The Paragliding World Cup 2015 got underway with Union Minister of Civil Aviation P. Gajapati Raju flagging off the pilots from the Billing launch site in Bir.
Participants : A total of 130 pilots representing more than 35 countries are taking part in the World Cup .
Organiser : The local Billing Paragliding Association
Title sponsor : Airports Authority of India (AAI) .
AAI Paragliding World Cup :
For the first time GPS-aided GEO augmented navigation (GAGAN), an India SBAS (Satellite Based Augmentation System) Programme jointly developed by the India Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the AAI will be used for live tracking of the pilots.
- The AAI is providing the pilots with GAGAN signals for accurate navigation and tracking facility. For the first time GAGAN-enabled accord receivers have been put to use in the Indian airspace.
- The field at the AAI Paragliding World Cup is one of the strongest on the tour.
Top-ranking pilots in world and in Europe
| Winners | Rank |
| Julien Wirtz | 1 |
| Vidic Jurij of Slovenia | 2 |
| Torsten Siegel of Germany | 3 |
- Andreas Malecki of Germany, former World No. 1 from September 2011 to February 2012, and Maxine Pinot of France, World No. 8 and winner of 2014 Super Cup in Turkey, are among the top participants.
- The Indian challenge will be led by Ajay Kumar, who is the country’s one of the most experienced pilots.
Billing Paragliding Association
The Billing Paragliding Association formed in 2006 had successfully organised the Pre-World Cup of Paragliding here in 2013.
- The association is the only organisation recognised by the Aero Club of India, which in turn is the only body recognised by Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the world governing body for air sports, and the Paragliding World Cup Association (PWCA).
Key points :
- Paragliding was short-listed in the initial list of new events for the 2020 Olympics but will now be considered for the 2024 Olympic Games.