Move over Hang gliding, paragliding is easier

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I have been taking hang gliding classes off and on for a while and as I get closer to getting a hang 1, I continue to become more disillusioned. It is fun and everything but there are too many drawbacks to it that makes me want to move to something else.

  1. If you pass out on a hang glider, you die.
  2. Hang gliders are a total bitch to transport (they fold up to be roughly 18 feet long and you need special racks put onto your vehicle (even vans and SUV’s)
  3. You have to be pretty strong to learn to hang glide. (You have to sprint down very steep hills carrying 70-100 lbs worth of hang glider and awkward feeling equipment that chafes your legs.
  4. Hang gliders are heavy. (Averaging at least 70 lbs but more likely closer to 90 for most)
  5. You need a garage to store them (virtually impossible to get in my area).

The plusses aren’t really outweighing my desire to fly a hang glider since other options are actually available.

  1. You fly (wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee)
  2. Hang gliders aren’t that expensive (you can get a used one for under 500 bucks and new ones run around 2500-5000)
  3. There are plenty of hang gliding schools in the area.

I really want to fly but the negatives of hang gliding are starting to hit me, thus I have decided that I want to find a paraglider. I figure the difference will be that paragliding will be more similar to floating/levitating where hang gliding… flight speed is roughly 25-35 mph groundspeed… is more like hawk flight …typically in air flight can go in excess of 60 mph/groundspeed. I am willing to take that chance.

Paragliding would get rid of all 5 of the negatives I had originally written. The “if you pass out, you die” one is still a possibility but less so on a paraglider since you are basically flying a parachute so you will likely get hurt but you can still survive. I have heard of paratroopers get shot/knocked out and still live so it isn’t as much a worry as it is going head first down into the ground without anything to slow you down. Well, at least if you die on a paraglider you are more likely to have an open casket then.

The negatives of paragliding

  1. They are little more expensive (the price range is about the same as a hang glider but if you get a used one you may have a limited number of hours of use).
  2. I can’t find a paragliding school closer than New Hampshire :frowning: ARG!

The plusses:

  1. You fly (wheeeeeeeee!!!)
  2. Easily transportable.
  3. People of all shapes and sizes can go.
  4. They are light.
  5. They are easily stored (they fold up into a large backpack.

So I have convinced myself that I want to learn paragliding instead and will continue on with hang gliding when I eventually get a place where I can store things. My question to the dopers is, do any of you know of a paragliding school near the Maryland area? If you are an actual paraglider, how long did it take to get your P1, P2, and/or P3 certifications? Do you have any other pro’s and con’s between the two sports?

If I can’t find any closer than New Hampshire I will likely take a vacation up there and learn how to do it then.

2

I have 3 possibilities for you:

  1. Go to the ultralight section of the Experimental Aircraft Association website. Look for the “instruction” link in the nav bar under the heading, plug in your state or those nearby, and cross your fingers.

  2. Listen to the Ultraflight radio show on the web, or subscribe to their magazine at their website .

  3. Fire up your browser and start searching the web. I found a reference to a flight park in Charlestown NH that offers training.

Tell us what comes of this. I’ve always wanted to pursue something like this, but haven’t been able to - yet.

3

OOOOO Ralf, I could marry you. I hadn’t even seen that website when I was searching. I had previously looked at the flight park link that you listed (that was the one in New Hampshire) and thought it was pretty far away from me.

The EAA site that you have offers a lot of powered flights, I am interested in unpowered ones but I suppose you can go from one to the other relatively easy. I will have to talk to a set of the people. The best part about it is that there are many in the area.

4

Wow, Dorkus, that’s great, but Missus Coder may have an opinion on that. :stuck_out_tongue: Tell you what - you learn to fly, and do it safely, and that’ll be thanks enough for now… Someday, though, I’d like to go for a ride.

5

OOO all the cheap sexual innuendo I could come up with that one. There is one person who appears to be in the B-more area that teaches powered paragliding (I want to do unpowered but that is moot at the moment). I have sent off an email to him for more information. I would never have thought to look at the eaa website that you sent over. Thanks again. I will post updates as they become available (assuming he responds).

6

Hi dorkusmalorkusmafia - Congrats on your work towards Hang 1 (beginner pilot rating)! BTW, where are you training?

Flying is way cool, regardless of what your wing is. I have been flying (and instructing) on hang gliders for almost 4 years. I’ve yet to try paragliding, but it’s definitely on my list (why choose if you can do both?). I think I prefer HG because it is much more birdlike, but choosing between HG & PG is still kind of a win-win situation.

There will be minor inconveniences with paragliding, too (much like any activity). But once you’re up in the air, none of that matters. Being able to fly like a bird is like nothing else in the world!

Passing out would be extremely unlikely under any normal circumstances, so this issue wouldn’t weigh very heavily in my risk-management assesments. If it DID happen, I seriously doubt you’d die, and I don’t think it would be any worse being in a HG vs a PG.

A valid concern, but mostly just a convenience thing.

Not really. Kids and small adults enjoy HG, too. Foot launching takes a few steps (about like PG), and once you’re in the air, there is very little strength needed at all. BTW, instead of flying off of hills/mountains, HGs can be launched using aerotow or surface winch towing, with no running/carrying required.

Learning on the training hill can sometimes be a workout, but this might also be true for PGs.

Heavier than PGs, yes, but it’s not really a big deal. Beginner gliders typically weigh less, around 55-60 lbs. Mine weighs 59 lbs. Advanced & high performance wings weigh more. And most gliders are sized to fit a specific pilot weight range, so a lighter pilot == lighter glider.

Carports, crawlspaces, etc can also work, but you are right about the awkward storage requirement. If you do not have a place to store a 20’ HG, a PG would be much more convenient. OTOH, some flight parks will allow you to store a glider there (for a fee), and there a a few gliders that break down into a smaller package: 12’ or even 6’ long.

Relative to PG schools, I also think this is true. My understanding is that the ratio of PG to HG schools/sites is lower in the eastern US. Out west, your options for both are much better.

All of these are true to some degree. But one very important thing that is definitely more convenient about HG is the greater flying opportunities. The range of wind conditions that a PG can safely fly in is smaller than for a HG, so good flying days might be fewer. And there are more HG schools/sites (at least in the eastern US).

I suggest you try both if you can, and decide which one you’d like to pursue first, before buying any equipment. Ease of learning and safety issues are not significantly different between the two sports. It sounds like you will have to weigh the greater convenience of transporting & storing a paraglider vs the greater flying opportunities of east coast hang gliding.

More info on both sports is available at www.ushga.org. You can get listings by state of instructors, schools, and flying sites.

7

Whats a good HG school in the DC area then? I’ve always wanted to at least try it once. I know there are a couple around but anyone have a good suggestion for one? I was actaully thinking on going to Kitty Hawk and trying it. How much does it cost and how long are the classes so I know what to expect.

8

Well, I really did mean a ride in your plane, or powered parachute, or whatever. I don’t recall ever seeing a 2-seat ppg, but then, I haven’t seen everything yet.

But a little innuendo never hurts, either!

9

There are several in the area but none in DC proper. The closest one is Silver Wings in NoVA. The guy is a little creepy but teaches you foot launching and no tandem. You have to be within a pretty narrow weight range with him too. He only has gliders that can support between 150-200 lbs and all of them are heavy.

Expect to pay roughly 500-1000 bucks for a hang one. I don’t believe you can do much without a hang 2 though. Hang one will be the point where you can plan on going off a mountain safely with an instructor. A hang 2 will allow you to jump without an instructor but you will need to have a spotter tell you it is ok for you to go.

The storage issue is my biggest concern. I have found that apartment living isn’t really compatible with hang gliding. They really are that big. They aren’t big around but they are bulky and take a lot of space. I won’t have any space to store one at all until I buy a place that can hold it. That isn’t likely to happen soon since I have been looking for a 1 bedroom condo since the real estate here is so high.

Thanks for all the info Kiteboy. It is hard to find foot launched paragliding teachers in the area. The one I wrote to yesterday hasn’t responded yet. If he doesn’t get back to me by tomorrow I will continue my search.

10

The following places should have listings at www.ushga.org :

Capitol Area Hang & Paragliding Club is based somewhere near DC/northern VA. This is a club, not a school - they might not be able to teach you, but could possibly get you in touch with someone who could.

Highland Aerosports is a HG school near Ridgely, MD (eastern shore?). Blue Sky is a HG school near Richmond. Both of these do tandem aerotow training to H2.

I think there’s a PG club/instructor in SW VA called Southern Skies Paragliding, associated with a local HG/PG club called the Buzzards Club.

11

I found a teacher! Not from the first email but a second one I followed through the USHGA link. I don’t know when I will be able to start. He said he would get back to me Thursday with his typical availability and lessons. It is in Roanoake, Virginia so it is a bit of a jaunt. I guess I will be going down there and renting a hotel for a bit. He said that it typically costs around 1000 bucks to get a P2 and had a big lists of flight time and qualifications in order to make them. For a P2 you will need at a minimum around 25 flights over 5 flying days. But he said it is typically 7-10 flying days. Looks like a monthly thing then.

This is for free flight (no motor) which is exactly what I wanted. I wouldn’t mind going powered eventually but I want the freedom to just be able to go out and not have to lug a ton of equipment (part of the reason why I don’t really want to continue over with hang gliding…sigh).

I will keep updating this thread as more things happen and responding to anyone who has advice. :slight_smile: