the history of para gliding

where was paragliding invented

We don't know who  was the 1st man to paraglide. Some people think  that it was David Barish in 1963.
Videos and photo's show a group of skydivers in eastern Montana in the late Seventies. They were flying their parachutes off from the small hills.

In the French Alps, some climbers used small ram-air canopies in order to make their descents from the peaks safer and more efficient. These parachutes weighed only 8 pounds, flew at Twenty m/h., and lost Three feet of height for every foot traveled. By the mid-eighties a new challenge was found. Man had just found a way to prolong the distance and duration of such flights. The secret was in the areas of rising air.

Many attempts were made to improve parachute glide performance IE:  increasing the wingspan, using non-porous fabric, and modifying the shape and trim of the airfoil. A new design meant changes in the flight characteristics and new pilot skills and techniques were therefore needed. Designs that seemed to work well were produced in large numbers to meet the demands of the paraglider pilots, whose numbers were  growing dramatically. And so, by 1986 the sport was well established in Europe.

Europe, Asia, and the United States have developed a wide range of equipment over the last few years. Manufacturers put their products thorough number of tests to insure the pilots' safety. In the USA the developing and marketing of paragliders was restricted to 3 manufacturers of skydiving equipment. Their products were very safe and stable. But they lacked the performance of the European designs. Fewer radical new designs had emerged by the early 90's. Production was concentrated on paragliders that had very stable handling characteristics, and were suitable for the general flying population. Step by step the wings were classified in different groups, according to their usage. There were different canopies designed for student pilots, intermediate (recreational) pilots, and competition pilots. In France and Germany were established standardized procedures for testing and certifying paragliders. Now this standard represents the benchmark for all manufacturers around the world.