Powered Para Sailing !!

[fordy]

.................Been watching Video's of powered para sailing , fairly slow flying between 20 to 50 mph , this is something I'd love too participate in ! The para sails run from 7k up too 30k depending on how much a person wants too tie up in the hobby , and it looks too be a fairly safe pursuit . License is not a big deal either . Anyone else hereabouts participated in this hobby ? Thanks , fordy

[bbbuddy]

Something we always wanted to do too, but never got around to.

We have gone para sailing, (tandem, with an instructor) and it is awesome!

[tailwagging]

my youngest son did once in FL. we watched lol. it looked fun and I would most likely have gone up except for the $$$.

[bbbuddy]

Oh, the kind I was talking about was off the side of a mountain, not behind a boat.

At one point I could look into the desert on the far side of a 6,000 foot mountain...it was COLD up there! We flew for about 45 minutes, and at one point almost got to the bottom of the mountain, then caught an updraft and went higher than the mountain by a good bit.

[buffalocreek]

I owned and flew an ultralight aircraft when I lived in Arizona years ago. Fun, but sometimes scary in thermals and definitely noisy. Landing and taking off in the desert kept your attention. Paraglider would be easier to land but I liked the idea of flying like a regular plane.

[Ed Norman]

I knew three paragliders near here. One wrecked and broke his back in a sudden wind. The other landed in the river and drowned. And the last one loves his and flies it all the time.

[MNBobcat]

bbbuddy,

Are you referring to the units you strap on your back or the 3-wheeled cart with seats that you sit in?

The unit you strap on your back is a powered paraglider.

The 3-wheeled unit is a powered parachute.

[fordy]

Originally Posted by MNBobcat

bbbuddy,

Are you referring to the units you strap on your back or the 3-wheeled cart with seats that you sit in?

The unit you strap on your back is a powered paraglider.

The 3-wheeled unit is a powered parachute.

.....................Actually , I was referring too , both ! My investigation was initiated towards the Non wheeled , back units , but I figured out I wanted a unit with wheels . Seems the limiting factor on the wheeled units is the 300 hour service life on the Rotax , 65 hp engines . For someone who is really into flying , putting 300 hours on the clock wouldn't take long at all . Then , the owner is faced with probably a 2k or so rebuild ! Most of the websites I've visited don't delve into the cost of recertifying the engine per FAA standards unless one really looks closely ! So , I'm still ferreting out the details of this hobby , albeit slowly ! , fordy