Washington County Enterprise-Leader
A Dream Fulfilled
PRAIRIE GROVE — For Capt. Jeff O’Brien with Prairie Grove Police Department, 2017 was the year a boyhood dream came true. He tells his story so that others can possibly see their dreams come true too.
“As a little boy, I would lay awake, dreaming what it would be like to fly,” O’Brien said.
The dream didn’t quit, even through his 20s and 30s. He continued to imagine himself flying in the sky among clouds and birds.
In January 2017, O’Brien stumbled on a video gone viral on YouTube about paragliding. He had just turned 35 and O’Brien said his first thought was, “I’m 35 years old. I can do this…I’m not getting any younger and this year is going to be my year.”
His goal by the end of 2017 was to be flying and to make his dream come true.
Paragliding is different than skydiving. The parachute is a fabric wing and the pilot sits in a harness suspended below the wing. The wing is attached to the harness with 15 lines or strings.
The pilot is strapped into a seat, similar to how a child is strapped into a childseat in a car. The glider has two brake handles and these are used to steer the flight of the glider.
O’Brien decided the best way to learn would be from a certified instructor and found one in Fort Smith at a place called River Valley Paragliding. He purchased his own wing and began the process to learn how to fly.
“This sport takes a lot to get into,” O’Brien said. “You need training and an instructor to do it safely.”
After instructions and training for about three months, O’Brien took his first solo flight in May 2017. He’s had lots of launch failures and said he’s especially thankful for a patient instructor. He was released to fly on his own by the end of the summer.
“This has become my passion, my hobby,” O’Brien said, adding that if anyone sees a yellow and gray glider up in the air in the Lincoln area, that’s him. A good friend also has taken up the sport and O’Brien said he’s enjoyed flying with another buddy.
There are two ways to fly with a glider: free flight or motor flight.
For free flight, O’Brien said he can go to Mt. Hebner and run off the mountain. As he jumps, the wind catches the wing.
“You glide away from the mountain and eventually land in the field. You can only fly as high as the wind will pick you up,” O’Brien said.
To fly free flight, a pilot catches thermals in the air. As the sun heats the surface, it creates thermals or pockets of warm air going up.
“You try to find these pockets of thermals to fly, and fly from thermal to thermal,” O’Brien said. “As soon as you are out of thermals, you go down.”
Free flying is fun but O’Brien prefers motor flight.
“You strap a motor on and you can go anywhere you want and as long as you want,” he said. “It’s not hard to do but you have to learn what the wind is doing and how to bring up the wind. The hardest parts are launching and the landing.”
O’Brien describes motor flight as being like Superman. He can go to the farm and take off from the ground.
The sport or hobby is not cheap, O’Brien said. A new wing costs about $3,000 and a new motor is around $2,500. It’s possible to find a used wing and motor in good condition for less, he said.
Paragliding is a hobby, not meant for transportation. By law, O’Brien said, he can only carry five gallons of fuel. His motor has 180 horsepower. His backpack includes a rescue parachute, just in case.
He’s found that many of the people involved are retired and 60 years or older.
“They’ve reached the later part of their lives and want to do something fun,” he said.
However, any age can participate and O’Brien considers it the safest way to fly if the pilot follows the correct instructions and flies under the right conditions.
A powerglider falls under Federal Aviation Administration rules for ultralight vehicles. One of the safety rules and regulations paragliders must follow is to only fly from sunrise to sunset. Paragliders also are not allowed to fly over large groups of people, such as fans at a football game.
“You can fly below and above clouds but not through clouds because the glider does not have any instruments. You need plenty of visibility,” O’Brien said.
For more information about paragliding, go to the website for River Valley Paragliding, rvppg.com. O’Brien has created a video on reaching his dream and this can be found by searching “Paramotor Adventures Begin” on Youtube.com.
“I’m 35 years old. I can do this.” Jeff O’Brien on his decision to learn how to paraglide