男子上下班开动力滑翔伞避堵车

　　原标题：男子上下班开动力滑翔伞避堵车

　　Commuters weary of traffic may find it a fanciful idea to travel by parachute gliding, but that is what a group of middle-age people are doing every day in Zhuzhou City in central Hunan Province。

　　A local gliding club has more than a dozen members, between 30 and 50 years old, including government officials and company managers. Many choose to fly to work, Hunan-based Changzhutan Daily reported yesterday。

　　Equipment varies but can include a small motorized frame attached to a parachute-like sail or non-motorized hang-gliders that ride wind currents, usually after a rider jumps from a height。

　　One of the gliding commuters is Zeng Daxia, a sobriquet that sounds like "knight Zeng" in Chinese, a 42-year-old civil servant and a retired professional parachute jumper, the newspaper said. He is a senior member of a local glider club。

　　"After work, I would go to an open space along the Xiangjiang River and fly home directly," Zeng told the newspaper. "We love freedom. Our worries will blow away when we are flying."

　　Eight of the members frequently fly between home and work. Members sometimes fly together, sharing a very cool and efficient means of travel。

　　"I'm serious in the office but I become a different person once I put on my glider gear," Zeng said。

　　The gliders' story has made a headlines on many websites in China. A reader named Zhang Long noted, "The Chinese government is planning to open low-altitude air space to private aircraft. It's good timing for this paragliding sport."

　　While it may seem like a luxury sport, Zhong Bo, the club's coach, said gliding equipment can be had for 30,000 yuan (US$4,815)， the paper said。

　　"Ten liters of octane 93 gasoline is enough for a three-hour flight and a round trip between Zhuzhou and the province's capital, Changsha, nearly 132 kilometers," Zhong added. Octane 93 gasoline is priced at 7.67 yuan a liter in Hunan。

　　Zhong also suggested that people should obtain certificates from the China Air Transport Association and General Administration of Sports before gliding。(Shanghai Daily)

　　“与其堵在路上半个小时，不如花十分钟准备滑翔伞，然后用一分钟回家。”株洲滑翔伞运动爱好者“曾大虾”(网名)不止一次用这样很“极限”的方式回家。但是他也坦承，堵车虽然是改乘滑翔伞的一个原因，但是他更希望自己飞在天上的时候被更多的市民看到，“飞友”的队伍越来越壮大。

　　“曾大虾”告诉记者，他今年已经42岁了，是个公务员[微博]，以前是湖南飞行跳伞队的队员，退役后回到家乡，滑翔伞运动已经玩了十多年。其实他家距单位开车只有10多分钟的路程，但是中间隔了一条江，堵车加上公路七拐八拐，有时候上下班需要近半个小时的时间。一天他突发奇想：为什么不能将自己热爱的滑翔伞当成上下班的工具？“单位边上有一块空地，家边也有沿江景观绿化带，动力滑翔伞起飞和降落的场地都合适。”抱着试试看的心情，“曾大虾”开始了第一次试飞。用十分钟准备滑翔伞，一分钟后他就降落在家边的草坪上，“曾大虾”为自己的技术高超欣喜不已。他觉得这样做非常好，避免了堵车的烦恼，又可以玩自己最爱的滑翔伞。“株洲现在美极了，尤其是从空中往下看。为此我还在帽子上装了摄像头，把空中的视频传到网上，跟全国的滑友们一起分享。”同时，他也希望自己飞翔的身姿被大家看到，进而越来越多的人会加入这个队伍。

　　但是“曾大虾”也警告想加入的市民，滑翔伞不仅是最容易获得并且操作简单的飞行器，而且随着技术的革新，折叠打包后越来越小，越来越轻便的装备可以让人背着伞包“伞行天下”。但是这个运动看起来并不简单，初学者不仅要根据自己的体重购买伞，而且要经过两个月的严格训练，并考取执照。初学者在开始阶段只能尝试滑翔伞，当技术合格时才能使用动力滑翔伞。前者起飞的时候需要一定的高度，而后者完全可以做到平地起飞。(北京青年报)