tuttie wrote:

I used to teach paragliding and have some not-so-positive opinions on
the subject...
....
If you fly in laminar air--say at the beach--where there is no thermal

On hot summer days, the sky above the Swiss Alps is literally filled
with paragliders. Summer days over mountains... not exactly what you
would call a no-thermal situation. Despite, there are very few
accidents, in fact, there are even years without any accident at all.
Modern equipment is very safe, if it is well maintained. Paragliding is
very safe, if done carefully.

Stefan