Wheelchair users can take flight thanks to the paragliding wheelchair introduced by Matthew van Zyl, founder of Square1 Paragliding
As a young boy, Matthew van Zyl dreamt of flying; running, jumping and finding himself soaring above the skies. After his first tandem paragliding experience, he was hooked.
Now, nine years, thousands of hours in flight, several instructor courses and his own aviation school (Square1 Paragliding) later, Matthew dreams of gifting this incredible experience to people with disabilities.
“Paragliding is the most amazing experience. You break the bonds of gravity and glide through the sky with no noise; flying like a bird. Paragliding is my passion, and I want to share my passion with as many people as possible,” he says.
Part of his passion for paragliding stems from how the sport has broadened his mind. He shares: “My mind was opened to a world that I never knew existed. I was totally captivated. Now, I want to offer it to people, specifically those who never even realised something like this is possible.”
Matthew isn’t the first paragliding instructor to take a person with a disability on a flight; however, his approach is vastly different to what has been done before.
Traditionally, the passenger is strapped to the pilot. They would run off the mountain together. This always poses a threat as someone can lose their footing and fall. For passengers with disabilities, especially wheelchair users, this poses a bigger challenge.
According to Matthew, other paragliding instructors in South Africa would make use of a standard harness to strap the passenger with a disability to the pilot.
An assistant will then run alongside the pilot, holding the passenger’s limbs and flinging them from the mountain when the pilot jumps.
The risk of falling is just as prevalent if not more. If the pilot stumbles and falls, there is the risk of them landing on the passenger.
On landing, the assistant needs to catch the passenger to prevent them from injuring themselves or others.
Matthew has even witnessed an instructor ask a passenger to hold their own legs up – not entirely a safe solution. In the end, he found the experience to be invasive and unsafe.
“The person is already nervous. For some, this might be the most adventurous thing they do, and now you have strangers touching you,” he comments.
Matthew “felt it necessary” to import a paragliding wheelchair – a device used in adaptive paragliding globally, but which isn’t readily available in South Africa yet.
With this chair, passengers are able to safely and effortlessly transfer from their own chair into the paragliding wheelchair.
They are strapped in with Matthew attaching himself behind the chair. This allows him to control the take-off, running and pushing the chair off the mountain, as well as the landing.
The swivel wheel at the front of the chair ensures for a smoother and safer landing, while the bars at around the headrest act as a roll cage. If an incident or accident occurs, the passenger’s head and shoulders will never make contact with the ground.
The paragliding wheelchair offers a more independent, dignified and pleasant glide for passengers with disabilities.
Matthew currently offers adaptive paragliding sessions in Cape Town and parts of the Garden Route. Passengers can look forward to a jump off Signal Hill, a glide on the wind currents before landing in Sea Point.
The flight can be anything from five to 20 minutes. It depends on the air currents on the day and the passenger’s request. If a passenger would like to land early, for example, the pilot can assist.
For those who find themselves passionate about the sport, it is possible to become a pilot and fly independently. Matthew is certified to provide training and assisted Ajmal Samuel to become a qualified adaptive paraglider.
A paragliding session is about R1 800 per jump, but Matthew hopes to offer the service for free to people with disabilities in the near future.
Currently, he operates under his paragliding business, Square1 Paragliding, but he working towards establishing a non-profit organisation that will allow him to provide free sessions. He is currently also accepting donations for those who want to sponsor a flight.
Matthew’s vision is to make the sport more accessible with hopes of importing more paragliding wheelchairs, encouraging inclusivity in adventure sports, and promoting adaptive tourism so that everyone can experience the freedom of flight. For more information, visit the Square1 Paragliding website.
