A daring grandmother has taken to the skies with a powered paraglider just months after her husband passed away as a way of ‘challenging herself.’
Li Jiaxin, 70, has been participating in the extreme sport since 2008 but it was initially a struggle to get off the ground.
The Chinese daredevil couldn’t afford a brand new powered paragilder, which can cost upwards of $7,240, as well as an additional $1,354 for lessons on her minimal monthly pension.
Chinese grandmother Li Jiaxin (pictured), 70, has been taking to the sky on her powered paraglider since 2008
But when she found a second-hand glider for a fraction of that cost she knew it was a sign. She bought it without a second thought.
‘I took out all my savings to pursue my dreams of flying,’ she told China Daily.
A powered paraglider differs to traditional hang gliding because a giant fan, known as a paramotor, is strapped to the participants back to help them soar.
They can also take off from the ground or a flat surface instead of launching themselves off a cliff face.
She took up the sport shortly after losing her husband, as a way of challenging herself
Ms Jiaxin, who lost her husband shortly before purchasing the glider, isn’t afraid to partake in the solo sport because she ‘enjoys doing what challenges me – things that are deemed impossible by others.’
And while she is careful in the air, making sure to never fly on a terribly windy day, the 70-year-old isn’t able to afford insurance. Not that she has let that stop her.
Instead she usually flies with 45-year-old power plant worker Zhong Hua, after they struck up a friendship over a mutual love of powered paragliding.
Friends have started calling Ms Jiaxin the ‘flying grandma,’ and Mr Hua admits she could teach young men a thing or two about taking chances.
Ms Jiaxin is often referred to as the ‘flying grandma’ for her participation in the extreme sport