Our Team

Samson D’silva

- Chief Instructor

 
 
Samson Dsilva

    Virar is the place where paragliding started in 1995 where he picked up his basics. 10 years of working in an organization, respectable post, good salary, furnished accommodation in Mumbai all this could not match satisfaction of flying like a free bird. He ventured into teaching paragliding in 1998 by assisting in other clubs. The excitement and joy on the students face after their first flight was enough to take a decision of starting his own club SPACE APPLE. He also picked up skills as a winch operator and started training using a winch.

Paramotoring, power kiting, parasailing, aero modeling are few other skills he developed over a period of time and added these activities to his club. Assisting in an established Aero modeling venture of his school mate came naturally.  The enjoyment and satisfaction in making model planes which could glide and soar kept him busy in his free time. It was natural for him to spread this hobby to young generation through aviation workshops. Other activities such as making fabric kites, taking children for treks and camps followed over a period of time. Today with over 25 years of experience in this field he makes sure his students get the best value for their money.

 



Rashmi D’silva

- Assistant Instructor

 
Rashmi Dsilva

    The woman behind the success of Space Apple. Her first experience of paragliding was in 1997 when she got her first lessons and a solo flight from a bunny hill. Other commitments and priorities had kept her away from the sport. Be it helping in preparing for the workshop or stitching parafoil kites, she participates whole heartedly.

In late 2006 she has returned back to the sport and her log book has started looking impressive. She regularly joins the team on the training field and actively assists in ground handling as well as flying sessions. Being a women her observations are very useful during briefing sessions.

 
 



Siddarth D’silva

- Instructor

 
Siddarth Dsilva

    As a child he often accompanied Samson on various adventures trips. At the age of 13 he showed interest in learning paragliding and became one of the youngest people in India to fly on regular basis. He started guiding students for perfecting their landings. It was natural for him to assume the role of instructor whenever he was on the field. He gives tandem joyrides from hills as well as on a winch. He does paramotoring and is quite good with power kites as well. Cycling tours is his new hobby.

His academic priorities keep him away from the sport on and off, but he continues to be an inspiration to the students of Space Apple.

 
 



M Johnwin

- Dreamer and Motivator

 
M Johnwin

    Throughout his school and college life he enjoyed being on the playgrounds than in classrooms. Samson and Johnwin bonded together in college because of sports. Innovative ideas, a dreaming mind, team leadership, influential contacts and concern for people are his admirable qualities. Though Johnwin ventured into various businesses and became successful, his heart was always into sports. When he heard about Samson and his plans of starting an adventure sports club he was more than happy to get involved. He is the true promoter of the club.

Business commitments did not allow him to get into paragliding initially, but the desire was always there. He picked up the basics as and when he could, took his time to master ground handling skills. Today enjoys the company of birds and fellow pilots on weekends

 
 



Hiren Shah

- Core Team Member

 
Hiren Shah

    An engineer by profession who likes to get involved deeply into anything that interests him. After aeromodelling and astronomy he got interested in paragliding. His capacity to recall what he has read is commendable and he is ever willing to share his knowledge with anyone who expresses genuine interest.

Though he is a very safe pilot he has been soaring and exploring all the flying sites he can visit. A regular club pilot of who is always ready to assist and guide new students.

 
 



Vasant

- Assistant Instructor

 
Vasant

    Vasant has joined as an assistant in 2008.  He picked up most of the skills on the field while watching the training sessions. Shy by nature he is quick in winning admiration of students with his ground handling skills and helpful attitude. He enjoys his work and has used this opportunity to master the skills of paragliding. He also gives tandem joyrides.

Along with paragliding he has picked up other sports as well and has become an indispensable team member of Space Apple.

 



Deepak

- Assistant

 
Deepak

    Deepak has joined Space Apple in 2010. He is the youngest member in the team and a fast learner. He has already picked up the basic skills and got his paragliding wings. Deepak loves to be in the wild and unlikely to stick to regular monotonous job.

Trekking in forests, fishing, climbing trees are his favorite pastimes.  He is very agile and loves climbing coconut and palm trees.

 

About us

Space Apple

is based in Virar, closest and the best place near Mumbai for paragliding training. Being a coastal area the winds are laminar, predictable and ideal for training in the evenings. Ridge soaring and thermalling is possible in mid afternoon.
Contact Us:
 
 

+91 98224 99281
+91 9561640416
 
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Flying sites:

Black Beauty hill, Twin Rock hill, Tungareshwar, Jivdani hill, Kaner hills and few other small slopes are used for training depending on wind strength and direction.

Virar is the only place for paragliding in India with so many choices all in a radius of about 6 kms to 8kms from Virar station. The sites are close to main road so unlike at other places you do not spend much time in travelling.

The training sites are never crowded as we are the only school at Virar so no waiting time unlike at sites where there are over 15 to 20 students from different schools using one site.
Winching Advantage :

Winching is another method used by Space Apple for training. In winch based flying, the takeoff is from a flat ground, instead of hill. So you do not have to climb hill to perfect your landings. This saves time and energy while learning the basic skills. You also end up getting more flights in training. Virar has hundreds of acres of open land where winch based training is conducted.

Virar also has a huge coast of over 20 kms which is ideal for paragliding and paramotoring training.All this add up to your advantage as we rarely have to cancel or postpone training due to bad weather.
Our Advantage:

Though dedicated to paragliding, Space Apple is into many aviation sports such as paramotoring, trike flying, power kiting, parasailing and aeromodelling.

The Chief Instructor enjoys teaching and has been training since 1998. The training team has two Chief Instructors and two assistants.

The number of students per batch is limited between two to four – the advantage is personal attention.

Recent News

  Flying Season begins in October

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 At Virar

 

Paragliding season is from September to May, the last three months are ideal for soaring flights in Vasai-Virar area. These months are also good for training. At Space Apple you get an advantage of winching flights before graduating to hill flying in the P1 course. The coastal location provides laminar sea breeze every day.

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About Space Apple

Virar Space Apple is based in Virar closest and the best place near Mumbai for Paragliding Training & Paramotor Joyride..
 
Samson Dsilva Samson Dsilva - CFI at Space Apple. Air & Adventure enthusiast and with over 15 years of experience in Paragliding.
 
Multi-Sport 5 Training Hills, Winching from a flat ground, Paragliding, Paramotoring, Trike flying, Power kiting, Parasailing and Aeromodelling.
 

Paragliding Courses

  • 1

Regulations & Licensing in India

Paragliding, Hang gliding and Paramotoring are not regulated by DGCA or Aero Club of India, so no license is required to fly anywhere in India. However all pilots are expected to maintain a logbook to show their experience level. In absence of national policies, many states in India have come up with safety guidelines to reduce risk factors and control accidents.

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