About Zephyr

A Zephyr is defined as a west wind; a breeze from the west; a gentle breeze. The word Zephyr is derived from the Greek word Zephyrus, the god of the west wind.

Zephyrus is believed to live in a cave on Thrace. He is the son of Eos and Astraeus and the brother of Boreas, Eurus and Notus. He abducted the goddess Chloris and gave her dominion over flowers. In Roman myth, he is Favonius, the protector of flowers and plants.

In the Bay Area, the majority of our flying sites work best when there is a west wind, or a western component in the wind (WNW, NW, WSW, SW). If you hear that the weather forecast is calling for moderate westerly winds, you can bet that Bay Area pilots are either heading to the hills or wishing they were.

After a day of safe flying, remember to drink a toast to Zephyrus!

Our Website

Since there are so many sites on the Internet that relate to foot-launched flying, we have decided to go for quality, rather than quantity. We only link to the web sites that we regularly refer to and find particularly informative. We only recommend instructors and products that we know are of the highest quality. While we are primarily focused on flying in the San Francisco Bay Area, we list the flying sites outside the Bay Area that we have personally visited and that we think are particularly special. Although our flying is currently limited to paragliding, we make every effort to include hang gliding in our references, when appropriate.

This website is designed and maintained for you.  If you come across a "dead" link or if you want to recommend additional links or content, please let us know.  We are happy to hear any suggestions you may have that would make this site more useful.

Acknowledgements

This web site is dedicated to the many pilots who have enriched our lives and to the new and future members of our flying community. May you get high, go far and fly safely.



The following individuals have been tremendously influential in our paragliding education: 
  • Wally Anderson
  • Joe Gluzinsky
  • David Jebb
  • Jean-Luc Lejaille
  • Bob Ost
  • Philippe Waffelaert 
  • And all the talented and generous pilots of Sky Sports in Ölüdeniz, Turkey.

A special thanks to Steve Thorpe, the designer of the Zephyr logo and Amit Ranan, our web designer.

Our Original Headquarters