Know your flying fabrics

What's the difference between parachutes, paragliders, hang gliders, kitesurfs, parasails or parakites and wingsuits? They're all fun ways to get around and all very easy to mix up with each other.

Each form can be distinguished by a combination of how you launch, whether it has a rigid or flexible structure, and whether you travel over water, land or through the air.

A paragliding flight I once experienced was the closest I've ever felt to the joy of flying, even more so than when I jumped out of a plane.

You might also look out for para motors—a paraglider with a big fan on it—and winging, a cross between windsurfing and kitesurfing, where you hold directly onto a wing-shaped sail and let it woosh you over the water.