Flying Like an Eagle

It’s not controversial to say that Santa Barbara has one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, and a view of it from almost any vantage point is breathtaking. However, I will contend that there is one way to see the city that rises above all the others: floating high above it among the clouds and birds beneath a paraglide.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend with Eagle Paragliding, a local company owned by Rob Sporrer, and I have rarely had time better spent.

Saturday was for tandem. I met my pilot, Julian Carreño — a three-time paragliding champion; I have never felt safer — at a park and hopped into Eagle’s van for a quick drive up the mountains. I was the only one there for a tandem flight, alongside three others hoping to take their very first solo mountain flights. We hiked to the top of a peak that was the first designated launch site, checked and prepped the gear, and then waited.

As with all extreme sports, patience is just as important a skill as the others. Mother Nature is the queen of everything up in the sky, and if the winds and weather do not work with you, there’s nothing you can do. Whatever nerves I held onto right up to the moment were settled when Carreño refused to do anything remotely risky. Paragliding was for fun, he insisted, and it wouldn’t be very fun to get hurt. Thankfully, after about three hours of waiting for perfect conditions, we decided to check a secondary launch point.

Within five minutes of reaching the peak, I was strapped to Carreño, sprinting for my life, and then soaring like I had never before.

Sunday’s adventure took place at Elings Park, where Eagle Paragliding takes advantage of the park’s perfect hill placement to teach newcomers how to fly solo. After a quick but comprehensive walkthrough of the gear, the instructors ran each of us through our paces before deeming us ready for takeoff. 

I spent the perfect Sunday flying four or five times, and that was before lunch!

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Eagle Paragliding offers a range of experiences from tandem flights (starting at $125) to solo lessons as well as certification training. Visit paragliding.com for more information.