A paraglider who hit turbulence has survived a seven-hour ordeal.

The 63-year-old pilot span out of control when half of the paraglider's canopy suddenly deflated.

Police say he managed to release his parachute to slow the plunging aircraft and ended up at the top of a gum tree, about 30 metres off the ground.

And there he calmly waited for seven hours to be rescued.

The drama happened near Bright on Tuesday.

Leading Senior Constable Scott Baldock, said the St Kilda man had taken off about 12.30pm from Mystic Hill and then hit turbulence.

“He had been spinning out of control when he has deployed his parachute, which has allowed him to come down more slowly,” he said.

“He has fallen right into the top fork of a tree, about 25 or 30 metres off the ground.”

He said the man had landed in a tree about 500 metres along the Wet Gully Track, along a ridge line south-west of the Great Alpine Road between Bright and Harrietville.

Search and rescue officers had to climb the tree, secure the man in a harness, cut the chute and lower him to the ground.

“He has literally had no injuries and he was really calm in the tree, where he was probably for a good seven hours,” he said.

“I arrived there at about 5pm and he was really calm, really controlled.”

The Border Mail