Paragliding Ljubuški became famous all over the world, and “Ljubuška kula” along with “Slovenske starti” is one of the top four paragliding destinations in the Balkans.
Flying in Ljubuški provides top flying pleasure for both XC pilots and recreational pilots who want to enjoy the evening thermals and laminar wind on the slope. By the way, the Ljubuški-Kula airfield is located on the south side of the slope, at 340 m above sea level.
“Pilots visit Ljubuški from all over Europe, but also from other continents, although not in such large numbers yet. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, our club holds a convincing first place in the total sum of kilometers flown and hours spent in the air“, said in an interview for Fena the president of the club “Paragliding Ljubuški” David Šiljeg. It ranks side by side with the top three Slovenian terrains, while leaving behind all the most frequent airfields in Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and similar destinations.
He emphasized that the Ljubuški-Kula airfield is a great attraction for all pilots from BiH, as well as from the wider region and the whole world.
“Paragliding Ljubuški is in great expansion. Unofficially, we also provide tandem flight services. Since licensing for tandem pilots in our country is currently very slow, we are not at an enviable level, because we need better organization, but we try to be as competent and professional as possible,” explained Šiljeg.
According to him, this extreme sport is not harmless, but if you follow all regulations, possible problems can be reduced to the lowest level.
“This sport belongs to the group of extreme sports; this is an aviation sport. If I say that this sport is harmless, I would be lying. Danger and uncertainty can be reduced to the lowest level if you have a proper training, comply with all aviation regulations, and if meteorological conditions are observed carefully and everything that manuals, books and schools require to be done is done properly. Going out into the unknown, flying in conditions that are not adapted to our equipment and our skills, can end tragically, or with a serious injury,” emphasizes Šiljeg.
Sports activities prepared by “Paragliding Ljubuški” are Ljubuški Outdoor Festival called “Lj O F”, then the discipline Precise landing “Kosača”, and then traditionally in September “Ljubuški Open”.
“Precise landing” Kosača is part of the Ljubuški Outdoor Festival where we are one of the three participants, along with cyclists and runners. We plan to brand this type of festival in this part of Herzegovina, and in the wider region by combining outdoor disciplines that are characteristic for our city and region, such as running, cycling and lately paragliding,” said the president of the “Paragliding Ljubuški”.
By the way, “Paragliding Ljubuški” has officially existed since 2016, and they have been involved in paragliding before.
Currently, the club has about twenty members and in addition to Ljubuški, they come from Opuzen, Makarska, Drvenik, Doboj…
“The longest flight of our members was from Ljubuški to Donji Vakuf 120.3 kilometers. And for me personally, the best flight that was done by Branimir Mandić who flew from Ljubuški to Trebinje, which was quite a demanding and technically very nice flight,” concluded Šiljeg.
