The fear of flying does not belong to our contributor Raffaello Belli who, driven by exasperation at earthly banality and hypocrisy, tries to shift his angle of view by rising into the air. What seemed impossible, that is, to fly pushed by the wind, becomes practicable thanks also to the commitment and sensitivity of a few particularly attentive instructors.
Last spring, I was particularly irritated by the obstacles that are placed in the path of disabled people. In particular, it seemed to me too obvious that these obstacles are chains imposed by other human beings, which could easily be avoided. Paragliding: that was the desire that arose to escape this paranoid situation. Would it be possible? I asked around a bit and I found the phone number of a flying school halfway between Florence and Livorno. I telephoned and Mirco, the person in charge, asked to see me in person: over the phone he couldn't assure me whether I would be able to practice paragliding. What struck me over the phone was the absence, in his voice, of any shadow of prejudice and the openness toward the triumph of life.
Difficulties and care
One Sunday afternoon, I decided to go to the flying field, which unfortunately I couldn't reach with my car. So, as soon as I arrived in the vicinity, I called the guys from the flying school with my mobile. Although they didn't know me, they mobilized immediately and Lucia came to pick me up with a 4×4, showing a naturalness and an attentiveness in helping me as if I had been one of their old friends. A series of “small” behaviors and attentions struck me a lot, which would be long and complicated to explain, but which make the difference between day and night. When I arrived at the flying field, I saw there wasn't even a chair, which would have been rather uncomfortable for me. Mirco and Lucia knew how to put me completely at ease, down to the smallest details, as only true friends and the best of caregivers know how to do. Mirco told me right away that, in his opinion, I wouldn't have been able to take on paragliding by myself. A shame, but it was to be expected! Mirco however immediately proposed a little flight with him on a two-seater paraglider. I really didn't expect it, a fine surprise!
The takeoff
Having therefore gotten into the 4×4, we went to the other nearby flying field. We were at Castello Anselmo (LI), at a height of 150 meters above sea level. They opened the two-seater paraglider, which is obviously bigger than the single-seater. Then they helped me reach the starting point and a few of the guys gave me a hand to put on the harness and the helmet for the flight. Meanwhile, Mirco was getting ready behind me and Lucia, with a student, was moving with the 4×4 toward the spot where we would land. Two students held me, one on each side, during the run necessary for takeoff. Mirco, for his part, was piloting the paraglider. Luckily, the rising wind was favorable and carried us up into the air right away. For me, no difficulty, because those two students were obviously excellent and the paraglider was being maneuvered by Mirco.
In the wind
We climbed 70 meters. Entrusting myself to the wind gave me a lot of confidence and peace of mind. I remember I was shouting: “How beautiful it is!”. And it came to my mind that, seen from above, we human beings must offer a sensation of great wretchedness to the birds. I couldn't see Mirco, because he was behind me, but I felt clearly that he was completely sure of the situation. I believe he was slightly more worried than I was. The reason why is obvious: knowing something well allows you to fully savor its qualities, but also to perceive its potential dangers better. On landing, Lucia and a student grabbed me each by an arm and everything went easily. Only, I made a mistake, I kept my legs too stiff, and the impact of the landing was a tiny bit stronger than it should have been.
Another experience
After the landing, Mirco invited me to meet again at the beginning of August on a mountain in the province of Lucca for a real flight. I experienced this invitation as a sign of authentic friendship and trust for the way I had behaved during that first experience. On the appointed day, we met at the indicated place, then, aboard Mirco and Lucia's 4×4, we drove up the mountain, amid wonderful chestnut trees, on a scorching day. At a certain point, we couldn't continue even with the 4×4. I didn't know it and hadn't understood it, but they had arranged to carry me “in their arms” over a long stretch of forest up to the flying plateau. These people, who had known me for a short time, were so attentive to my desire to fly that they had arranged for a great effort like that of carrying me to the top of a mountain: that too was moving. Rarely in my life have I felt so welcomed by the Universe, and I experienced the fact that disability really has nothing to do with my physical inabilities: it's only a chain imposed by the minds of other human beings.
Attention to life
To get me to the takeoff field, they had me put on a flight harness and carried me four of them, lifting me with as many carabiners. Although they were young and strong men, the thing was so tiring that they had to take turns frequently. It really struck me a lot that these people would bear such an effort just to make me happy. Although I love nature enormously, I had never reached places so inaccessible to cars. We finally reached the flying field “Cune”, at Diecimo di Borgo a Mozzano (LU). We were at 800 meters above sea level and 670 meters relative to the Diecimo valley below, where the landing was planned. A few were launching themselves on paragliders, but unfortunately there was little wind, and after a while, no one could leave anymore. In the late afternoon, Mirco told me that, unfortunately, without wind we had to give up on the flight. A shame, both for the lost opportunity and because they would have had to carry me back down in their arms (even if some will say they'd have done better to leave me there). As luck would have it, just as they were beginning to put away the equipment, the good wind suddenly rose. I remember Mirco's face which, at the first breath of wind, immediately pricked up its ears, exactly like a fox: we could fly! A few went off with the 4×4 to precede us at the landing field. Lucia left before us on a paraglider to help the others grab me on arrival. The procedure for takeoff was the same as the previous time. Opening of the two-seater paraglider, harness, helmet and run with two people helping me on the sides. The run was a bit longer than the previous time because there was less wind. In any case, perfect takeoff, also because Mirco is a “fox of the winds”.
Ever higher
The scenery was completely different. We climbed to 950 meters above sea level and the landing field was 820 meters below us. We crossed transversally the whole Diecimo valley, the houses and villages were small down there. On the left, in the distance, there was the plain of Lucca. Up high, in the middle of the valley, there was much more wind than I expected on that very hot August day. For a moment, my head spun. The sensation of freedom bordered on the infinite, so much so that one second enriched me as much as a month of “normal” life. It would have been beautiful to drink a glass of champagne with Mirco, but we didn't have it with us. Besides, he was behind me, so we really couldn't do it. Before touching ground, Lucia performed a three-quarter turn with her paraglider, with such elegance that she made me think of a curtsy by Carla Fracci. Like a good fox, Mirco landed with me very few meters from where my car was parked. On landing, I stayed attentive to maintaining the “seated” position on the harness, and Lucia and the others from the school proved very prompt at grabbing me, so that everything went absolutely well, apart from the sensation, once on the ground, of having returned to prison. Almost everyone tells me I was crazy, or nearly so. Frankly, I can't understand what was so reckless about it.
Reflections
Thinking about it calmly, I'd say there were four reasons why I was able to live this exceptional and entirely tranquil experience. In the first place, Lucia, Mirco and their students are very intelligent people, and this uncommon capacity to understand is also the source of their generosity. In the second place, Mirco is an animal, in the noblest sense of the term. Mirco, that is, knows the harshness of nature, but also knows how to appreciate its beauty. He is therefore capable of feeling the richness of everything around him, human beings included. Moreover, his love for nature allows him to know it profoundly, to dialogue with the wind and to make feasible what many judge impossible. It must also be said that I love nature enormously and entrusting myself to it. In the sense that nature is a true friendship of my life, and true friendship always “pays” back. Finally, I was able to reflect on the fact that many perhaps underestimate one thing. Namely that, in all the very many moments of the day when I walk on my legs (to go to the toilet, to work, to annoy the authorities, etc.), my risk of falling, and of suffering serious cranial trauma, is far higher than the danger of hurting myself in a paraglider. So, in the end, this paragliding flight, which made me understand a lot about human wretchedness, was for me a walk in freedom.
Paragliding in the Aosta Valley
On the margins of Raffaello Belli's Tuscan experience, we point out the Aostan Fans di Sport of Breuil (Cervinia), a sports association open to all, which also offers disabled people the possibility of flying in a paraglider in complete safety, thanks to the use of a special chair studied expressly for this objective. The association is moreover able to organize incentive events where people with disabilities will be able to test themselves in various other disciplines, such as horseback riding, quad driving, archery, climbing on an artificial wall, diving and many others besides.