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"I like hiking" you say to yourself. "But I always look up at birds of prey and vultures circling in the sky and wish I could join them". Well I found a new hobby last year, and I have fantastic news: you can!   Paragliding has really matured as a hobby/sport in recent times, eclipsing hang gliding in a lot of places as the popular ultra-light aircraft activity. With decently safe equipment small and light enough to be compared to a medium sized backpacking kit and comparatively priced to a mid-range motorcycle, it's by far the easiest way to learn how to fly. Instruction: In the US, learning to fly involves getting a "P2" certification from USHPA. Ratings are described here: https://www.ushpa.org/page/ratings-and-skills-introduction No instructor worth a drat is going to sign you off without being sure that you can handle yourself safely, and can identify flyable conditions. They'll also have an amazing wealth of knowledge about local flying culture, sites, etc. My instructor at Lift Paragliding in the SF bay area worked with me every weekend for about three months to make sure I was good enough and had the flights necessary for my rating, and has since transitioned into more of a mentorship role as I work up towards my next rating. Flying: When you don't have an engine, understanding local conditions to safely stay up in the air is incredibly important. Getting into this hobby involves immersing yourself in local weather patterns and basically becoming a micro-scale meteorologist. -Ridge soaring: Utilizing wind being forced upwards by a cliff, you can basically sit in the lift bubbling up the ridge as long as conditions allow.   (me soaring just south of San Francisco this last spring) -Mountain flying/thermaling: Utilizing bubbles and columns of hot air rising off the earth to stay in the air. Generally a harder task than ridge soaring.  (me flying in Santa Barbara, CA last winter)-Cross Country (XC): Using thermal flying to cross distances by gaining altitude, gliding to where new thermals might be, gaining altitude again, repeat. Redbull X-Alps athletes use this method during their race, where they use their feet and paragliders to travel about 1200km from Austria to Monaco in about eight days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GyNFJmjCRo&t=134s  -Speed flying/Miniwings: This is that crazy poo poo you see on Redbull/gopro sponsored youtube videos. I don't know much about it, because it's insanely dangerous to the point where I wouldn't even consider it. Injury rates doing this involve stats like "1 in 5 break their back in the first year". https://i.imgur.com/CWXaQYP.mp4 Equipment: A helmet It's a helmet. You want to protect your head, bad launches and landings happen. A harness:  This is a reversible harness, containing a folded up wing in the back, helmet on top, reserve parachute, pocket for a camelbak, etc. that then reverses to be the portion that you sit in (when you're flying, it's like sitting in an easy chair. None of the strap pressure is on your legs or groin.). A glider There's innumerable paragliders out there, depending on your flying style and abilities.  Boots Good landing gear! Sturdy hiking boots are a must, you want something over-the-ankle. Instruments There's various instruments like variometers, GPS beacons, etc etc that you'll see people flying with. A beginning pilot might want a starter Variometer like an Ascent H2, but modern cell phones really are a fantastic tool. Paragliding apps like FlySkyHy (iOS only) satisfy most requirements for new pilots. FAQ: -Don't you jump out of a plane? Nope! Paragliders are foot launched, though there's some weird stuff you can do if you're a daredevil with dropping off a hot air balloon. I've never jumped out of a plane in my life. -Wait, so you're not jumping out of a plane and foot launching, so you're just going to lose altitude as you go down the hill right? This is a lot of money just for a sled ride down a mountain. Nope! Ridge lift and thermals are a crazy thing, combined with modern lightweight materials and the right glide ratio you'd be amazed what you can do. Sometimes conditions don't work out and you do just sled down to the landing zone, but sometimes conditions are perfect, and it makes it all worth it. My last flight was about an hour, but here's the first couple minutes:  -Isn't this expensive? Well it's not free - but it's by far the cheapest way to fly, and instructors often have used gear they can sell at a discount. All in with a new set of gear and all my instruction, I'm into it for about $7k. -What's up with the huge diaper Yeah, the harnesses look kinda silly. What appears to be a huge filled diaper isn't actually a fetish thing as much as it is a safety mechanism, most of that extra volume is an airbag for the pelvis and spine in case of a hard landing. -Parasailing, right? Though Tow launching exists, parasailing is that thing tourists do where they get towed behind a boat. Paragliding is quite different. -Hang gliding? Paragliders often share flying locations with hang gliders, they're sort of our cousins in the sky. Hang gliders are larger and involve rigid construction, whereas paragliders fold down a lot further and are non-rigid. Similar but not the same. -Wait. Isn't this insanely dangerous? The last stats I saw showed injury/serious injury rates that were comparable to motorcycling. So, probably moreso than just a walk through the woods, yeah. Major injuries and deaths occur doing this, and I've helped at bad crash sites (though in fairness that crash involved acrobatic maneuvers close to a mountain). As with everything in life, it's about risk assessment and mitigation (wear a helmet, carry a reserve chute, don't fly into conditions you don't understand). -Sounds fun! I want to try it, but maybe just a taste first? A lot of instructors offer Tandem flights, where you can just see what being in the air is like and decide if it's something you want to do. Give it a shot! I didn't and just dove straight in without any air time, so you could do that too if you like. -What about <your question here>? I will try and answer these! But I'm still a pretty fresh pilot, just excited to share my hobby. Paragliding hasn't been around for all that long (traces back to WW2 paratrooper training, first real paraglider "wings" were designed in the mid 70s and had terrible glide ratios compared to modern equipment) and is still fairly up and coming, I've found the information online can be somewhat lacking. Anyway, for your consideration: here's a video of my progression from very first 'flight' off a 50 foot hill to soaring off a top of a mountain six months later, and also a video of meeting a hawk on the coast. Come fly! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npK_yGXoWIw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz8z2pTtrRQ mad.radhu fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Jul 17, 2020 |
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Jul 17, 2020 22:55
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Meyers-Briggs Testicle posted:great thread but ascending more than 20 feet off the ground is an affront to G*d best of luck op Ciaphas posted:Yes, yes this is something I would absolutely love to do big scary monsters posted:Paragliding looks really cool, but I live in a place where the weather is bad like 11 months a year. What kind of conditions can you go out in? Depends on the site, but most of the time you do want a nice sunny day with winds from 0-12mph. That being said, there's paragliding in Seattle, so there's gotta be flying in most places, right? The distance record in the US was set just about a month ago, a guy in Texas flew like 300 miles in a day without landing. mad.radhu fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Jul 18, 2020 |
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Jul 18, 2020 16:11
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Ciaphas posted:Well then, guess I'm seeing if anyone offers tandem demos nearby this weekend. Obviously it depends, but it's lighter than my backpacking kit for sure (though bulkier). Your local flying community may have ad hoc shuttle services set up to launch sites, too. In Santa Barbara there's a fairly established 15 passenger van that takes people up to launch sites on the weekends for $5 a ride. Ola posted:Yes, I want to try paragliding. I think I'll sign up for a course next year. I've been interested in flying all my life, but mostly airplanes. But the cost, environmental impact and the fairly detached experience of motorized flying isn't very bird-like at all. Paragliding is literally soaring like a bird, albeit with an L/D ratio closer to a broiler chicken than an eagle. Hell yes you do. One of my favorite parts of flying with a paraglider is the lack of noise, having no engine or vibration or anything makes it an entirely different experience. Obviously you're going to have to start on a much slower wing than those speed wings, it might be a while until you can work up to doing those kinds of acrobatics. Good luck though! Someone's gotta have that much fun, no reason why it can't be you.
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Jul 20, 2020 14:50
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Ola posted:Hehe, good point! I think I could enjoy that landscape just as much, if not more, with a slow wing and perhaps being able to hang over the waterfall. If what you want to do is enjoy the landscape, a regular B wing might be something to look into too. Or hey, maybe both depending on your budget and desires. Depends on the day. The views are pretty good up here  
mad.radhu fucked around with this message at 18:19 on Jul 20, 2020 |
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Jul 20, 2020 16:22
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Destroyenator posted:I did this a couple of times in Asia and got to qualifying for a ParaPro 3 (?) license. I haven't done it in years though and I'd love to give it another shot, probably starting from scratch. If anyone has any recommendations for English speaking schools in nice scenery anywhere in Europe I'd be very interested. Europe is basically paragliding Mecca, I don't have any recommendations for you (I had a trip to Spain lined up this June, but it was cancelled for obvious reasons), but I don't think you'll have much trouble finding one if you look to be honest. Here's a comparison between established paragliding sites in the US vs Europe:   and just for kicks lets zoom in even a little bit on the Alps 
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Jul 20, 2020 23:12
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animist posted:poo poo maybe i do want to try paragliding That's Right, animist.
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Jul 21, 2020 16:30
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Destroyenator posted:Yeah, that's kinda my problem. I'm in an area where there isn't flying, but then the options in the Alps are just so many and hard to get proper info on. I end up on sites like this which leads me to dozens of outdated German websites and it's almost impossible to see what's defunct or German speaking only or way out away from any major transport hubs or not near any accommodation. Which is why I'm hunting recommendations For what it's worth we were going to go flying in Alicante, it sounded like one of the instructors there was english speaking.
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Jul 21, 2020 21:40
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Ron Jeremy posted:My palms are dripping sweat just from reading this thread. It is natural to be excited 
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Jul 22, 2020 00:51
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DeadMansSuspenders posted:Had to do a search after this, I was literally shocked to find out there is a paragliding business/club right in my hometown. Looks like a good time to me. You know, it absolutely is and you should try it. What a coincidence, wow
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Jul 23, 2020 00:45
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Craptacular posted:It's very, very flat where I live, which seems to indicate that powered paragliding would be the only option for me. Are there any major differences once you strap a motor + propeller on your back? I guess it'd be noisier... Yeah it's noisier and heavier obviously, I don't know much about Powered PG to be honest. One of the things that is so great about paragliding to me is the silence treat posted:Where is this from? Link to it? I'd like to look around. Windy.com, you can add a layer in the menus to show paragliding sites. $2k sounds about right for gear, the way my instructor did it was $1400 to get to your P2, with the handshake agreement that once you got it he'd be the one to sell you your gear. Still gave a 10% across the board student discount though, so idk how that money really shakes out. I got the strong vibe he just wanted to make as many new pilots as possible so he had people to fly with. And yeah, death and serious injuries happen, even at high skill levels. It's dangerous! I helped at a serious crash site three weeks ago, dude had two busted hips and a broken leg from doing spirals too close to a mountain and smacking into it. It sucked! Lawman 0 posted:I really like your videos mad radhu Thank you, I am cutting together another little one, I will post it here later today
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Jul 27, 2020 16:19
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Lawman 0 posted:I really like your videos mad radhu Here is a 13 minute video (cut down from 1 hour 15 minutes of flight time) of what my flight was like yesterday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvz0P85sres mad.radhu fucked around with this message at 21:19 on Jul 27, 2020 |
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Jul 27, 2020 21:16
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Ciaphas posted:I watched this video and emailed these folks about a 1-day a few minutes later. This is going to get expensive if I like this as much as I think I'm going to aaaaaw yeah. Flying around Boulder you're probably going to do a lot more thermaling up in the mountains than ridge soaring, stuff like this flight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9APxiZS9GY You could wear earplugs, but the gopro exaggerates the wind noise, earplugs would really be unnecessary. My helmet covers my ears and the noise isn't uncomfortable at all - It's directly comparable to being outside on a windy day, since it's literally just sitting in a 8-20mph wind. It's quieter than just being near a busy intersection. At the beginning of this video you can hear how loud my radio is on the ground, and how loud it is in the air - there's very little difference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at2Ik_Dtu_4 mad.radhu fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Jul 28, 2020 |
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Jul 28, 2020 15:42
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Ciaphas posted:All set for my first day Saturday morning, in theory. Dunno if there'll be a tandem on day one or even quick take-offs, but I'm excited Don't worry too much, I've seen some big guys flying. just make sure to really listen to your pilot/instructor on when and how to flare for landing (and wear good boots!)
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Jul 31, 2020 14:44
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Ciaphas posted:i don't know dick about active footwear Better than flip-flops, but I recommend over-the-ankle boots - I fly with old combat boots that don't have hook style eyelets (I don't want to scare anyone off but there's a video going around right now of a guy who had a collapse mid-flight and got his boot hooked in his lines due to these. He landed safely but uh - yeah i'll avoid that if at all possible). Our training hill has a lot of gopher holes in the landing zone, and I've seen people flying with running shoes twist ankles pretty badly on landing. Your mileage may vary, but most instructors will recommend boots. From my instructor's website: quote:What should I bring to my lesson?
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Jul 31, 2020 16:10
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Ciaphas posted:I ended up calling and asking the instructor a few ago [should have done that before lol] and he suggested my Moabs'll be fine for day 1, since a full flight is unlikely the first day. He also suggested (but didn't require) over-ankle boots, so we'll see how I feel after tomorrow I presume that would end quite poorly, a lot of the sites i've flown at ban drones. One of the popular methods is a Insta360 or Gopro Max camera on a stick, which makes for pretty great footage really: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8hT4XCYJ4o Epitope posted:I kinda want to hate this activity, but it doesn't use a motor or even wheels, so there's no easy way to hate it self-righteously. Why would you want to hate it? It's fun!
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Aug 2, 2020 17:53
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Ciaphas posted:instructor said as much today, too. having seen the lines now I'm still not sure whether the lines would tear or tangle in th e face of quadcopter blades, but either way would be bad news bears Hey you've got something to work towards though, It's about where you're going not where you're at
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Aug 2, 2020 19:16
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I've never flown a tandem, but I see folks out doing them a lot. They seem like a good time, to be honest
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Aug 3, 2020 20:09
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FBS posted:I've been idly interested in hang gliding since I was five and could watch them from my backyard in new mexico. That was kind of my attitude too, I have a couple bikes I take to the track sometimes and ride up in the twisties around here. But also flying is crazy fun so I couldn't resist.
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Aug 4, 2020 16:06
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good lord
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Aug 4, 2020 20:17
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This is a really good video that is making the rounds demonstrating ground handling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzWeD01lhwI
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Aug 6, 2020 19:35
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hi I made a small video about soaring out on the coast, I hope you enjoy it but if you don't I apologize in advance https://youtu.be/s2LKuSNzryw
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Mar 29, 2021 01:30
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froward posted:this seems very cool but also incredibly dangerous Injury rates actually aren't as high as you'd think, last I saw I think it was roughly comparable to motorcycling - but in the same way, it's sort of how dangerous you make it. Flying a very high performance wing and doing acrobatics is much less dangerous than soaring around on the coast on a training wing.
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Mar 29, 2021 16:44
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I went and did a Cross Country flying clinic down near Santa Barbara, it was a great experience. Here I launch, gain some altitude in rising thermic air, then follow world-class pilot Mitch Riley across the town of Fillmore, CA to land at a public park (bonus: my wing collapsing over Vons and sending me into a recoverable spiral, very exciting). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLg7IjsHlqs
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Apr 14, 2021 01:33
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Proust Malone posted:My palms are sweaty from just reading this It's actually really interesting, modern intermediate class paragliders are amazing. the fix for most problems your glider might have in the air is just taking pressure off the controls so it can reinflate, which can be counter-intuitive but as you see in the video it sorts itself out in about a second.
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Apr 15, 2021 04:10
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DuckConference posted:I have my first lesson booked for this saturday, starting to get pumped (although I dunno if you leave the ground on day 1). Assuming I can get the hang of it there may eventually be another bay-area paragliding goon! oh hell yeah, if you're gonna be out at Ed Levin i'll probably see you at the park.
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Apr 16, 2021 05:53
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DuckConference posted:I have my first lesson booked for this saturday, starting to get pumped (although I dunno if you leave the ground on day 1). Assuming I can get the hang of it there may eventually be another bay-area paragliding goon! i'm gonna fly over you quacking
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Apr 16, 2021 05:55
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DuckConference posted:Haha that would be something! What does your wing look like, I can come say hi next time. I fly an orange Hook 5, black wingtips. I was gonna go practice spot landings yesterday but the weather was right so we went up to Pacifica instead, ended up flying in formation with a couple hawks. How was the 50ft hill? mad.radhu fucked around with this message at 17:35 on Apr 18, 2021 |
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Apr 18, 2021 16:53
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DuckConference posted:We ended up mostly on the 40ft hill on the other side due to the wind, but I got airborne for a few seconds a couple of times before the wind got too gusty. hell yeah, 300 foot hill's up next I was soaring up at Mussel Rock on Saturday and my gopro caught hawks doing barrel rolls https://i.imgur.com/4EQk5zD.mp4 mad.radhu fucked around with this message at 20:42 on Apr 19, 2021 |
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Apr 19, 2021 20:23
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DuckConference posted:I'm now committed to doing the rest of my lessons to get into the sport! Had my 4th lesson today, it seemed like amazing conditions for the people launching off the 1750' hill but the winds were a little too squirrelly for us beginners on the 300'. hell yeah! Totally agree that conditions were too switchy for beginners, but oh boy was it rad up on the top. Definitely the most thermic air i've seen at the park, I stayed up for like 85 minutes flying to Mission Peak and back, which I've never done before. Don't worry too much about failed launches, it's something that comes with time and practice - and every launch is different. You're never going to be launching with the exact same brake pressures into the exact same air, so why bother about a bad one? I failed three launches up at the top today because I had a knot in my brake lines, then had an amazing flight, A lot of this sport is just mental. Now landings on the other hand, those are important. If you haven't heard it yet expect to hear this phrase a lot: "Launching is optional, but landing is mandatory"    
mad.radhu fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Apr 25, 2021 |
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Apr 25, 2021 00:53
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In warm weather I use leather Mechanix gloves, just make sure that when you're rosetting your wing you don't run the lines over the seams - it'll abrade away the stitching and they'll come apart after a while. For cold weather at the coast I bought some windproof cycling gloves that work pretty okay.
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May 7, 2021 22:32
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Especially when kiting in stronger winds, I highly recommend gloves while learning - if you get snatched up or dragged by the wind it can end very poorly for your hands.
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May 10, 2021 16:57
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Congrats on the soon-to-be P2! Good timing, mussel rock will hopefully be more flyable on weekends in the next couple months. The Hook is great, there's tons of orange ones in the bay for a reason. The air being bumpy later in the day makes sense - the last few days have been pretty thermic out there, as it gets later in the day there's more heat getting baked into the ground and releasing, that's why most of the instruction for new pilots takes place early in the morning, but a lot of P3/P4 pilots are waiting until then to launch. Conditions dangerous for a student to be in might be what a P4 pilot is looking for in order to gain altitude. That being said, we were out at the park yesterday doing our P3 tests with Jesse (woohoo!) when a dust devil released in the LZ right as a pilot was coming in to land. Jesse immediately jumped on the radio and talked her through basically a micro-SIV trying to get her down safely as she was buffeted around, losing and gaining 30 feet every other second. That poo poo was absolutely terrifying, but she managed to get down safely (and frankly miraculously). Right before that a hang glider banged into the training hill and the pilot broke his arm. Kind of a stark reminder - launching is always optional, but landing is mandatory. Once you're up, you might not get the opportunity to pick your landing conditions.
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May 17, 2021 14:37
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DuckConference posted:Yeah I kinda gathered from the chat group that something happened on sunday, that sounds pretty intense. Yeah! I filled out my P3 rating paperwork last weekend, should be getting an update in the mail soon - heading up to Oregon over Memorial Day to fly near Medford. Should be a good time. There's some additional requirements specified in your flight skills for the P3 test, but it's all stuff that you sort of can't help but develop on the road to P3, it's not a big deal. Gear will probably take at least a couple weeks, maybe longer depending. Spring is when a lot of folks refresh their stuff, so who knows. The step up to the higher launches at Ed is really awesome - even if they're just sled rides, it's a big change to actually have time to look around and take in what's going on instead of just going straight into a landing approach after a couple of S turns. mad.radhu fucked around with this message at 23:38 on May 20, 2021 |
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May 20, 2021 23:30
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Crankit posted:This looks very fun, but is it easier to do if you're using an engine? I've seen the tucker gott vids and I think i'd like to try it out. I mean depending on where you are geographically, yeah powered paragliding is something that can be more popular. Personally I really like the challenge of trying to find and stay in lift, plus flying without any engine noise or earplugs is awesome. This weekend I was up at Woodrat in Oregon flying, which whipped huge rear end. ~My girlfriend~ flew far enough to land at a local winery so when I went to pick her up we just grabbed lunch there and watched people land, it was rad. play "spot the pilot"  
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May 31, 2021 23:07
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DuckConference posted:Plus the chance of rapidly deconstructing a $6k motor if you stumble and fall during landing. It does look interesting though and I might try someday. The pod was a sort of P3 present to myself, there's a lot of little things about a pod that make it nicer (I think) for the XC flying I want to do (the speed system is more accessible, instruments are easier to see/more stable - plus the Supair Delight 3 has a lot of tiny things like a tree rescue system, replaceable pod if it rips, velcro for a radio speaker/mic, stuff like that). Wouldn't recommend it as a first harness, but I'm enjoying it as a step up so far. DuckConference posted:In the space of a few days I got my P2 rating, got to fly from a launch 1750 feet above landing, and then joined some other recent students and flew for the first time without my instructor on the radio. Last week was quite a week. Hell yeah, P2! Time to really get some airtime. That first glide off the 1750ft hill is a memorable one. Next up is learning a lot more about the weather, to keep an eye out for those good lifty days out there. I know it seems crazy now, but it's absolutely possible to stay up for several hours off that hill on special days.
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Jun 2, 2021 17:19
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Some of the local pilots got a great write up in the paper, it's a nice read on cross country flying: https://www.sfchronicle.com/culture/travel/article/Soaring-100-miles-through-the-sky-Bay-Area-16220004.php
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Jun 3, 2021 16:51
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DuckConference posted:Had my first long flight last week, was doing some coastal soaring for over an hour which was sweet. Hell yeah, the coast is a fantastic spot to fly. Also as you mention a great way to actually get enough air time to go "wait a second, I need to adjust everything". I haven't flown any niviuk harnesses, but I found the woodyvalley Wani2 to be really comfortable.
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Jul 1, 2021 17:26
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On the flat lands there might also be tow launching - there's some clubs around the Chicago area that do that and manage big days. I've never done it though, can't really point you in the right direction unfortunately.
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Jul 16, 2021 23:55
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Yeah, not living near a training park is one big difficulty for getting into the sport. Some people who get a taste for it (they take a tandem and go "holy poo poo, you mean I can learn how to do this?") have gone to crazy lengths to fly. I know a guy who got his first flight in, then went and lived out of an RV in Santa Barbara CA for three weeks to take a P2 course, fly every day, and now he's an instructor. Life takes you strange places! Here's an article (starting page 18-19) that Chris Garcia wrote about how flying sort of took over his life, and he became one of the lucky few who are able to actually make a living doing this thing. https://issuu.com/us_hang_gliding_paragliding/docs/pilot2101__issuu
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Jul 30, 2021 18:17
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Yeah, Paragliding is a weird sport. Sometimes it's lazily soaring on the coast, feeling utterly care free, sometimes it's being sucked up into the sky riding a bucking bronco in a strong thermal... it is an extreme sport, and people do get hurt doing it. I don't want to be up in this thread going "Ah! it's totally safe, try it!". (Edit: I have realized this idea is completely opposed to the thread title. Oops!) Everyone has to gauge their own risk acceptance, and it's especially difficult in paragliding. My normal analogy is motorcycles - motorcycles are something you can have a sort of starting point with: if you ride bicycles, you already know how countersteering works. If you already drive a manual transmission car, you know how changing gears with a clutch works. But paragliding - unless you come from kite surfing or something similar you really don't know what it feels like, you're building a whole entirely new muscle memory based on things like feeling the inflation of the wing, and how much pressure you need to put on the brakes in order to slow it down, but not too much. It can be difficult to learn, because in order to find the limits of what you know, you have to get to the edge and surpass them safely in order to learn something new. That's why training parks exist, and things like SIV courses to simulate incidents in flight. Still though, folks get hurt. Someone at the training hill this last spring was a very advanced pilot, knew what they were doing, and launched in strong winds hoping to find lift. They got picked up, their wing deflated, and slammed back into the ground from about 30 feet up, breaking their pelvis, back, and both legs. It's dangerous! One of our popular phrases is "Launching is optional, landing is mandatory". Taking a step back and considering whether the sport is for you is a smart choice, because once you try it, you're going to have to come down eventually. mad.radhu fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Aug 6, 2021 |
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Aug 6, 2021 17:48
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