Paraglider
THE MONTEFIASCONE FLIGHT
Long. 42° 30′ 52″ Lat. 11° 57′ 37″
At the moment, the only available flight on the Lake of Bolsena is from Montefiascone. It is in within easy reach from the centre of the country, taking the SS Cassia North in the direction of Bolsena, after approximately 2 kms take a right turn into via Gevi, then another 200 metres on the left you will find the take off point.
The best times to fly from Montefiascone are from the middle of spring and throughout the summer, when there is a favourable high pressure, with the wind coming from the west and south west. Flights are possible almost every day, especially in the afternoons, though the more advisable months are July and August, when there is a constant breeze from the early afteroon until the evening.
It is possible to fly either to the left or the right of the ridge at take off.
Flying to the right goes in the directon of the Lake until the restaurant Caminetto, with it’s beautifl view, where one can admire the Lake of Bolsena in it’s entirety. Flying to the left takes you to Montefiascone where you can admire the Lake from another angle as well as having a splendid ariel view of Montefiascone.
The flight, essentially dynamic does not present any particular difficulties and is basically calm with some small “bumps” in warmer times, and for the more skilled, will be easy to make a good landing.
The ground below offers various landings for the eventual “hole”, the only reccomendation is to “baptise” it prior to the flight, noting the presence of cultured fields and the wires from telephones and power. The eventual recovery is possible by passing through via Coste and via del Lago depending on the landing. This place for flying is not well attended, partly because it is not known by many people and partly because there is not a flight school in the area. He usual “flyers” that use this take off are scattered in the vicinity of the city of Viterbo, and for convenience they meet in the valley of Tarquinia, where there is another place for flying, but is less genorous than that of Bolsena.
In the past, on the Lake of Bolsena, hang-gliders flew from a flight place with a good view of Montefiascone from the top of via Bandita. (A thanks to Luciano for indicating the flight site and for the help with the article)
Recently we have been contacted by a society in the Caribbean that is preparing a flight base on the Lake for the demonstration and commercialisation of their product. Italy allows take off directly from the beach by means of “dragging” from a boat.
The innovative system allows the paraglider to reach a height of around 800 metres, and it’s relative release with a winch system that is extremely secure and easy to use. The service will also look at flights in a two seater for the tourists who want to fly in the absence of wind for paragliding.
