Inspired by his grandfather, who was a private pilot in the US Midwest state of Kansas, Houston-based BP contractor Chris Page has always wanted to fly.

For years he was also fascinated with video and movie production. Several years ago he began pursuing the first of these passions by taking up powered paragliding. And recently, he launched himself into the world of independent filmmaking with a 90-minute documentary which has been well received at film festivals in California and Texas.

For the past three years Page has worked as an information technology concierge, or consultant, in BP's deepwater business unit. But during his time off he loves to grab his video camera and jump into his lightweight aircraft, or paraglider, and take to the Texas sky.

"It's as close to flying like a bird as you're going to get," says Chris, who is a member of a Houston flying club called the Texas Wing Nuts.

Pilots are strapped into a bucket seat harnessed to an engine, propeller and bright-coloured glider. A paraglider weighs about 38kg (84 pounds), which includes an engine averaging about 26 horsepower. Some of these aircraft can reach heights of 3,000 metres (10,000 feet), depending on the pilot's weight and weather conditions. Chris can generally fly for about two hours before refuelling. His longest flight to date was 82km (51 miles) in Texas, which he achieved on a 7.6 litre (two gallon) gasoline tank.

Licences are not required for operating a paraglider, but the US Federal Aviation Agency requires that aircraft carry no more than 28.5 litres (five gallons) of gasoline, do not fly at night, do not fly over populated areas, remain solo, and do not violate restricted air space.

"When you're out in the elements, the feeling of weightlessness is a great release," Chris says. "There's nothing separating you from nature."

He added a new dimension to his aerial adventures when he began videotaping and producing movie shorts, complete with soundtracks. Over a year he gathered about 100 hours of footage, and with a modest budget, transformed it into a full-length feature documentary, Into the Wind, that he describes as "one part reality TV, one part extreme sports, with humorous episodes."

The film earned a rare screening this February at the 2006 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which showed only 200 films of the 3,000 submitted. In April, Chris received second prize in the documentary group at the Worldfest Houston Film Festival. In its 39th year, it is the oldest film festival in the world.

Chris is seeking further outlets for the film, including the Outdoor Life television network, Discovery Channel, and Canadian Sports Network, and is planning to develop new features.

"On our extended flights we meet really interesting people and I like to figure out ways to creatively weave those people into our stories," he says. "We have a following among the pure adventurists, but we want to appeal to a broader audience by bringing in others, like the novices who we taught to fly in Into the Wind."

Powered paragliding began in Europe in the mid-1980s, and today it is quickly becoming popular in the US, which has an estimated 5,000 pilots.

Words: Frank Baker