Just like the land there numerous adventure opportunities in the air too. But, you have to be a experinced person to try on any of the adventure air activity, because usually most of the air sport come in the extreme sport arena. In India some of the major aerosports that adventure lovers would love to indulge in include – Ballooning, Para Gliding and Hang Gliding.

The amateurs can even indulge in these sports, but firstly you have to get a proper knowledge as to exactly you can take up an adventure activity in the air and enjoy it too. There are many government sports institutes and sports club in India that organize trainning course for para gliding, hangliding. Tourism organisations in various states of India also organize sports event and competitions to promote these air sports.

The major and the most important point that every adventure lover should keep in mind is leave the fear behind. If you are scared to take up the challenge, its better to leave, don't prove a point when you do not have the guts to prove it. Because like any other adventure sport risk factor, in air sports too the risk factor is your life and you certainely do not have any right to endanger others life too.

Type of Aero Sports

Ballooning
About 50,000 cubic feet of hot air fills a giant nylon balloon to which your basket is attached. Hot air ballooning is becoming a great adventure option in India. To learn to pilot a hot-air balloon you need to be at least 16 years of age and physically fit. Depending on how quickly you master it, training takes three to six months.

Para-gliding
The climatic and physiographic conditions in Himachal are ideal for paragliding. Due to the varying altitude, the low-lying valleys get intensely heated during summer; as a result, hot air begins to rise from the valley floor in vertical columns. These thermal currents are a delight to paragliding enthusiasts. Once airborne, a great deal of manoeuverability can be achieved with the paraglider. The glider can be steered by pulling suspension lines, which, cause gliding motion, thus enabling the pilot fly at any course at will.

A helmet and a reserve parachute are for the pilot's safety and a variometer to gauge the ascent or descent of the glider. For those who cannot afford the equipment cost or do not have the time to learn flying, there is an alternative. One can sit alongwith an experienced pilot in a Tandem Glider (two-seater) and while the pilot manoeuvers the glider, one can sit back and enjoy the thrill of nonpowered flying.

Paragliding locations: Billing in the Kangra valley, Lahaul, Spiti, Bijli Mahadev, Solang in the Kulu valley, Bandla ridge.

Learning the Sport
Elementary Courses are training programmes which are for about 3 days, the Intermediate Course is for 10 days, a Basic course is for 5 days and the Advance Course is for 10 days.

Hang Gliding

A hang glider is a flexible wing aircraft that is piloted by shifting one's weight. Flight is dependent on the existence of rising columns of warm air called thermals. Take off involves running off moderate slopes till the glider inflates. Tandem flights use a wing large enough to hold two people, the pilot and a passenger. Though a relatively recent entrant in adventure sports, hang gliding has really caught on with clubs coming up in cities such as Pune, Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla, Mumbai, Devlali, Bangalore and Kalaheti.

According to experts, while India has good thermal soaring effects during the summer months, and offers hill soaring almost round the year, the soaring in the winter months-although too static-is also good for hang-gliding. Like many other sports hang gliding and para-gliding are dependent on the weather so don't be too disappointed if you land up on a cloudy day and you have to return later.