"Danger for me, it's having a Boring life
This is Danger. It's bad, it's certainly Unhealthy
I think that's the True Meaning of Danger.
What I do overall, it's not dangerous
I'm doing stuff that I Love
I call it Living my Dream."
— Alain Robert
The Real World Spider-man
TOO.GOOD.TO.BE.UNTRUE
Our Mission
In the heart of the majestic Swiss Alps at the birthplace of Switzerland, discover your unparalleled adventure where the beauty of nature sparkle. Experience the breath-taking Tandem Paraglider Journey with Dragonview, where Spirited Adventure Flights near Zurich, Zug, Schwyz, and Luzern fire up your most cherished Dreams into Life!
This is an exhilarating two-seater unpowered wing piloted by a professional pilot over rugged steeply inclined mountains, so no flying skills are required by you. But, you must be healthy, sharp, and nimble, as the flights begin high in the Swiss Alps where the conditions are unpredictable, often dramatic and constantly changing. Dragonview offers a remarkably different experience from smooth hill, coastal, or flatland flying. Embrace the chaos beyond your comfort zone. Cheers to being alive!
Weather permitting, always choose a longer flight (30-60 minutes) to fully awaken your spirit as you soar through terrifyingly beautiful landscapes and the serene skies. This is a once-in-a-lifetime odyssey you'll treasure forever. Each flight path is unique, powered by nature's unpredictable thermals.
Dragonview flies from April to September, with the longer flight weather conditions between mid-May until end of August. The best days are marked by puffy clouds, sunshine, warm valleys with cold mountain tops, and clear nights before the flight. Strong thermals are essential for thermal flights, allowing us to fly higher, farther, and longer through the vast expanses of the Alps.
From end of September to beginning of April, Dragonview goes on holidays, because the gray clouds blanket the skies, rendering most days poor flying condition and flight requests are also rare.
Provide multiple flying dates whenever possible. The best time to fly are sunny days from spring (mid-May) to mid-summer (August). Sunny days following cold nights offer exceptional conditions for higher longer flights. No two weather conditions are the same.
Please communicate via WhatsApp. My availability for long flights is very limited, as I can typically only manage 2 or 3 on a good weather day. To increase your chances of securing a 30min-60min flight, please reach out as early as possible with a maximum of backup dates. Please indicate your weight and height, and be sure you are absolutely OK with rough and tumble and committed to do it given that the weather is good. Choose a plan below then continue to the preparation page HERE!
Flight Plans are based on Airtime
Economy (180 CHF)
The flight last about 8 minutes. Only possible from low mountains like Zurich Uetliberg or Zugerberg in Zug. Total time required usually about 1.5h. Uetliberg is flyable only with moderate strong East wind. This flight is too short and not recommended.
Economy Plus (200 CHF)
About 15 minutes. Shortest flight available from the Swiss Alps. Total time usually about 1.5h. This flight can be done even when the thermals are practically non-existent when the weather does not cooperate. May be suitable for people who can easily get motion sick, but feels short.
Premium (250 CHF) - Thermic Flight
*Most requested
About 30 minutes. Total time required is usually about 1.7h. Longer flights of more then 15 minutes require strong thermic updraft. This flight generally takes you higher than the take-off, insane views, height and covers a wide area.
Premium Plus (300CHF) - Thermic Adventure Flight
About 60 minutes. Rarer flight dependent on excellent weather, highly recommended if you do not get motion sick. Flight takes you much higher than take off, insane views, and covers a wide area. Total time required usually about 2h.
Private Charter
For 1 person only
(700 CHF) - Long XC Thermic Adventure Flight
You are the very lucky person who never gets motion sick, and have date flexibility. We will decide the best long distance date and the best location based on aeronautic thermic weather forecast to make it an Adventure of your Lifetime! Travel far over the Swiss Alps with plenty of terrifyingly beautiful terrain over multiple hours and rest stops.
Video/Photo Option
(+35 CHF)
High resolution 2.7K Video and photos of your flight. Uploads served for 30 days from flight date.
"The secret to happiness is freedom. And the secret to freedom is courage." - Thucydides
Our Philosophy on Safety
“Is it better to live a long and miserable life doing what you don’t enjoy, so you can continue doing what you don’t enjoy? How would you really enjoy spending your Life?“ - Alan Watts
What would you do today if you discovered you only had three months left to live? Would your old body still be able to fulfill your dreams? What will it take for you to truly pursue those dreams while the door is still open? We all know that death is inevitable, but it's crucial to live life to the fullest while we still can. Courage and living vibrantly go hand in hand, while living in fear requires no effort at all. There is no certainty in life, except our death. When we realize that your life is precious, we will not waste time or money on superficial things, and we begin to live our life deeply with wonder and gratitude. In Zen, we say, “Die before you die so you can live.” Life begins where fear ends.
So, while you are still alive, is paragliding something you really want to do? Each person has their special talent that makes their heart fill up with joy. We, professional birds in Switzerland earn very little money, we gain little social status from it, licensing takes similarly as long as becoming a commercial jet airline pilot, and must survive much more dangerous flying experiences than commercial airline pilots. Paraglider pilots need to be tremendous lucky and must learn quickly in order to acquire high level safety skills to fly in the unpredictable mountain air of the terrifyingly beautiful Swiss Alps!
A typical childbirth is very dangerous, (1/500 lethality), 5 times as dangerous as base jumping (1/2500 lethality). Perhaps the most dangerous thing you are doing is sitting in a car, eating & drinking junk-food, not exercising, or not sleeping enough. Sitting in a car for 947km (588miles) is equivalent to the risk of one skydiving jump. Most likely, paragliding risks are about the same, safer than childbirth or sitting in a car on your daily commutes. Here is an interesting article about the risks:
https://chessintheair.com/the-risk-of-dying-doing-what-we-love/
When selecting a professional paragliding pilot, it's wise to choose one with acrobatic experience. These pilots are better prepared to handle extreme situations that might cause less experienced pilots to panic or overreact. In the Alps, weather forecasts are notoriously unreliable, and local winds in the high mountains can be unpredictable due to factors like sharp terrain, precipitation, temperature swings, and sudden changes in wind speed and direction.
Many especially conservative pilots tend to over-trust the weather forecast and copy what the other pilots are doing to feel secure. As professional pilots, it is essential to focus independently on reading the sky, the birds, the trees, the terrain honing our intuition of the invisible air. Flying requires maximum awareness, curiosity, and sensitivity. Paragliding in the Alps aligns with an open meditative mindset, rather than the sensory suppression and a single focus needed to finish a marathon.
It is crucial for pilots to learn the skills necessary to fly safely even in very turbulent conditions in the Alps. Mountain weather can change suddenly and forecasts models are remarkably inaccurate. Pilots who continue to advance their skills for the love of flight are quite rare, because flying close to the limit and facing difficult situations can be traumatic. Not every pilot has the appetite for progression to higher levels of awareness as acro pilots and test pilots are. Flying is lifelong challenging endeavor. Even for the seasoned pilots with decades of experience, the immense power of nature is awe inspiring and every flights offers a unique opportunity to learn and grow.
Very few pilots become acro pilots, those who have the courage to move forward in spite of fear, become intimately familiar with dangers and trained regularly to withstand G-forces exceeding those experienced during a space launch. These few pilots understand that mental stability and skill come from regular exposure to incremental manageable risks. Only by becoming familiar with the risks, you learn to avoid getting into difficult situations. Therefore, acrobatic pilots flying with passengers can maintain a greater margin of safety.
Tandem pilots also rely on passengers for safety. Factors like physical fitness, mental alertness, balance, and agility play a crucial role in reducing risks. A fearful, unfit, or unfocused passenger can increase the chances of injury. It's essential to follow the pilot's instructions and pay attention during take-off and landing. If you believe paragliding is dangerous, it's best not to participate. Your fear can multiply the risks for both you and the pilot. Only if you're willing to accept full responsibility for all the risks and still wish to experience the adventure of flying should you proceed.
Lack of gratitude, lack of compassion, and loneliness are greater predictors of early death than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. In my view, the greatest danger in life is not living your dreams! There are two types of people in the world. Those who know that every moment life is at risk, therefore risk to do something to be true to oneself. And those others who try to ignore that death can strike any moment, so do nothing..
“For those guys who are happy about just gliding and basically do those things they consider safe activities, they are probably in way bigger danger than the guys who are pushing like hell. Because those who are pushing hard, they progressed to a higher level and they have a higher routine. Even though they are flying more and they might risk more, but they are much more in training, so they can avoid those dangerous situations, or they know what to do when they get into one.”
- Pal Takats, World Champion, both Cross country and Acrobatic paraglider pilot
“Life Is Not Measured By the Number of Breaths We Take, But By the Moments That Take Our Breath Away.”
- Vicki Corona
Amazing inspirational video courtesy of Ozone Paragliders
Directed by Jorge Atramiz and Karl Steslicke
Direct link: https://vimeo.com/ozone/inspired
NURTURE YOUR SPONTANEOUS LIFE
In the delicate balance of existence, greatness is often fragile, The lower realms are hard, while higher ones are gentle. A stone, unyielding and stoic, demands not your attention, But a flower, tender and lovely, thrives in nurturance and care. In the bloom, the eternal and transcendent dance together.
Life itself is an invitation to seek higher truths, to delve deeper. For the more alive we are, the closer death approaches. To deny death is to deny the very essence of life.
Nourish your spontaneous spirit, for to love others, self-love is vital. Truth is an experience, happiness intertwines with existence itself. In the throes of joy, the self dissolves, you becoming one with the heaven. Heaven emerges from gratitude, not fear, anger, nor greed. The devil, burdened by anger and heaviness, knows neither gratitude nor compassion. Embrace wonder, sincerity, kindness, and thankfulness; this is the path to Heaven.
Look around, and witness life's contrasts, some vibrant, others lifeless. Consider the bird soaring high, once was a stone yearning for freedom. Our consciousness is destined for liberty, unshackled and boundless. Lovely, curious and chaotic, fragile yet fierce is nature's most powerful force. In the desire for greater freedom, life is breathed into matter, and the ephemeral becomes eternal.
Angels glide through the winds of change, embracing flow and motion, Weightless and kind, they are curious to fulfill their purpose - to be free. Devils plummet, ensnared by seriousness, domination, and attachment to identity. Release the chains that bind you and nourish your soul with freedom. Unearth your own unique expression of liberation and become a master of what you love.
True freedom lies just on the other side of fear, perhaps God’s barrier to keep away the insincere. Live fully, whole-heartedly, geniuine, and watch your fears dissolve, like the fog that vanishes with the morning sun!