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Every time I see something like this it blows me away

Erik Timmerman

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Wow, anyone who hasn't clicked on that link - you should click on that link.
 

Bolder

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paragliding is about the only unpowered flight sport I'd like to try. I think it's pretty safe -- given how many people do it you don't hear about a lot of deaths. The rigs seem pretty bulletproof.
 

Tricia

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Bump for summer stoke.
 

geepers

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paragliding is about the only unpowered flight sport I'd like to try. I think it's pretty safe -- given how many people do it you don't hear about a lot of deaths. The rigs seem pretty bulletproof.

Flew hang gliders for a dozen years early 80s to mid 90s. We used to have a saying back then: 'Remember when sex was safe and hang gliding dangerous?' Aids sure put a dampener on 80s short term interpersonal relationships but at least they've overcome most of the design issues of the early hang gliders.

Have tried paragliding - funnily enough on skis. The performance is pretty ordinary compared to a hang glider and it really doesn't seem a good idea to use an aircraft where the air itself is a structural component - on a thermal day there's a lot of rough air up there. :geek:
 

fatbob

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Isn't the original video speedflying rather than paragliding?
 

Paul Lutes

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I cringed just a little with the footage of the crowded slope ....

If a small kid turned unexpectedly and he landed on top of them, who is at fault?
:geek:
 

geepers

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Paragliding, especially tethered to a tow, is one of the more boring things one can do on earth.

Yep - but that's just a thing for untrained tourists. Paragliding, untethered, and either ridge or thermal soaring shares enough with hang gliding that I know it is an incredibly engrossing activity. It used to blow my mind that I could rock up to a take-off with a machine carried on the roof of my car and after 25-30 minutes assembly, with nothing more than wits and some basic knowledge of the atmosphere, fly 100km away (the world record is much, much further) and reach altitudes over 12,000 ft.

If a small kid turned unexpectedly and he landed on top of them, who is at fault?

Would be completely and utterly the pilot's fault.
 

Paul Lutes

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Of course he would; I was being facetious since he was above him instead of behind him ogwink
 

dbostedo

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I cringed just a little with the footage of the crowded slope ....

If a small kid turned unexpectedly and he landed on top of them, who is at fault?
:geek:
Do you think that was done without warning/permission? I figured it was all staged.
 

dbostedo

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That was really cool... Neat to see an unusual location I've been to as well, on the Azores islands... those things are impressive even if you aren't paragliding!


Portugal 2013 125 ACR Conv Pano.JPG
Portugal 2013 132 ACR Conv.jpg
Portugal 2013 209 ACR Conv Pano.JPG
Portugal 2013 499 ACR Conv Pano.JPG
Portugal 2013 534 ACR Conv.jpg
 
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Paul Lutes

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Do you think that was done without warning/permission? I figured it was all staged.
Definitely staged for most of it, but on the ski slope with numerous people moving unpredictably, even if they knew what was about to happen ...... especially the youngsters in the footage.
 

cantunamunch

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Paragliding, untethered, and either ridge or thermal soaring shares enough with hang gliding that I know it is an incredibly engrossing activity.

For a specific type of mind. The more adrenaline-fueled minds went on to smaller few-cell canopies, inverted canopy flying and canopy relative work.

after 25-30 minutes assembly, with nothing more than wits and some basic knowledge of the atmosphere, fly 100km away (the world record is much, much further) and reach altitudes over 12,000 ft.

I did that sort of thing a couple of times with 1990s vintage cargo-rated chutes, i.e. 500lb+ tandem canopies not specifically rated for 'gliding'. The first time I landed on a pig farm ~35mi away. Now ripstop soaks up moisture and retains it. There's a lot of very smelly liquid on a pig farm. A) No one wanted to pick me up B) I rode more than 50 miles (no direct roads) in the back of pickups C) I had to buy that chute D) No packer would touch it afterwards.

The one time I went over 10K I popped onto the radar(s?) of Dulles TCA. Very very many very angry people yelled at me. For weeks.
 
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Posaune

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A couple of years ago we were riding Chair 8 at Mt. Baker which offers complete views of Mt. Shuksan and the ridge called "Shuksan Arm" that leads to the mountain from the ski area. This is out of bounds, but has lots of folks hiking the ridge and dropping down it, eventually re-entering the ski area and riding back up C8 to do it again.

Anyway, as we were riding up the lift we watched a guy ski down directly at a big cliff, I figured he would turn off but he kept heading right at the cliff and he eventually skied right over it, did a back flip, and then pulled the cord on what I took to be a paraglider. He then soared around a while and I lost track of him. Later I saw what must have been him loading C8 for a return trip with a huge pack that must have contained the glider. It definitely blew my mind.

A picture of some of the ridge is below. I'm not sure if the cliff in the center was the one he used, but it looks like that.

IMG_2761.JPG
 

James

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Chamonix banned wing suit flying in 2016 for
5yrs because so many were either hitting buildings in town or killing themselves.
I guess this falls under “paralpinism”

A new municipal decree regulates the practices of paralpinism and BASE jumping

…It's forbidden :


  • to jump directly from and near the ski lifts (Aiguille du Midi and Brévent cable cars).
  • to land at the bottom of the valley, except the dedicated areas (Grepon and Taconnaz avalanches).
  • to jump in July and August in the exclusion zone of the massif (Ministerial Decree LF-R30 B).
  • to jump in fly-by (person / buildings / structures).
————-
 

Paul Lutes

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Wing/squirrel suits are a whole different level of crazy. Putting aside the entire good/bad judgement thing, it would seem to require instantaneous reaction speeds. Not merely electric, or even light speeds, but truly instantaneous. I can't even watch their POV footage.
 

geepers

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For a specific type of mind. The more adrenaline-fueled minds went on to smaller few-cell canopies, inverted canopy flying and canopy relative work.

Guess it depends on gonad size.

Done enough motorcycle road racing and jumping out of planes to know that anyone getting bored hang gliding should go straight to base jumping or the Isle of Man TT or combat or such. The buzz making a cross-country flight isn't as intense as freefall but it lasts a lot longer than 45 seconds.

Don't think anyone's crazy enough to try CRW in a paragliders when thermaling. Going to be a smooth air activity otherwise it's a recipe for entanglement.


:eek:

And there's another good reason to prefer an almost rigid wing over an inflated rag.
 

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