Anyone into Paraglidng / PPG?

[Rosssco]

Just a general interest question. I want to get into PPG (paramotor), so I started a paragliding training course about 3 years ago. Only done a few weekends then the travel was becoming excessive (Aberdeen to half way down M74!).

Anyone up the NE involved?

Cheers,
Ross

[renmure]

I've seen quite a few of them on my local bimbles around the sky.. probably missed seeing a few as well .. but never any more than one at a time and I haven't heard of any local(ish) clubs.

[tenkfeet]

Take it you were with Peter from Cloudbusters. You must have been starting when I was forced to finish after I flew into a hill near Stirling, doh! Had to get the Navy to come and get me. Plan was to do PPG but the paragliding bug took hold.

There is an active club who fly around Glenshee, name escapes me but can get a contact when I get home if you want. Quite a few people went out to Spain to get the better weather but there is a lot to be set for getting time on a Scottish Hill.

The cross country paraglider record is something like 100 miles, amazing.

[Rosssco]

Yeah, was with Peter. Really enjoyed it, it was just the travel (and some work) that was getting in the way. I am actually looking to perhaps doing the full week course over in Spain to get to (I think) club pilot level, which is the minimum to progress onto paramotor..

I like the idea of paragliding, but the freedom associated with strapping a 2-stroke to your back and taking off from virtually anywhere, and being less reliant on weather conditions / wind, is appealing..

[Dominic]

I was forced to finish after I flew into a hill near Stirling, doh! .

Speaking of which, did you ever regain your "lofty stature"?

[ryallm]

The cross country paraglider record is something like 100 miles, amazing.

I believe the UK record stands at 253km - nearly 160 miles - and there have been several hugely impressive 200km+ XC flights in the UK this year. Check this out as a pretty amazing example http://www.xcleague.com/xc/flights/20142603.html . I used to be very into paragliding but haven't done it for a number of years now. If you haven't seen it already you might find this forum useful http://www.paraglidingforum.com/index.php . Paragliders tend to regard paramotoring as a lower form of sport, much in the way windsurfers look upon jet skis, but I can see the appeal for wafting about in still evening air.

These days I spend a lot of time jumping out of planes - much safer than paragliding (really!).

Mark

[r10crw]

There was a guy in the NE up all the time. He flew from beside St Combs and would regularly see him up on sunny days.
I then started to think about having a go at it and thought about going round to see him. Enquired round the area and found out who he was, then discovered he had just broke his back when landing!
Not the safest of sports but loads of fun, check out some of the crazy guys on you tube doing figures of eight inches off the deck.

Ive a xair microlight I want to sell if anyone wants a very cheap microlight, bit like a flying clothes line but reasonably safe.

[Rosssco]

Danger you say? Sounds great! I recently wondered how safe it was in comparison to being inexperienced and jumping on a 600c sportsbike in damp conditions..

One of the things I think I'd prefer with PPG is the ability to actually fly in a direction (albeit slowly) that the prevailing wind might not be going.. If you don't like the landing at least you have the option to abort and try again.. Not quite the skills of PG I suppose.

I wanted to try microlighting, but its a bit too expensive and perhaps doesn't have the freedom of PPG / Paragliding as far as location. Plus, tbh, a cheap microlight - sounds like that recent VW advert where the boy gets the discount parachute

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtV-dYSQ9nE

[tenkfeet]

I was forced to finish after I flew into a hill near Stirling, doh! .

Speaking of which, did you ever regain your "lofty stature"?

Its not all about length. Sacked the man on the ruler.

If you make a big enough mistake in the air chances are it will end in tears. Of the pilots I have Known there were broken pelvis, broken ankle, broken backs and even a couple of deaths. Of all the bikers accidents the injuries have been far less severe even after impacts with cars. The bike cannot suddenly turn in to a pretty coloured blanket at 1000ft. Still paragliding is the biggest buzz I have ever had and would do it again in a heart beat.

Just don't hit the guy you are flying with. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpzReEkCsMI

[Dominic]

I was forced to finish after I flew into a hill near Stirling, doh! .

Speaking of which, did you ever regain your "lofty stature"?

Its not all about length. Sacked the man on the ruler.

Shall we share that tail....

[ryallm]

I was forced to finish after I flew into a hill near Stirling, doh! .

Speaking of which, did you ever regain your "lofty stature"?

Its not all about length. Sacked the man on the ruler.

If you make a big enough mistake in the air chances are it will end in tears. Of the pilots I have Known there were broken pelvis, broken ankle, broken backs and even a couple of deaths. Of all the bikers accidents the injuries have been far less severe even after impacts with cars. The bike cannot suddenly turn in to a pretty coloured blanket at 1000ft. Still paragliding is the biggest buzz I have ever had and would do it again in a heart beat.

Similar experience to me. It is an amazing sport. The feeling of soaring high over the Alps on a paraglider using only your instincts and the thermals to get anywhere is slightly surreal and beautiful, but the sport does have its dark side. In the small community of paragliders I knew there were 2 deaths, a guy ending up in a wheelchair permanently, and several other very nasty accidents. The wings have got a lot safer over the years though - better performance, and much less prone to collapse in turbulence. Like skydiving, paragliding is a sport you must approach with respect - if you ever get cocky or blasé it will bite you.

[graeme]

I've only done one tandem tourist paraglide jump (flight? glide?), but really enjoyed it. Big thermals in the hot Turkish afternoon, and did a bit of ridge soaring which was surprisingly violent , but totally thrilling! I landed convinced I'd get some lessons, but I have enough expensive hobbies as it is, and most are much less likely to kill me.