I have been looking at taking up Paragliding. Are there any Paragliders here? If so could you express your knowledge and give me some advise? How much does all the equipment cost etc...

 

Ciarán Andrews

I'm a traditional glider pilot, not a paraglider, but I know a few people who do it, and I know they got up and running from being complete novices (i.e. people who had never flown so much as a paper plane) for about three grand (that's UK Sterling). That would be a typical price for a piloting course up to a reasonable solo pilot standard, including the cost of buying the gear, i.e. harnesss, paraglider, helmet, suicidal tendencies etc (that last one was a joke, it is safe if you know what you are doing).

 

So, you can be up and running for about three grand although it'll take you about ten days to complete a course, a week if you are are keen and pick it up quickly, which you would do if you read a book about it, since the principles of ridge lift and the inherent dangers of getting on the back side of a hill in the downdraft, plus comprehension of where you can fly safely are what you would need to demonstrate an understanding of before they will be happy to sign you off.

 

Beyond the many books you can find to assist you actually on the subject of paragliding, a decent book to help you if you are serious about any sort of gliding flight, (and in fact a lovely inspiring read), is The Cloud Spotter's Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, which is great for gaining a good understanding of clouds and weather and how they indicate where decent lift is likely to be. It isn't specifically aimed at glider pilots, but it is invaluable nonetheless, since having read that, you can have a quick glance at the sky and take a good guess at whether it will be worth going out gliding that day, as it will give you a good understanding of meteorological signs of what the weather is likely to be doing for a few hours. Stand by to become a right boring sod who points out cloud features to people if you get into gliding LOL

I used to fly paragliders since around 1991 (though gliders were first) but gave it up long time ago.

Anyway still many of my friends stay in this sport with a lot of success, so I know more I would like to (good they're not here).

 

I have never considered it a very safe sport but it definitely gives you a lot of adrenaline.

If you enjoy seeing a moving landscape a few hundred metres below your boots, you will like it.

 

Like Al mentioned, it is relatively cheap. Compared to doing a PPL - it is enormously cheaper, so a good start if you can't help getting in the air.

Today's equipment is as safe as a soft wing can be, so unless you need a top competition wing (or don't care about the wind and landing sites), you should survive in one piece.

Well thanks for the replies!

 

The Elementary Pilot course which consists of Ground Training, Ground Handling, First Short Flights, Flight excersises and Theory lessons and examination. Price for that 850 euro. A few months ago I emailed my local flight training centre (Atlantic Flight Training Centre Cork) It is pretty expensive for the PPL over five grand.

I will seriously look into the Paragliding and send out a few emails with-in the next few weeks or so.

 

Thanks once again for your feedback!

http://www.purplehaz...o.uk/sport.html

This is one of the best schools

vololiberista

My Girlfriend is a Paraglider....

 

The two downsides to that hobby is waiting for the perfect conditions to fly. Winds is the main one and many weekends can go by sometimes without proper wind conditions which is no fun.

 

Injury is the other and lower back injuries are the most common. She has crashed once in Zimbabwe (which was a bad place due to lack of medical care), She's healed now though and has been back at it since.

 

Cheers

My Girlfriend is a Paraglider....

 

Winds is the main one and many weekends can go by sometimes without proper wind conditions which is no fun.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Here in Ireland I guess id be limited to only 10 flights a year LOL. The weather here is very unpredictable!! One minute it can be a lovely day sun shining... the next, Heavy rain and pretty chilly!!

Here in Ireland I guess id be limited to only 10 flights a year LOL. The weather here is very unpredictable!! One minute it can be a lovely day sun shining... the next, Heavy rain and pretty chilly!!

 

That would most likely be the case. In Zimbabwe she had about 100 days a year that would be good conditions to fly but in New Zealand she gets about 20 days a year. Ireland would probably be more challenging then New Zealand because of the weather.

 

Cheers