Meet Manu Wegmershaus, Tandem Pilot

Manu has been a tandem paragliding instructor for 10 years. In this interview, he tells us about his passion and love for the recreational activity.

Manu is the owner of Cape Town Tandem Paragliding. In this article he shares his #careerpride story and experience as a tandem paragliding instructor.

Manu’s interest in paragliding began at the tender age of 14 years old. “Paragliding became my passion, my obsession. I became a paragliding junkie - eating, sleeping, breathing paragliding” says Manu. Even during his years travelling, he always had his paraglider on his back and flew in many different parts of the world. Eventually in 2001, Manu and a friend decided to start their own business in the north of Spain. “It was really just to make a bit of extra money, and it was quite a lot of fun,” Manu explains. “When I moved to Cape Town in 2005, I started doing a few tandems as a freelancer while I was still in university.

In 2007, while completing my degree, I decided to start my own company. We started off with just two people, and now, after 10 years, we have an amazing team of 8 pilots and 12 other team members that help our company to run smoothly,” Manu tells us. Manu loves the freedom that comes with paragliding. “You have to be a pilot to understand the feeling that comes from flying,” he says, adding that, “it’s exhilarating to be able to fly high above the ground, soaring with the birds or your friends.”

Here we leak some behind-the-scenes shots.

It’s also a kind of meditation,” Manu says. “It’s one of those things that really clears your mind of the noise, and thoughts associated with life on earth. In a way, paragliding releases you from that and takes you into another dimension,” Manu says.

Paragliding is a recreational and competitive adventure sport. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a lightweight wing inflated by the air. Using air currents and shifting their own body weight, an experienced paraglider pilot can stay up for several hours and gain thousands of metres, as well as cover large distances.

We asked Manu what advice he has for people who would like to become tandem pilots.

He advises passion above all else. “I would never recommend that someone get into paragliding because of the money or as a career. You must be passionate about flying,” Manu also suggests that it is experience is the most important aspect of being a tandem paragliding instructor. “Be ready to put in a lot of time to gain the experience needed because it is a huge responsibility to take people, and you cannot take it lightly.”

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Experience is one of those things you cannot get without investing time,” he concludes.

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