In the animal kingdom, free flight is used by birds, bats and insects to travel between food, shelter and breeding areas. Some of the most spectacular animal migrations are those made by birds, for example high altitude flights by bar-headed geese over the Himalayas, extreme endurance migrations over 10,000 km by godwits and terns and sustained air speed records of 80 kph for days on end by great snipe.
Flight is also used by animals over smaller distances, for example raptors soaring on thermals to gain altitude and the aerobatics of flying swifts. Birds are widely considered the consummate champions of the skies, and the technology with which to study their aerobatic performances are now revealing incredible insights into their physiology.
[box type=”info”]The Arctic Tern migrates the furthest, with average annual roundtrip lengths of up to 70,900 km. Ruppell’s Griffon Vultures have been spotted flying at 11,300 m.
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For humans, free flight includes harnessing dynamic and thermal lift in sailplanes, paragliders and hang gliders; falling with forward motion in sky diving, BASE jumping and wing suit flying and being buoyed up by gases lighter than air in balloons.
What is paragliding?
Paragliding is an air sport that has developed over the last 40 years into one of the most widely practiced forms of free flight. There are an estimated 127,000 active paraglider pilots worldwide.
Flights of over 100 km across country are regularly made, using dynamic (soaring) lift and thermal updrafts, with the current open distance record standing at 568km. Paraglider pilots have flown from the summit of Everest, ascended via thermal and soaring lift to over 8000 m without oxygen, and gained as much as 4,526m of altitude in a single flight. Beyond recreational flying, paragliding has active and closely-contested cross-country and acrobatic competition scenes where increased safety and performance advantages are constantly sought.
[box type=”info”]Steve Fossett set the altitude record in a sailplane in 2006, flying to 15,460 m. He was also the first person to circumnavigate the earth in a balloon. The furthest distances flown are 3,009 km by sailplane, 764 km by hang glider, 568 km by paraglider and 27 km by wingsuit. The highest speed reached by a skydiver is 557 km/h and in 2014, Alan Eustace jumped from the edge of space at 41,425 meters to set a new skydiving altitude record.
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Hang Gliding: The Pioneer of Modern Free Flight
Hang gliding is one of the oldest and purest forms of human free flight, relying on a rigid wing structure that the pilot controls by shifting body weight. The modern hang glider evolved from flexible Rogallo wings developed in the 1960s, and today’s high-performance gliders can achieve glide ratios of over 15:1, meaning they travel more than 15 metres forward for every metre of altitude lost. Pilots launch from hills or are towed aloft, then seek out rising air to stay airborne for hours at a time. The world distance record for a hang glider flight stands at over 760 km, set in Texas, USA, where flatland thermals and strong winds allow marathon cross-country journeys.
Unlike paragliders, which use a fabric canopy inflated by air pressure, hang gliders have a fixed aluminium or carbon-fibre frame that provides structural rigidity and higher top speeds. This makes them better suited to strong wind conditions and high-speed aerobatics, though they require more space to land and are heavier to transport. Competitive hang gliding includes cross-country racing, aerobatic routines, and precision landing events. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) has sanctioned world championships since 1976, and pilots now routinely fly triangular courses of 300 km or more in a single day.
- Maximum speed of modern hang gliders: around 120 km/h in smooth air.
- Typical launch altitude: from 300 m to over 2,000 m above the landing zone.
- Longest hang glider flight time: over 24 hours using ridge and thermal lift.
Sailplanes and Soaring: Mastering the Invisible Currents
Sailplanes, also known as gliders, represent the most efficient form of unpowered flight, with some modern designs achieving glide ratios exceeding 60:1. These sleek, long-winged aircraft are towed into the air by a powered plane or winch, then released to ride rising air currents. Soaring pilots use three main types of lift: thermals (columns of warm air), ridge lift (wind deflected upward by hills or mountains), and wave lift (standing waves in the atmosphere downwind of mountain ranges). Wave lift has allowed sailplanes to reach altitudes above 23,000 m, where pilots must wear pressure suits similar to astronauts.
Cross-country soaring is a highly strategic sport. Pilots plan routes between thermal sources, often covering 500–1,000 km in a single flight. The current world record for the greatest distance flown in a sailplane is over 3,000 km, set in the Andes mountains where strong wave systems and long daylight hours provide exceptional conditions. Sailplanes are also used for aerobatic competitions, where pilots perform loops, rolls, and hammerhead turns entirely without engine power. Because they are so aerodynamically clean, a sailplane can theoretically travel over 100 km from an altitude loss of just 1,600 m.
Unlike hang gliders and paragliders, which are foot-launched, sailplanes require a runway or open field for takeoff and landing. They are classified by the FAI into several competition classes based on wingspan, flaps, and water ballast systems. Two-seat training sailplanes are widely used to introduce new pilots to the sport, and many gliding clubs offer introductory flights at relatively low cost.
Skydiving, BASE Jumping, and Wingsuit Flying: The Art of Controlled Falling
While paragliders and sailplanes seek to gain altitude, skydiving, BASE jumping, and wingsuit flying embrace the opposite: converting altitude into forward motion and precise manoeuvres. Traditional skydiving involves exiting an aircraft at 3,000–4,000 m and free-falling for up to 60 seconds before deploying a parachute. In that time, experienced skydivers can reach terminal velocities of around 200 km/h in a stable belly-to-earth position, or over 300 km/h in a head-down vertical dive. Formation skydiving teams build large geometric patterns in freefall, with current world records exceeding 400 linked skydivers in a single formation.
BASE jumping takes the same principles to fixed objects—Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges), and Earth (cliffs)—where jumpers have only seconds to deploy a parachute. Because of the low altitudes and proximity to solid objects, BASE jumping is considered far riskier than skydiving, with a fatality rate roughly 40 times higher. Wingsuit flying adds an extra dimension: pilots wear a special suit with fabric between the arms and body and between the legs, creating an airfoil that converts vertical fall into horizontal speeds of up to 180 km/h while descending at only 40–60 km/h. Modern wingsuit pilots can fly over 4 km horizontally for every 1 km of altitude lost, gliding through valleys and along mountain ridges before opening a parachute.
The combination of BASE jumping and wingsuit flying has produced some of the most dramatic free-flight footage in the world, but it demands exceptional skill and discipline. The FAI recognises official records for wingsuit distance, speed, and time, with the longest wingsuit flight covering over 30 km. Most wingsuit pilots begin with at least 200 skydives before transitioning to the suit, then complete hundreds more jumps before attempting a BASE exit.
Hot Air Ballooning: The Gentle Side of Free Flight
Hot air balloons operate on the simplest principle of all free flight: warm air rises. By heating the air inside a large fabric envelope with a propane burner, the balloon becomes lighter than the surrounding air and lifts the basket, pilot, and passengers. Unlike gliders and parachutes, balloons have no wings and no forward propulsion of their own—they travel entirely with the wind. Pilots steer by ascending or descending into different wind layers, which often blow in different directions at different altitudes. This makes each flight a unique negotiation with the atmosphere, and balloon pilots must carefully plan their landing zones based on forecast winds.
The first untethered hot air balloon flight was made by the Montgolfier brothers in France in 1783, carrying a sheep, a duck, and a rooster as passengers. Two months later, the first human flight took place in Paris. Modern balloons are much safer and more efficient, with typical flight durations of 1–2 hours and altitudes ranging from treetop level to over 6,000 m. The highest hot air balloon flight reached 21,000 m, and the longest distance flown in a hot air balloon is over 7,600 km. Balloon festivals around the world, such as the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in the USA, attract hundreds of balloons and millions of spectators each year.
Although hot air ballooning is often considered the most serene form of free flight, it has a competitive side. Ballooning competitions involve tasks such as dropping a marker as close as possible to a target, navigating to designated coordinates, and judging pilot decision-making in changing wind conditions. Because the pilot cannot steer directly against the wind, success depends on reading the sky, anticipating wind shifts, and making precise altitude changes. This mental challenge, combined with the silence and panoramic views, gives hot air ballooning a unique place within the broader world of free flight.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons, Coke Smith, SEARCH Projects, Bertrand Piccard. Records: FAI, 2017.