SOARING – Hang gliders and paragliders now have official permission to land in part of Chelan Falls Park, but they shouldn’t be swooping in on in-progress birthday parties or soccer games – at least not intentionally.  Here's more from the Wenatchee World via AP:

The Chelan County PUD has reached an agreement that allows four hang gliding and paragliding groups to land in a central portion of the park, near the parking lot.

Chelan Butte, above the park, has long been considered a world-class place for the flyers to launch and fly. It hosted a world championship in 2014.

The flying groups have had permits to land on five PUD-owned land parcels below the butte since 1999, Jeff Smith, the utility’s managing director of district services, said Thursday.

The five parcels are rough and uneven, he said. The gliders preferred the flat, grassy expanse in the park and had been using it.

The agreement requires the gliding associations to add the PUD to their insurance policy, install an info kiosk about their activity in the park and improved signage at the launch site.

The gliding groups are Chelan Flyers, Cloudbase Country Club, Northwest Paragliding Club and the U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association.

No collisions have been reported between the flyers and users of the PUD park, Smith said.