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Starting in 2022, feasibility studies of paragliding from above 8000{{spaces}}meters have been in progress in the [[Everest]] region of [[Nepal]]{{px2}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}} this would effectively be paragliding from the highest starting altitude on the planet.