Just was wondering if PKF had ever thought of putting a paragliding section in the forum. I know Me as a kiter have always had dreams of buying a paraglider and backpack propeller and flyin 30 meters above the gulf of mexico. I know there must be a big percentage of kiters who also paraglide as well.

Just thought it would be nice for maybe the people like me who have been thinking of getting into the sport. Like some sort of into-to section. :puzzled:

again i realize there is a big difference between a power kite and a paraglider but i mean, look at the speed 3 19 meter, slap 10 meter lines on that thing and your only 2 cents short from a dollar

Worth an ask....

The only folks that I know paraglide are Tonya's husband at SkyCountry and Grant Fitz at Canadian Wind Rider.

More of a finanical investment or certainly seems to be.

ATB,
Sam

Actually I think there are a few of us on here that fly. Not as many that fly motors though, I'd rather tow up than fly my motor.

Is a tow up or a motor more common than thermals or updrafts?

id imagine you need a bit of experience first on a motor or just "kiting" before towing up. I could see my self rigging a truck wench with some sort of system to tow up 200 so meters.

I'm keen to try it out - there are more places to fly PPGs here locally than there are places to kite :ticking: time and money though ...

YEah same here Kam, ive always dreamt of flying in a paraglider. I remember as a kid waking up in the morning going out side , looking up into the clear blue sky seeing them soaring the thermals. It was a rare sight to see, in south texas but would always see a handfull of them or so every year.

:D I'm actually far more interested in getting a hang glider but I just want to fly - anything. PPGs are more accessible here ... see them around here a couple of times a week - be a good hobby for windless day

PPG's?

Powered ParaGliding = PPG

One of these days... Lots a paragliders here in HK in summer...

What really intrigues me are the electric rigs powered by a couple hundred mobile phone batteries, the reliable on / off at will and the much quieter operation sounds fantastic, they're still in development but not long now before they start to hit the mainstream.

I'd post a vid but I'm on the other side of the great chinese firewall these days, can't get vids / facebook and such.

Mmm ... don't batteries die quicker in the cold? Prop noise will still be pretty high too ...

LOL...

yeah, maybe... I don't think I'd be into ppg in the cold, but electric blankets and insulation and the like take care of that problem easily enough...

and props are noisy, sure, but I reckon not as noisy as a highly tuned two-stroke strapped to my back.

whatever...

Haven't flown for three weeks, time to cut down on the keyboard kiting maybe LOL.

:evil:

I forget but isn't it like -10 degrees C per 1000 feet you climb?
More weight on the PPG and where are you going to get the power to run the blankets

well, actually the dream for me is something like low-level flight, just skimming the ground, maybe finding a ridge to soar off of, turning the power off until I run out of lift, then flicking the switch back on, getting some altitude again, looking for another wave of wind to play with, turning off the power again, playing with that new bit of lift, rinse and repeat....

Don't think I'd be wanting to go for altitude... The main thing that attracts me about the electric rig is the reliable on / off power whenever I want it, maybe I'm wrong but the highly tuned gas engines don't start / stop so reliably. Also more like 2-3 degrees C per thousand feet, 10 degrees C would be 200 below or more up at jet altitude...

Also it seems like PG flight isn't all that hard physically, so it wouldn't keep me warm in cold weather like kiting on land does. Not something I'd want to do when it's cold.

power for blankets? run off the battery, add insulation, wouldn't be that much extra, weight would be minimal, main problem would be power drain....

but like I said earlier, it's more of a half-baked fantasy, esp. given my slow progression with kites and lack of moolah...

yeah i hear you furboski, i could imagine getting into large altitude gain maybe 10-20 years into the sport. but skimming the beach or low level flying would be my interest to start out. I wonder how those battery rigs would last, lithium would be great for short bursts, complete discharging. You would need a ton of amps though. I t seems nitro rc fuel or just regular 2 stroke gasoline engines are the ticket to getting skyward.

Don't trust my memory - lately my brains have turned to paste
If you sift through Youtube long enough, you'll come across some PPG clips of guys slaloming poles in the ground of a soccer field, a few feet off the ground - looks like mad fun

Quote:

Originally posted by Kamikuza If you sift through Youtube long enough, you'll come across some PPG clips of guys slaloming poles in the ground of a soccer field, a few feet off the ground - looks like mad fun

yeah, that's what I'm talking about!!!

"paraglider acro" gets some good stuff coming up....

also seen vids of folks flying low over water, so low the prop kicks up spray and they're doing this kinda barefoot waterski thing as well....

flying low over water with that much battery on my back, tho, that could be a problem!

Quote:

Originally posted by Kamikuza I forget but isn't it like -10 degrees C per 1000 feet you climb? More weight on the PPG and where are you going to get the power to run the blankets

I was flying commercial last week and the flight info many times showed -68F at 38000 feet. Electric blanket indeed.

holy crap, yeah i forgot how cold it got up there. -68 would surely give you one mad brain freeze!