Local lad Josh Degenaar has a passion for flight – soaring on thermals with yellow-billed kites and Cape Vultures. An experienced paragliding pilot and tour operator, he has broken a number of records and is determined to achieve more!
“Paragliding is the purist form of flying available to humans,” says Josh. “It is an extreme adventure sport and by using nothing but the wind and thermal lift to soar to the heavens, one can fulfil man’s oldest dream of flight!”
“I love the excitement of cross-country flying and seeing our beautiful country from the air.”
Josh’s local flying site is Bulwer, in the Southern Drakensberg, where he holds the site record of 114km, along with the out and return record of 68km, as well as the KZN tandem flight record of 51km.
He lives in Inchanga and recently flew from New Germany to the sports field at Hillcrest High School.
It is difficult to fly extremely long cross-country flights in KwaZulu-Natal because of the restriction of the Drakensberg mountain range, so Josh and his team travelled to Prieska in the Northem Cape to attempt a record breaking cross-country flight.
Early on 3 November, Josh was winched into the sky at Copperton and flew to Steynsburg, a total distance of 353km – the furthest cross-country flight in the world in 2011.
The flight took seven hours and he flew at close to 5 000m above sea level, reaching speeds of up to 124km/hour. “It was so cold that my fingers were like ice lollies, even through two pairs of gloves!”
The fact that it was flown on a cloudless day made this flight both difficult and a remarkable feat.
New weather prediction technology and Josh’s 20 years’ experience in the air helps a lot in anticipating the best flight paths and dealing with changes in conditions.
“I’m an active pilot and like to be in touch with the canopy. It’s like 3D chess – you have to be aware of everything around you,” says Josh. “Once you take off, you’re 100% committed to the sky. There’s no time to think about your worries.”
Josh has been flying full-time for three years and has dedicated himself to doing distance and breaking records in 2012.
Keep an eye out for Josh and his blue and white paraglider – you just might spot him on another epic journey!
If you’d like to join Josh for a tandem flight, give him a call on 083 301 4039.
For more about Josh’s adventures or for organised paragliding tours, visit http://www.paragliding-tours.co.za/.
1 Comment
That’s my Dad and we are all so proud! Well done Dad xxx