Paramotoring in Delhi

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Paragliding Association of India (paraglidingassociationofindia.org) — NPRS, technical manual, state associations, Aero Club of India — 'Taking Flight: Unpacking the Thrill and Discipline of Paramotoring in India', Mamba Aviation — pilot training FAQ on India's unregulated status and logbook expectation, Orangelife Adventures — Vijay Soni profile, INPAF 2001 competition, Trans-Sahyadri expedition, Wikipedia — Powered paragliding, USPPA, SkyVentures, Wingmasters, Space Apple and SkyThrill — paramotor course structures and prerequisites. These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: Modern
Category: Air
Olympic discipline: No
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Federation and state pathway
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 0

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: Aero Club of India
Ministry recognition: Not currently verified
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: Not currently verified
TOPS eligibility: Not currently verified
Olympic status: Not on the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Paramotoring is listed on SportSupport in the air category. Its recorded origin is Modern. It is not on the Olympic programme. We list Aero Club of India as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Paramotoring has a federation and state-level pathway in India, and athletes selected through Aero Club of India may be eligible for state sports-quota employment and state cash awards where their state notifies the discipline. TOPS does not apply, as the discipline is outside the Olympic programme.

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for paramotoring athletes in India.

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Stipend, boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to paramotoring.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria at Asian, Commonwealth or World Championship level — Government of India. Whether a given paramotoring event counts depends on the scheme's notified list.
State sports quota and government employment
Many states reserve government and public-sector posts for national-level medallists. Which paramotoring events and which certifying bodies a state accepts varies by state, so check your state's current notification.

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Indian Players

No profiles yet

No athlete profiles are recorded for paramotoring yet. We only list athletes we can source, so this section stays empty until verifiable profiles exist.

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Rules

Paramotoring, or powered paragliding, is flying a paraglider wing with a motor and propeller carried on the pilot's back or mounted on a wheeled trike. Unlike free-flight paragliding it does not depend on thermals or ridge lift: the pilot foot-launches or takes off from a flat field and can sustain level flight and climb under power, which makes flat terrain and early-morning calm air the normal operating environment rather than hill sites. Competitive powered paragliding under FAI rules is contested as economy tasks (distance or duration on a fixed fuel load), precision tasks such as spot landings and slalom through pylons, and navigation or cross-country tasks flown to declared GPS turnpoints, with tracklogs verified from onboard loggers. Skill progression in India is assessed against the national rating system rather than by a legally required licence, and pilots are expected to keep a logbook evidencing hours.

Authoritative rulebook: Aero Club of India. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across air sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced paramotoring squad list.

Competition pilot
Flies scored tasks under the FAI Sporting Code.
Instructor & tandem pilot
Certified to train new pilots and fly passengers.
Safety officer / launch marshal
Runs the launch and landing sites at competitions.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in paramotoring at a federation-recognised event.

Paramotor unit — frame, two-stroke or electric engine, propeller and cage, roughly 35 to 50kg with fuel
Paraglider wing certified for powered use, plus reserve parachute
Harness with hang points suited to motor thrust, and a throttle with kill switch
Helmet with headset, gloves, boots and eye protection
GPS instrument and variometer for navigation and competition tracklogs
Trike or quad chassis for wheeled launch where foot-launching is impractical
Fuel handling kit and spare propeller — prop strikes on launch are the common failure

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Aero Club of India

Aero Club of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Paramotoring, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement of current recognition — recognition is granted year by year.

Origin: Modern
Olympic: No
Paralympic: No
Category: Air

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Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in paramotoring.

Indian cross-country paramotor competition
India's first cross-country paramotor competition was organised by INPAF in Pune in 2001. Vijay Soni won both the paragliding and paramotoring titles at that inaugural event and took the paragliding championship again the following year; the success of those competitions led directly to India hosting its first formal international-level paragliding competition in Himachal Pradesh in 2002.
Paragliding Association of India (PAI)
Formed in 2010 and registered in Goa, PAI is the national sports association covering both free-flight paragliding and powered paragliding. It developed the National Pilot Rating System for PG and PPG skill evaluation, following the FAI SafePro Para framework with equivalence to major international systems, and published a Technical Manual endorsed by both the British and US powered-paragliding bodies. It has state associations in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, and provides group personal accident insurance to members.
Push for formal recognition
A framework covering safety norms, training rules and equipment licensing has been prepared for submission to the Aero Club of India and the DGCA, with the wider aim of a National Aero Sports Policy. Practitioners note that without one, local authorities sometimes restrict flying because the rules are unclear — and that formal recognition would allow paramotoring to enter the National Games, a prerequisite for building teams for events like the Asian Games.

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in paramotoring.

FAI and World Games
Powered paragliding sits under the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and featured at the 2017 World Games. It is not an Olympic sport.
Indian international results
Vijay Soni became the first pilot to complete a 100km FAI triangle in India on a paraglider in 2009, and in 2012 became the first Indian pilot to win a championship in an international competition held in India.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for paramotoring. The national championship under Aero Club of India remains the top domestic competition.

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International Players

Globally recognised paramotoring athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for paramotoring maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in paramotoring — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

Paramotoring is effectively unregulated in India — no licence is legally required to fly — which makes it unusually accessible, but pilots are expected to maintain a logbook evidencing their experience, and the absence of enforceable standards is itself the sport's biggest safety problem
For carrying tourists on tandem flights the recommended standard is 100 hours solo plus 50 hours flying with a qualified pilot passenger, yet unlicensed operators are reported to ignore these thresholds and sometimes skip even basic equipment such as helmets — prospective students are advised to verify a school's certification before booking
The training route runs through paragliding first: students master ground handling and basic wing control before adding a motor, typically via a five-day basic paramotor course followed by a six-day intermediate course, with schools following either the APPI or USPPA syllabus
Physical demand is a real filter for foot-launch flying — the paramotor unit weighs roughly 35 to 50kg with fuel and must be carried on the back while running to inflate the wing, which is why trike-based paramotoring is recommended for pilots with fitness limitations
Instructors have built careers training armed forces personnel: Vijay Soni has taught paragliding to the NDA, BSF, Indian Air Force, Army and Navy, and instructed the Indian Army's 2009 Trans-Sahyadri expedition covering 1,000km from Goa to Ahmednagar in 20 days
Commercial work spans joyride operations, tandem flying, aerial photography, aerial advertising and instruction, with schools concentrated around Pune, Gurgaon, Rajasthan and Goa

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Related academies

0 listed

No paramotoring academies are catalogued in the directory yet. Browse the full academy list or list your academy to appear here.

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FAQs

Common questions about paramotoring in India.

Who governs Paramotoring in India?▾

We list Aero Club of India as the Indian governing/organising body for Paramotoring, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Paramotoring an Olympic sport?▾

No, Paramotoring is not on the Olympic programme.

How do I start playing Paramotoring in India?▾

The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under Aero Club of India. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Paramotoring athletes?▾

TOPS does not apply, as Paramotoring is outside the Olympic programme. State-government cash awards or sports-quota employment can apply where a state notifies the discipline, which varies by state. Paramotoring does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Paramotoring in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Paramotoring in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.