In this blog, we asked him some questions to Sagar Joshi about his paragliding journey and training with AntiGravity and he shared some of the beautiful movements of his journey with us.
At the end of this blog, he gave some tips and suggestions for the upcoming new paragliding pilot. So if you want to learn how to fly paragliders like him, then you must read this blog.
About Sagar Joshi
Sagar Joshi is a Paraglider Pilot from India. He started paragliding at the relatively young age of 39 years. He started his paragliding journey in 2022 with Antigravity paragliding school. He said paragliding gave him more confidence and reason to try new things in his life.
Quick Q&A with Sagar Joshi.
How did you get interested in becoming a paragliding pilot?
I was always interested in adventure sports, and my journey started with surfing. This has led to a paragliding expedition.
How and where did found AntiGravity Paragliding?
Got to know it through Adventure play.
Describe your ground training experience in detail.
The ground training was thoroughly covered by my trainers Vicky and Sushant. This was for them to check my technique and make me comfortable with the glider. The trainers made sure that I got very comfortable with the glider and also got my techniques right before making me glide through the air.
How was your first flying experience?
The flying experience was the best and gave me a good experience of handling the paraglider in turbulence and learning the landing approach during strong windy conditions.
This was also the first time when my take-off was aborted due to a sudden gush in winds which made my glider collapse, thanks to my trainer Sushant who made sure that I was safe and did not overshoot the glider & hurt myself.
I was able to successfully glide in the air on my second attempt for take-off. Understood the thermals playing part in lifting your glider when flying through the valley.
How was your learning experience with Antigravity paragliding school?
This was my second time with antigravity. After completing my P1 P2 course with Antigravity, I had come for my P3 course which could not be completed due to bad weather conditions and pre-world Cup season.
The reason for opting to learn from Antigravity is for the safety parameters followed under any circumstance and the detailed training provided at each stage of the paragliding course.
Sushant and Vicky both make sure to answer all questions and give simplistic examples relating to daily chores (eg. driving a car) to make us understand the problem statement related to paragliding and the solution that can solve the problem.
How has paragliding impacted your life?
It has changed me as a person (made me more confident) and has given me a reason to keep trying new things.
What is your most memorable flying experience?
My first flight. Can never forget it. Those frozen legs, the nervousness, the anxiety of taking off. Felt many emotions but they went away when Sushant saw me nervous and boosted my confidence on the radio and asked me to have faith in him, soon after that I took off and got a sense of achievement.
Look forward to achieving good things in paragliding and starting my XC journey soon.
What are your future plans with the sport?
My future plans are to complete all my levels and start XC flying.
Any suggestion for an upcoming new paragliding pilot?
Be ready to taste the thunder for real, don't leave the training before taking the first flight because after which I am sure you will not leave but continue to learn flying.