‘. . . we can see webbing strap items on the side rail hanging upwards. The Cessna is flying upside down.’

“You don’t have to do it, but it’s nice to be asked.”

In Flight magazine 1954, Walter Neumark predicted a time when a glider pilot would be "able to launch himself by running over the edge of a cliff or down a slope ... whether on a rock-climbing holiday in Skye or skiing in the Alps.”

The Secretary General told me that, over the last ten years, the fatal accident rate in FAI sanctioned paraglider racing contests was ten times that of all the other FAI sports put together.

Leopards live in these inaccessible regions – and they have the strongest bite per size of any seriously-biting creature. A walkout, if possible, would take for ever. And this is their home – think about it.

. . . . hesitation or incorrect timing could put you in big trouble, confront you with the most dangerous paragliding circumstance. I’ve never done this manoeuvre myself, but I know how it works.

“They don’t need a trainer”, suggested my assistant Randy Reinhardt, “more like a corner man with a bucket and sponge”.