• What is your paragliding specialization and what drew you to focus on this particular aspect of the sport?
After years of flying and being interested in Acro I decided to try different things and it came to flying faster wings. I tried a miniwing and at the same time met some speedflyers in beautiful Oludeniz and totally got hooked up after the first speed wing I flew, since then I regularly speedfly and it became a big fun part of my life:)
• Which wing do you fly, and what makes it special to you? How does it enhance your flying experience?
Recently I am flying Pixel 7 the most and 9 meter Pixel for new places or smaller landing areas. I was flying an 11 meter before Pixel came out and got to the point that I was not satisfied with swoops as most of the wings were loosing energy and speed or climbing middle of the swooping without applying any breaks or rears which is so disappointing, I tried other brands and was the same for me till pixel came out and gave me that satisfaction of swooping full power and not loosing speed so quick or popping up. I was so satisfied even with the first prototype which there is been a lot of modification after all that brought pixel to top of my favorite list.
Although I am so happy with the rear risers system or lets say B,C risers system that the handle made life much easier and fun because of the big range that helps you to change your glide ratio instantly. It is like having a comfortable handle which they are your trims and you can also fly with them as rears, I am so grateful to have such a comfortable and life saving system on my rears that brings a lot of joy with it.
• What was your first contact with paragliding?
It was back in 2009 in my city Tehran that I saw people flying of the mountain and just followed them to their landing area, found a tandem pilot and went for it. Right after the flight I fell for it and asked for a beginner course, therefore I was only 14 years old.
• How long have you been flying and where do fly the most?
I've been flying since 2009 and did most of my flying hours in my country and as I'm now permanently living in Turkey I'm spending all my time in Oludeniz for speedflying and other types of paragliding.
• Have you faced any fears or significant challenges while flying, and how did you overcome them?
Actually, this is a very good question because if there is no fear in our sport that means we don’t know where is our limit and we might push it so hard that might end up badly. i’ve been to situation that I felt fear and I'm sure most of pilots been in the same situation but it is good to feel a bit of fear:)
• Where do you think your paragliding carreer will lead to?
It’s been a few years that I’m thinking about becoming an instructor and help other people to join our hobby and enjoy the journey but at the same time I’m afraid of that if I turn my hobby to a job, I will not enjoy it as much as I do right now.
• Where do you see your paragliding career taking you in the future, and what are your ultimate goals or aspirations within the sport?
My goal is becoming a professional speedflyer and an athlete in the sport to help other people and newcomers flying safer.
• What do your family and close friends think about your paragliding career, and how do they support or influence your journey?
My parents and family totally understand the sport because my father also started at the same time with me and also most of my family flew with me, they always been supportive because they tried it themselves. However, there are still friend who never gave it a try and sometimes they come up with the word BE CAREFUL! 🤣
• How do you perceive the risks involved in paragliding, and how do you manage them during your flights?
I personally look at risk like even skateboarding has its own risk so if we don’t take the baby steps to learn the basics, we higher the risk. By taking the steps and choosing right instructors, right knowledge and right methods of learning, we decrease the risk.
For example, in my field speed flying there shouldn’t be any step skipped. It needs a lot of time and practice and taking every step serious to master all of them and decrease the risk.
