aquatix Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 Imagine parking your car at a beautiful upland vantage point on a sparkling spring day. You open the boot and don flying suit and boots, then lift out your incredibly light flying machine in its carrying rucksack and trek off a few yards to where your friends are preparing to fly. After a few minutes spent inspecting your equipment you put on your helmet and harness, look around, allow the wind to raise the canopy of your glider and launch off into space. This is paragliding! http://www.skywingsmag.com/images_new/about_pg1.jpg What exactly is it? Developed from parachuting canopies, modern paragliders can be soared effortlessly on windward slopes and across country in good conditions. It is the same freedom that hang glider and sailplane pilots have, but a paraglider is more portable and a little easier to learn to fly. In the UK paragliding is a thriving sport. British equipment manufacturers rival numerous importers of similar products, and the country-wide network of BHPA clubs offers literally hundreds of flying sites and a supportive flying and social environment. What can you do with one? Many paraglider pilots strive to perfect their skills in cross-country flying. A summer sky filled with fluffy cumulus clouds provides abundant - but invisible - lifting currents which pilots use to gain altitude. Setting off on such a day, either towards a pre-selected goal or just drifting where the wind will take you, is one of the most breathtaking experiences available today. Most pilots will talk of the sense of privilege they feel when drifting from cloud to cloud, in almost total silence, watching the landscape unfold beneath them as they navigate across the sky. Flights of over 200 kilometres have been made by paraglider pilots in this country. Abroad, especially in the Alpine regions, the potential is infinitely greater, and many British pilots take advantage of their paraglider¹s portability to visit Europe and more exotic locations further afield. For those of a competitive bent, local, national and international competitions offer challenges to novice and experienced pilots alike. British pilots are an emerging force in international competitions and have a growing tally of contest wins. Do they always need a hill? Paragliding is not limited to upland environments. A growing element of the sport is tow launching, using an engine-driven winch to pull pilots aloft where they search for lift like their hill flying friends. Parascending pilots use a vehicle to tow up and then descend onto a chosen point, displaying incredible skill in regularly landing within centimetres of their target. How much does it cost? Paragliders are not cheap, although they represent one of the least expensive ways to get into the air. A new paraglider suitable for a recently trained pilot will cost from around £1,500; top-of-the range gliders cost a bit more and secondhand canopies can be obtained for much less. Training to the level at which you can fly your own canopy in a club environment costs around £6 - 800; introductory courses cost around half that. Apart from a glider you need a harness, helmet, flight suit and boots; later in your flying career you may choose to buy instruments and other useful accessories. Paragliding is a great community. You¹ll often find championship-winning pilots comparing notes with novices; both know that theirs is perhaps the simplest and most intuitive way of flying yet devised. If you want to enjoy the challenges that only being truly at one with the elements can provide, book a training course today! Learning to fly a paraglider Expect a full course to take seven to ten days of flyable weather; you might also consider a two-day Otaster¹ course or a limited Elementary Pilot certificate. Training is usually conducted on the gentle slopes of a small hill. Your instructor will explain how the canopy is laid out, inflated and controlled by its brake lines; you¹ll then take it in turns with other members of your group to have your first short training hops. When you¹ve become adept at ground handling, controlling airspeed and making gentle turns, you¹ll probably go to a higher hill for longer flights. The instructor may even take you up dual on a special canopy to demonstrate an exercise. As things fall into place you¹ll learn to soar - to stay up in favourable winds and make longer flights. In the classroom you¹ll cover flight theory, meteorology and basic airlaw and sit a simple exam. With a positive assessment from your instructor on your flying, normally on your own canopy, you¹ll be given a BHPA Club Pilot rating enabling you to fly in the club environment. You¹ll find that DIY takes a back seat when you¹ve discovered the unlimited freedom of the sky! You can also learn to fly paragliders in an airfield environment, using a winch or vehicle to tow you aloft. Training takes less time and you can convert to hill flying later if you choose to. For more information on learning to fly see www.BHPA.co.uk Now see: http://community.flexifoil.com/showthread.php?t=82489 and http://community.flexifoil.com/show...ght=Freex+Flair Quote
Joe2003 Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 I would love to and definatly will one day. But the main thing that puts me off is that it would be so much fun, and the weather would never be good enough to do it. I find it hard enough with kites, but the weather has to be even more specific with paragliding doesnt it? Quote
aquatix Posted October 27, 2005 Author Report Posted October 27, 2005 Unfortunately it can involve lots of time sitting on top of a hill watching clouds, birds and tree-tops waiting for the right conditions , but since we all keep a close watch on the weather anyway you can usually tell if it's right for flying or go kiting instead!!! Usually plenty of flyable days from April - September (or you can winch launch), but once trained, it all fits in a rucksack for taking on holiday on a plane or in the boot of your car so you can fly anywhere in the world !!!! Not bad for a portable aircraft !!!! Quote
mgs Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 At Gwithian Sands in Cornwall,I saw a couple of guys simply take off from the beach.They flipped the canopy above their heads and took a few paces into the wind and that was that.They flew up and down the beach about 20ft or so for hours.Looked pretty to me .......... Quote
tttonyyy1599968643 Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 So how does airlaw work with paragliding? How do you find out about restricted airspace and avoid other aircraft flying into you? For example, here in wilts there are lots of rolling hills, and at one point I was sitting in a little country pub's beer garden, saw a paraglider pass overhead, then twenty minutes later he came into the pub with a big rucksack for a pint! But - just a few weeks later I saw two big transport aircraft from RAF Lyneham practising low-level flying in the same airspace. How does that all work? Do you have to submit a flight plan if you're doing cross country jaunts? And who to? Quote
cassiewoofer Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 Hey aquatix!!!!!! don't tell everyone the slopes are crowded enough as it is!! When i started powerkiting i saw the sizes of the big 25m kites and thought .....blimey they'll all be paragliding in a few years time! Quote
J2NZ Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 Sounds great - I intend to do it! I am off to New Zealand to live for a year after 3 months or so travelling (Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Fiji & Australia). Where would be the best place to learn over there? Guess NZ would be good for safety and environment, although not as cheap as Vietnam! Cheers! Quote
aquatix Posted October 27, 2005 Author Report Posted October 27, 2005 tttonyyy - simple (almost). Airmaps show the restricted areas around airfields and MOD bases etc... and you can phone in a NOTAM (notice of where you will be flying) a few days beforehand. Many paragliding/hanggliding sites are marked and avoided by other traffic. mgs - I saw the photo's of the dune soaring! Not much lift but by all accounts they had an amazing blast up and down. cassie - sorry mate, just trying to clear some space on the beach!!!! Quote
cassiewoofer Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 My instructor never bothers with NOTAM any more since he realised it was only the days that he forgot to ring them that they didn't see any military jet fighters! Apparently when they got info that hang-gliders and paragliders were at a certain location they'd just fly over to have a look! Quote
mgs Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 Have any of you guys seen the DVD from Ozone that was free with the kiteworld magazine,i think last year.Its a promotional DVD covering paragliding and kiting. The paragliding footage is pretty amazing. Quote
cassiewoofer Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 I'll have to try and get hold of that,...there's an amazing vid at the moment doing the rounds of a french guy who's just mastered loops,....that's full on loops in a paraglider!! search for 'infinite tumbling Antoinne Montant' should find the vid. Don't think i've started young enough to ever get the balls to do that! Quote
tttonyyy1599968643 Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 Yes, I had a copy of that I won from Kite Fantastic. The paragliding footage was indeed amazing, since I had no idea you could do the things they were doing without the wing folding up. I had something of a preconception that you had to be careful with them to avoid piling into the ground, and then I see on this DVD they're almost looping the things, diving them directly at the ground, grabbing their mates during a dive and doing spiral descents around each other etc. Bit of an eye opener that was. Quote
king_of_the_sky Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 looks cool, i looekd at it a while ago but to get trained costs fair bit form what i could gather, something for when i got a job me thinks Quote
TheMackster Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 a small vid of a few of us gliding around south wales..... http://www.ckskool.co.uk/video/999.wmv 22meg small :eek: it can be fun without all the looping stuff........ have fun Quote
aquatix Posted October 27, 2005 Author Report Posted October 27, 2005 Nice one !!! What make is the black glider with the yellow tips? Not seen that design before:confused: Lovely soft landing though (followed by a quick bit of scudding to keep the kiters happy ? ) Now if that doesn't inspire someone to buy my glider there is no hope!!! Quote
mgs Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 http://www.flyozone.com/gallery/images/59_w.jpg This stunt and many others is on the Ozone DVD Quote
mgs Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 http://www.flyozone.com/gallery/images/57_w.jpgRather them than me...... Quote
tttonyyy1599968643 Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 OK, so how do you check the wing is airworthy? Does it have to have the equivelent of an MOT every x hours of flying? Quote
northern jim Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 Sort of, Before you buy any wing, check that it has a porosity rating. I.e. a percentage. (worked out by passing air through the canopy). Also, wings over 8-9 years old are likely (not always) to be past their sell by date! OK, so how do you check the wing is airworthy? Does it have to have the equivelent of an MOT every x hours of flying? Quote
TheMackster Posted October 27, 2005 Report Posted October 27, 2005 Nice one !!! What make is the black glider with the yellow tips? Not seen that design before Lovely soft landing though (followed by a quick bit of scudding to keep the kiters happy ? ) Now if that doesn't inspire someone to buy my glider there is no hope!!! tis a Bionic 2 from the manufacturer bio-air technologies, we call it the flying moustache.......lol Quote
aquatix Posted October 27, 2005 Author Report Posted October 27, 2005 Wow - quite a rare beast! Found website: http://www.bio-air-technologies.com/index2.htm and certainly lots of scientific stuff to suggest it works. Would love to have a go but they don't make 'em in my size ! tttonyyy - yes mate, just like an MOT they should be inspected / serviced every 100 hours or annually at Aerofix or The Loft - after all, your life depends on it!!! Hey, guess what? The FreeX Flair I'm selling has just passed a full service with top marks and not flown since! Reckon it must be a bargain . Quote
whiplash Posted October 28, 2005 Report Posted October 28, 2005 Here in Cape Town Ive seen the guys with paragliders have this fan that gets mounted on his back.They just pull the wing up above them selves and run a bit with the fan blowing and off they go for hours up and down the coast line.They gain altitude pretty easy with those fans. Is that also paragliding??They use the same wing. Quote
MATT1 Posted October 28, 2005 Report Posted October 28, 2005 Here in Cape Town Ive seen the guys with paragliders have this fan that gets mounted on his back.They just pull the wing up above them selves and run a bit with the fan blowing and off they go for hours up and down the coast line.They gain altitude pretty easy with those fans. Is that also paragliding??They use the same wing. its pretty similar but i would be a little worried about jumping off of anything with a giant food processor on my back., Quote
highflyer1599968632 Posted October 28, 2005 Report Posted October 28, 2005 wow, nice vid. That looked bl00dy amazing, i would love to give it a go. Do you know of any info on training centres in Ireland? I live in an ideal spot to do it but i have never seen anyone trying it. wish i had not seen that video now, might have to sell the kites Quote
cassiewoofer Posted October 28, 2005 Report Posted October 28, 2005 Sort of, Before you buy any wing, check that it has a porosity rating. I.e. a percentage. (worked out by passing air through the canopy). Also, wings over 8-9 years old are likely (not always) to be past their sell by date! My Apco was made in 1994, making it 11 years old! got it off these forums for £200, with harness! a year ago. Three weeks ago i was 600ft up on it for 20 minutes! Spent £90 getting it serviced, one line test broken at 57kg and replaced, porosity very good which is incredible for an 11 yr old wing but apco make them for isreali terrain, and double coat with silicon and use heavy duty cloth. Makes it a bit of a donkey weightwise but £200! (Aerofix gave it average-good bill of health.....valid for 1yr.) Quote
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