Paragliging

Odysseus

Hi all, I been waiting on a place for a paragliding course for a while, and it looks like I will start this week. I have done some parachuting but not paragliding. Has any here tried it and if so how was your experience of it? Cheers;)

stevenmu

Have you been in touch with the IHPA ? They have a mailing list you can join ('listbot mailing list' under their 'quick links' dropdown). Lots of experienced people there to give you all the advice you'll need.

(I don't know much about it myself, I've just been on the list a while as I'm going to be doing a hangliding course next month)

Odysseus

Cheers mate, just done my first two days great fun:D Good luck with the hangliding;)

Odysseus

Came across this link, thought people might be interested http://media.putfile.com/Collison---Oul-Deniz Its of a mid air collision:eek:

Battlejuice

What's it like here?
Do you just keep floating down or are there actually any thermals to lift you back up?
I heard ridge-soaring is popular over in Scotland but that sounds like a lot of struggling.
Where do you do it usually?

mountainyman

I've done it in France, Turkey and India. It ****ing rocks. Are you doing it at Mount Leinster and if so let us know the cost and how it was. Any soaring?

MM

dap75au

hey there, did you do any of your course yet? If so how did you get on...I'm seriously thinking about doing it..Obviously, being broke I have to weigh up my options..Is it worth it?
d

stevenmu

I did the hanggliding course in france last summer. Well half of it anyway, a little crash at the start of the 3rd day meant I couldn't finish it. I would fully recommend it to anyone though, it was easily one of the most amazing experiences of my life and worth any amount of money. Altough it only cost me at most €600 including flights with ryanair, staying in a campsite and so on.

If you want any details on it let me know.

Alternately, while I haven't tried paragliding, it does look almost as much fun as hanggliding, and the barrier to entry is much lower in this country. I think the various schools around will offer a single tandem flight/lesson so it's something you could check out for a reasonably low price to see if it's something you would be interested in pursueing further.

dap75au

hey, thanks for the advice. I contacted a company who run out of Wicklow. It's 700 euro for the first course..It can take a few weeks to do, depending on the weather obviously. Think I'll give it a go. Will let you know how I get on.:D
d

NeMiSiS

I was thinking of doing a full course in the UK to be able to do Tandem flights for tourists as a business, somewhere like spain.. I'm gonna email a place in the UK and get a complete breakdown of cots.. from having no experience.. to getting to the nessecary level to fly tandems with the qualifications required..

Then.. off to te sunshine to fly.. for money!

Well that's the dream anyway.
Tom

dap75au

Nemisis, could you mail me or post up here the costs involved when you get them?? I like your dream, it's a lot better than my reality haha

NeMiSiS

I hate boards.. I had it all typed out and the.. it asked me to login again.. irritating..

So I'l make this quick, or give you more info next week.

You need 100 hours to start training for Tandem flights.

You need to do an elementry and then club pilots course in the UK to fly unsupervised, assume these course give a minimum for 20 hours ? I have no real idea, I will email them next week to get a better idea.

After that, you join a club I suppose and get your hours up.

I have no idea of equipment costing yet.

But the total of the two courses is 1,200.00 GBP = 1,750.32 EUR.

I'd imagine if you dropped everything and had the savings, you may be able to get it done in 3 - 4 months.. how cool would that be ?

I hope this helps, if anyone has any further input on the idea.. please post, maybe the flight hours from the initial courses are a bit unrealistic, or over over conservitive.. either way I will email the guys again next week, and let you know

Hope this helps
TK

NeMiSiS

http://www.motoroads.com/tours_bulgaria_paragliding.html
Have a look at the prices there too, might be cheaper to get your hours up in Bulgaria, as cost of living is alot cheaper.
TK

dap75au

Cheers Nemisis, thanks for the info. I have a dream.......haha

thunderone

Hi guys,

I am very interested in starting Paragliding. I have done some freefall parachuting (AFF in spain). Love being under canopy and would like to persue the paragliding end of things.
I have seen the course in Wicklow but with current weather I may have to wait a while. I am looking for a course maybe on the continent where I can get a basic course done.
Anyone got any experiences of any schools/recommendations?
Any other advice from those in the know greatly appreciated.
I am aware of the opinion that if I want to take up the sport here, that I should be familiar with met. conditions /terrain etc and taking a course in this country is probably a more practical option. So again advice welcome.
Thanks lads.

dap75au

I did my first couple of flights at the weekend, in Lough Bray. Great buzz to get up into the air. Mind you the climb back up the side of the hill with your paraglider on your back was pretty tiring. Well worth it though, and the place itself is absolutely gorgeous. Can't wait for the rest of the course.
d