Multi-coloured Eagles of St. Hilarion Castles
Erkan Kilim asked:
. Slope parachuting, a sport that has attracted wide interest in countries such as France, Spain, Austria, Italy and Turkey is now being practiced in North Cyprus. The launching area in the vicinity of St. Hilarion Castle is at an altitude of 750 meters. Ozgur Goka?an happily says: ‘The best flying area in this part of the world is in North Cyprus.’He further explains; ‘We launch at a height of 750 m and land at sea level. Jumps with an altitude difference of this magnitude are very rarely found!’ tandem Paragliding is the international term for slope parachuting carried out in the company pf a professional pilot. Ozgur Göka?an is an experienced pilot who has skydived more than 3600 times with his tandem paragliding he started by building model aircrafts. Soon, he discovered the thrill of paragliding. Then, he took classes at Eski?ehir-?nönü, in Turkey, where he watched hang gliding flights. As of 1994, he started to professionally tandem paraglide; first in Fethiye, Turkey amd then in Queenstown, New Zealand. His favourite location, however, is still Kyrenia. ‘Can you imagine anything more exciting for a tourist than seeing the shores of Kyrenia from the sky for two hours? ‘North Cyprus offers ideal conditions for tandem paragliding. Sadly, however, members of staff of the tourism industry and the civil aviation sector are not adequately informed on paragliding or interested in it. That is why the overall demand for tandem paragliding is not so great’. Ozgur Gokasan mentions that the hill used as the launching area near St. Hilarion Castle was found in 1989 by a fortunate coincidence ‘We were very delighted when a shepherd told us some Germans had been paragliding in this area. Turning the hill into an ideal launching area, however, was left to
us. Although it was hard at times, we succeeded!’ ‘today, there is a ‘Western Flying Area’ and a ‘Nortyhern Flying Area’. Depending on the prevailing wing direction, we take off from different launching areas’ Mr. Gökasan says and continues to explain: ‘If our co-paragliders are beginners, we start by giving them a short briefing and then we take off, if the weather conditions are suitable.’ Even complete beginners can stay airborne for about two hours, flying in the updraft, accompanied by a professional paraglider. When the wind blows up the face of the Five Finger Mountains, it lifts the parachute and therefore the pilot and the passenger of the tandem. The warm wind in the summer creates a region of rising air directly above the slope which elevates the parachute as the wind follows the contours of the slope. That is why the parachutes are easily elevated to great heights and fly like an eagle. ‘Recently, we were elevated up to 4200 feet; about 1250m. Sometimes, we fly even higher!’ Ozgur Gokasan has an information desk at Kyrenia Yacht Harbour. ‘We have to be available for tourists. The Yacht Harbour in Kyrenia seems ideal to promote our flights!’ he says. North Cyprus Holidays His most frequent guests, he says, are foreigners. He adds that most of this guests are overwhelmed by the experience, that they want to repeat the flight and they encouraged others to try it as well. Furthermore, he indicates that not only tourists come to North Cyprus to fly, but also the ‘local neighbours’ from the Greek side.‘we provide our guests with complete security, because each of our passengers is accompanied by an axperienced and certified pilot!’ he concludes.
Jackie
. Slope parachuting, a sport that has attracted wide interest in countries such as France, Spain, Austria, Italy and Turkey is now being practiced in North Cyprus. The launching area in the vicinity of St. Hilarion Castle is at an altitude of 750 meters. Ozgur Goka?an happily says: ‘The best flying area in this part of the world is in North Cyprus.’He further explains; ‘We launch at a height of 750 m and land at sea level. Jumps with an altitude difference of this magnitude are very rarely found!’ tandem Paragliding is the international term for slope parachuting carried out in the company pf a professional pilot. Ozgur Göka?an is an experienced pilot who has skydived more than 3600 times with his tandem paragliding he started by building model aircrafts. Soon, he discovered the thrill of paragliding. Then, he took classes at Eski?ehir-?nönü, in Turkey, where he watched hang gliding flights. As of 1994, he started to professionally tandem paraglide; first in Fethiye, Turkey amd then in Queenstown, New Zealand. His favourite location, however, is still Kyrenia. ‘Can you imagine anything more exciting for a tourist than seeing the shores of Kyrenia from the sky for two hours? ‘North Cyprus offers ideal conditions for tandem paragliding. Sadly, however, members of staff of the tourism industry and the civil aviation sector are not adequately informed on paragliding or interested in it. That is why the overall demand for tandem paragliding is not so great’. Ozgur Gokasan mentions that the hill used as the launching area near St. Hilarion Castle was found in 1989 by a fortunate coincidence ‘We were very delighted when a shepherd told us some Germans had been paragliding in this area. Turning the hill into an ideal launching area, however, was left to
us. Although it was hard at times, we succeeded!’ ‘today, there is a ‘Western Flying Area’ and a ‘Nortyhern Flying Area’. Depending on the prevailing wing direction, we take off from different launching areas’ Mr. Gökasan says and continues to explain: ‘If our co-paragliders are beginners, we start by giving them a short briefing and then we take off, if the weather conditions are suitable.’ Even complete beginners can stay airborne for about two hours, flying in the updraft, accompanied by a professional paraglider. When the wind blows up the face of the Five Finger Mountains, it lifts the parachute and therefore the pilot and the passenger of the tandem. The warm wind in the summer creates a region of rising air directly above the slope which elevates the parachute as the wind follows the contours of the slope. That is why the parachutes are easily elevated to great heights and fly like an eagle. ‘Recently, we were elevated up to 4200 feet; about 1250m. Sometimes, we fly even higher!’ Ozgur Gokasan has an information desk at Kyrenia Yacht Harbour. ‘We have to be available for tourists. The Yacht Harbour in Kyrenia seems ideal to promote our flights!’ he says. North Cyprus Holidays His most frequent guests, he says, are foreigners. He adds that most of this guests are overwhelmed by the experience, that they want to repeat the flight and they encouraged others to try it as well. Furthermore, he indicates that not only tourists come to North Cyprus to fly, but also the ‘local neighbours’ from the Greek side.‘we provide our guests with complete security, because each of our passengers is accompanied by an axperienced and certified pilot!’ he concludes.
Jackie
Tags: Altitude Difference, Civil Aviation Sector, Eagles, Fethiye Turkey, Flights, Fortunate Coincidence, Germans, Magnitude, North Cyprus, Queenstown New Zealand, Sea Level, Slope, St Hilarion, Tandem Paragliding, Tourism Industry