Paragliding?
- Thread starter MikeD
- Start date
If you're trying to get out of your marriage, there are other options besides suicide, you know...
Our local dropzone has a good 2-3 deaths every year. I don't think one of them didn't start out with a perfectly good/opened parachute.
So business it dropping lately then?
Yep. 111
paragliding looks sweet. i just saw this awesome movie about some climbers who went on a paragliding expedition in nepal. it's called over khumbu, you should check it out.
I have a friend who got into paragliding as the sport was in its infancy... in the 80 & 90s in Switzerland. 15 years on after seeing too many friends die, he decided to give it up. He didn't think it was inherently unsafe, but said it requires a certain sharpness to be able to assess the situation and make snap decisions at that point. He said most people got into trouble when they were really pushing things... trying to do certain traverses or connections... for example, go from this range over to the next... then over it and down around the other side.
Parapenting (as it is called over here) is huge here in the alps. I have loads of friends who do it.
I don't do it myself, as I can't justify yet another expensive hobby/sport.
What do you want to know specifically?
I don't do it myself, as I can't justify yet another expensive hobby/sport.
What do you want to know specifically?
There are a number of expats here in Korea that paraglide. I've had a few friends try to goad me into lessons/used equipment over the years. It's not something that really appeals to me. My low attention to detail and poor equipment maintenance records have caused me to have a couple of mishaps on my bicycles. I'd rather not suffer something similar at high altitudes.
A friend of mine got into it in the mid 90's. It was wicked expensive then and I'm sure it's not much cheaper now, but he enjoyed it. It looked like a lot of work to me.
It's still cheaper than mtb. Besides used stuff do not dramatically lose their value, unlike used mtbs.
Just get an instructor and see if you like it. It's pretty safe hobby if you don't push over the edge of your knowledge. Worst thing that can happen to you is to get sucked by storm clouds. :biggrin:
Just get an instructor and see if you like it. It's pretty safe hobby if you don't push over the edge of your knowledge. Worst thing that can happen to you is to get sucked by storm clouds. :biggrin:
$2500 for a basic canopy, $500 for a basic reserve, and $500 for a basic harness... Plus a jumpsuit, helmet, all that stuff...
If your startup cost for MTB was $4k, I'd say you got ripped off...
Since we are talking about new stuff, 1-2000+ for xc bike, 2-3000+ for AM and 2-4000+ for fr or dh bike, car racks + all the gadgets you need...
Friend paid 300 for basic training, 1100 for starting equipment (used), sold it for same amount one year later, got faster one (new) for 2000, paid another 300 for advanced training...
Friend paid 300 for basic training, 1100 for starting equipment (used), sold it for same amount one year later, got faster one (new) for 2000, paid another 300 for advanced training...
Nothing in particular--just wondering if anyone was into it.
But I suppose I'd like some pointers about finding/assessing/completing the training, general costs to expect, whether doing the training over a holiday is feasible (there's no such thing where I am now, so I'd have to travel to do it...but there could be a posting in Namibia or South Africa or someplace else with a large gliding community in the future, too...)
I have a friend who's big into it, but he's a pilot by profession, so his perspective is a little different, perhaps. He also never got the training and just borrowed the gear, figured it out himself, and found "a shady guy who would sign off on my certification." He did, however, lose lift a few feet off the ground back in 2004 and break every single bone in his left foot. (He blamed the accident on mountain biking to his boss, naturally...)
When I learned to ski, I crashed a lot and sometimes pretty hard.
When I learned to DH MTB, I crashed a lot and sometimes pretty hard.
Paragliding...not too sure how that learning curve works.
When I learned to DH MTB, I crashed a lot and sometimes pretty hard.
Paragliding...not too sure how that learning curve works.
Flying a parachute is pretty darn easy. Of the three times I jumped each one was a perfect landing within feet of my target.
Finding and working the thermals is probably the tricky bit.
Finding and working the thermals is probably the tricky bit.
I want to build an ultralight, they seem pretty cool.
as a pilot, he definitely starts out ahead of the rest of us. He has an understanding of weather, thermals, etc.
i don't think i could trust used paragliding gear, the canopy and harness are the only things keeping me from death. so why take the risk with gear that you don't know the complete history of? this is also why i won't buy any used climbing gear no matter how much money it will save me.