# Paragliding



## Nick (Sep 5, 2012)

One of my other hobbies that I haven't done that much is Paragliding. I started training in the late 1990's with my dad in Europe. Got my certification (My, "Sonderpilotenschein" in Austria) and bought an old glider. Flew several times since then but it's now been a few years and I'm trying to get back into it. 

This past weekend I had the chance to head up to Morningside Flight Park in Charlestown, NH. They have a couple different launches, the highest being I think 450'. Pales in comparison to the 1000 M (3000') launches in Austria, but being airborne is fun none theless. I did two quick flights from the 150' marker, but then the wind picked up too much and was coming over the back of the hill so no good for flying. 



I have to go back again, planning on the 15th, to do a couple higher launches. After that the instructor there, I am hoping, will "sign off" my license to the US equivolent which is a P3.

Fun stuff .... eventually I want to get the motor so I can just fly from the top of my street 

PS: Yeah, I used that song that was in the MRG powder video from the site here somewhere. It's a good tune


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## jaja111 (Sep 5, 2012)

That looks like a blast, and quite a bit cheaper than plane rentals with fuel. 

(The song is "When I'm Small" by Phantogram).


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## Nick (Sep 5, 2012)

I actually have a private pilot's license as well; but I find myself enjoying paragliding so much more ... I find it represents what flying is more accurately to me. Just the freedom of being in the air.


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## Huck_It_Baby (Sep 10, 2012)

There is a place near where I am moving at the end of the month just north of Burlington that has a launch. I am getting into this for sure!

I used to take flight lessons as a teenager but never got my pilots license. This looks like it will be a perfect new hobbie!


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## Nick (Sep 10, 2012)

Let me know if you get into it! 

I'm going up to Charlestown again this Saturday, weather permitting.


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## Huck_It_Baby (Sep 12, 2012)

Nick said:


> Let me know if you get into it!
> 
> I'm going up to Charlestown again this Saturday, weather permitting.



Will do! Hopefully sometime in Oct!


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## from_the_NEK (Sep 12, 2012)

When conditions are right (e.g. strong NW wind), there are a lot of paragliders that flock to Burke.

On this particular day there must have been 15 paragliders and hang-gliders buzzing around the mtn.







Some of those guys get REALLY high. Burke's summit is 3260 and I could barely see a couple of them. They were probably over 4000'.


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## Huck_It_Baby (Sep 12, 2012)

Looks awesome!!

Can you stay relatively low for the duration of the flight or are you forced to go up high to catch thermals?


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## ScottySkis (Sep 12, 2012)

That looks awesome I need to try it. Do you need to be in good shape?


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## bigbog (Sep 12, 2012)

I would enjoy flying Ultralights but that Paragliding, especially at relatively high altitudes gives me the willies....just like high lift rides....but with the quiet of the ride...and the scenery one gets, must be addictively fun.


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## Bumpsis (Sep 12, 2012)

Paragliding is awesome. I tried getting into this back in the 90's but living in Boston it was really tough to get to the training hill. The only outfit back then was just north of Burlinton VT. I took a couple of lessons and short flights but never got certified.
The sport does have its share of dangers once you get more advanced and start catching thermals - partial wing collapses, downdrafts, etc.
At this point, I'd love to get some place where they have a big launch and take a tandem ride with a trained pilot on a "safe" day.


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## jaja111 (Sep 14, 2012)

Nick, don't let this happen: (looks like the aforementioned partial wing collapse?)

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=75a_1347632311


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## Huck_It_Baby (Sep 20, 2012)

jaja111 said:


> Nick, don't let this happen: (looks like the aforementioned partial wing collapse?)
> 
> http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=75a_1347632311



Scary. Looked like he was doing some sort of partial loop and twisted his lines up. Lucky he was over water but man I would hate to try to stay afloat with all that gear on.


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## Nick (Sep 24, 2012)

I didn't get out last weekend, was too sick with a fever and all that jazz. Hope to get out very soon though! 

Here is a pretty cool video, and as I understand it the subtitles are accurate


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## Huck_It_Baby (Sep 25, 2012)

Nick said:


> Here is a pretty cool video, and as I understand it the subtitles are accurate



Holy cow! I need to stop watching paragliding accident videos. They aren't making me want to go, haha!

Nick do you wear a secondary chute when you go up?


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## bigbog (Sep 25, 2012)

Now see..a secondary chute would put a lot of willies to rest for me...;-)


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## Huck_It_Baby (Sep 25, 2012)

bigbog said:


> Now see..a secondary chute would put a lot of willies to rest for me...;-)



I agree. I'm big on back up plans and redundancy equipment.

After seeing the video with the bird strike I'm thinking full protective face mask =)


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## Nick (Sep 25, 2012)

Huck_It_Baby said:


> Holy cow! I need to stop watching paragliding accident videos. They aren't making me want to go, haha!
> 
> Nick do you wear a secondary chute when you go up?



I do have a reserve chute. It's actually being repacked by the guys at Morningside for me now. I would do it myself but I want it to, you know, OPEN if it were ever necessary.


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## Huck_It_Baby (Sep 25, 2012)

Nick said:


> I do have a reserve chute. It's actually being repacked by the guys at Morningside for me now. I would do it myself but I want it to, you know, OPEN if it were ever necessary.



I assume this is standard practice?

You don't feel safer packing your own chute? I had always though that for sky diving at least most people preferred to pack their own so the KNEW it was safe.

I'm excited to try a newbie flight!


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## Nick (Sep 25, 2012)

Yeah, it's standard practice to carry a reserve chute for high flights. The reserves are a little different than those on a skydiving rig, you have to throw them manually and they can take a bit to open. Also, they often are open in conjunction with the main chute off to the side. I think you need at least a couple hundred feet for it to open.


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## Nick (Sep 25, 2012)

Scotty said:


> That looks awesome I need to try it. Do you need to be in good shape?



Nah, you don't need to be in great shape, skiing is WAY more taxing than paragliding. The only part that needs almost any effort at all is launch.


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## Nick (Sep 25, 2012)

IDeally I'd like to get a motor at some point. This gives you more flexibility to fly wherever and whenever (assuming weather / etc. are OK)

Kind of a cool clip in CO


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## Huck_It_Baby (Sep 25, 2012)

Nick said:


> IDeally I'd like to get a motor at some point. This gives you more flexibility to fly wherever and whenever (assuming weather / etc. are OK)
> 
> Kind of a cool clip in CO



Now that is cool! right up my alley! Cruising around tree top level seems like a ton of fun.

I would imagine if something goes wrong at high altitude a reserve may not be enough to bring all the weight down safely.


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## Nick (Sep 25, 2012)

Huck_It_Baby said:


> Now that is cool! right up my alley! Cruising around tree top level seems like a ton of fun.
> 
> I would imagine if something goes wrong at high altitude a reserve may not be enough to bring all the weight down safely.



They are all based on weight. The motors add about 50 lb, I think, to the glider. When I buy my next glider, I am going to get on ethat is big enough that I can add a motor on later .

The cool thing about the motor IMO is that I can go down to the local soccer field and just buzz off assuming the wind is OK. With a paraglider you can stay aloft for a while (I've flown as long as 3 hours) but you are stuck where the lift is. I've mostly done mountain soaring where the wind is coming up a hill and basically the air moving up the hill is faster than the glide ratio of the paraglider, thus, Soaring!


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## Nick (Oct 12, 2012)

Soarcast for tomorrow looks good!!!!

http://www.omnistep.com/soarcast/soarcast.php?s=morningside

Be up at Charlestown in the AM.


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## Huck_It_Baby (Oct 13, 2012)

Nick said:


> Soarcast for tomorrow looks good!!!!
> 
> http://www.omnistep.com/soarcast/soarcast.php?s=morningside
> 
> Be up at Charlestown in the AM.



Looks nice! Have a GoPro? Take some pics!


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## Nick (Oct 13, 2012)

Went today, got of the 250' launch, still waiting on the 450 :/ I did take some video and will post later but the camera was aimed too low .. damnit!


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## Nick (Oct 15, 2012)

Here is just a raw cut of the video from the 250'. The camera was down, that last bit i was pretty much coasting down the entire hill about 5' off the deck.


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## Huck_It_Baby (Oct 15, 2012)

Nice! I wanna try SO bad!

I don't think the hill near me is actively giving lessons or taking flights. I have been to the top a couple times and the slope doesn't look maintained. Things seem a bit over grown making the take off very narrow. Nothing like what I see in your video.


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## Nick (Oct 15, 2012)

This hill is definitely a beginner hill, it's super wide and pretty shallow pitch for easy running, and they mow it regularly. It's perfect for learning.


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## Nick (Oct 15, 2012)

Huck_It_Baby said:


> Nice! I wanna try SO bad!
> 
> I don't think the hill near me is actively giving lessons or taking flights. I have been to the top a couple times and the slope doesn't look maintained. Things seem a bit over grown making the take off very narrow. Nothing like what I see in your video.




What is the hill near you?


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## Glenn (Oct 16, 2012)

That's pretty friggin cool!


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## skiNEwhere (May 23, 2018)

Since I live in Utah now I've have much more paragliding opportunities. I've been flying both a full sized PG and one about half the size (mini wing/speedwing) and have got a few ski launched flights in as well.

I'm hoping to be able to fly when I come back home this summer, judging by previous posts it looks like there's an active community up north.


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## Huck_It_Baby (May 23, 2018)

skiNEwhere said:


> Since I live in Utah now I've have much more paragliding opportunities. I've been flying both a full sized PG and one about half the size (mini wing/speedwing) and have got a few ski launched flights in as well.
> 
> I'm hoping to be able to fly when I come back home this summer, judging by previous posts it looks like there's an active community up north.



Holy OLD thread!


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## Not Sure (May 23, 2018)

skiNEwhere said:


> Since I live in Utah now I've have much more paragliding opportunities. I've been flying both a full sized PG and one about half the size (mini wing/speedwing) and have got a few ski launched flights in as well.
> 
> I'm hoping to be able to fly when I come back home this summer, judging by previous posts it looks like there's an active community up north.



Awesome .....combining it with skiing !!!


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## bigbog (May 28, 2018)

skiNEwhere said:


> Since I live in Utah now........



So how's Ooooootah so far?


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## skiNEwhere (Jun 1, 2018)

bigbog said:


> So how's Ooooootah so far?


Utah is pretty cool. It's like CO but more accessible, everything is just a lot closer. Wasn't a great ski season by Utah standards, but it was by CO standards which I've grown accustomed to.

Paragliding is awesome too, there's a few spots where you can even get lift served access.

Traffic and smog sucks but overall it's a win!

Sent from my SM-G955U using AlpineZone mobile app


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