从古至今，人类在不停地探索能够象鸟儿一样自由自在飞翔的方法，随着科技的进步和现代航空技术的发展,人类发明了各种飞行工具，滑翔伞就是其中一种。因为新奇、刺激而且又没有太大的体力限制 ,在短短数年之间迅速风靡了世界各地。今天,在世界各地，滑翔伞运动已拥有数十万的爱好者。从它的英文词意Para-Glider上不难发现,飞行伞是降落伞与滑翔翼的结合,也就是, 用高空方块伞改良成性能上接近滑翔翼的综合体。

　　Have you ever wished that you could fly as free as a bird in the sky? Well, many different flying apparatuses have been invented to this end. The paraglider is just one of them, and this comes closest to feeling the freedom of flying.

　　Paragliding is an activity that combines adventure, challenge and self-fulfillment. It first appeared on June 27th 1978 in the French Alps. Three friends climbed to the hilltop. An idea suddenly hit them. They wondered whether it was possible to use parachutes to jump from great heights in the mountains. On one of those pleasant and magical early summer Sundays, they demonstrated to the world that they were right by landing on the ground about 1000 meters in the valley below. Their wildest dreams came true. However, they didn’t realize that they had created a new sport. On June 6th in 1982, a man launched himself from a peak that was over 4,000 meters high. His performance led to the worldwide popularity of paragliding.