By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera
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Sky Club Ltd, Sri Lanka’s first institution for sky sports, will launch ‘Tandem Parachuting’ which allows ‘adrenalin’ and adventure seeker enthusiasts to experience the thrill of freefall skydiving.
“We plan to launch this in two months,” Suren De Silva, Founder and Director of Sky Club told the Business Times.
Skydiving as a sport is available only in a few countries, due to the level of expertise, experienced personal and year around weather patterns required. Mr. De Silva said that they have on board four of Sri Lanka’s most experienced skydivers/jump masters, possessing the expertise to provide an unparallel, thrilling opportunity to adventure and thrill seekers.
He added that they will also start training towards a United States Parachute Association (USPA) Skydiving License which teaches new jumpers the skills needed to obtain their first skydiving license. A new sky diver can earn the USPA A license in as few as 25 jumps, and most do, he said.
“Our training programme follows the USPA Integrated Student Programme step by step. This is an eight-stage programme of instruction meant to build your skills and confidence together as you study and practice freefall skills, open parachute handling skills, safety and reserve parachute procedures, equipment understanding and operation, aircraft procedures and familiarization with skydiving operations, and the rules skydivers follow to keep the sport safe for themselves and others.” Sky Club, according to Mr. De Silva is the first skydiving and para-motoring company in South East Asia.
“Initially we will start operations in Koggala and will take this project to cities such as Sigiriya, Puttalam, Trincomalee and Kalutara,” he added. Motor-powered para-gliding (para-motoring) is the latest in recreational aviation sports which he has pioneered. “We launched this last year in February,” he said, adding that it’s a risk free and is flown by qualified pilots. There are three types of paramotors; the ‘Foot Launch’ – where the pilot straps the motor onto his back; the ‘Solo Trike’ – when the pilot sits in the small aircraft; and the ‘Tandem Trike’ – a two-seater aircraft which carries a pilot and a passenger to give the experience of a ‘discovery flight’”.
Paramotors take off, fly and land with the aid of a parachute, Mr. De Silva said, adding that it can be fun in the sky operated in a very small area and they fly at a low altitude and at a slow speed enabling the passenger an ideal opportunity to experience the beauty of Sri Lanka.
He added that Sri Lanka also proves to be an ideal location for such a venture because the weather plays a significant role in skydiving and paramotoring.
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