f you’ve ever dreamed of soaring through the air like a superhero, now’s your chance. Three high-flying adrenaline sports – paragliding, skydiving and bungee jumping – will get your feet off the ground and your adrenaline pumping. All you need is a free afternoon and an adventurous spirit.

PARAGLIDING

Imagine silently floating above the earth, snugly seated in a comfortable harness tethered to a large inflated wing overhead. It’s this feeling of blissful freedom that makes paragliding so addictive to its more than 4,000 registered pilots in the United States who soar at heights up to 15,000 feet, often for hours at a time.

According to instructor Kay Tauscher of Peak to Peak Paragliding in Boulder, Colo., paragliding is a life-changing experience.

“It’s perceived as such an exceptional thing,” she says, “that when people surmount it and learn how to do it, it brings such a sense of accomplishment and self-worth.”

Paragliding does not take a lot of strength, but it does require some know-how, which is why you’ll start out learning the basics on the ground. For around $75 to $300 (rates vary by school), you can start off with an introductory lesson, which will teach you how to launch, steer, brake and land. If that first taste of flight hooks you, for about $1,250 you can become a certified solo pilot, recognized by the U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, after a minimum of 25 flights. Once you’re trained to fly solo, you might want to get yourself a harness, a glider, a reserve parachute and a helmet – you could spend anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 on the equipment. Then you can take to the sky on a whim.