Just wanted to put a post up to let people know about paragliding as a sport for wheelchair users.

Not much I can really say about it, other than it is amazing!



Physically it is pretty low intensity, and although Im a para, Im sure that quads with enough arm power to use a manual chair will be able to fly solo too.

I have some pics and information on My Webpage and the British Hang-gliding and Paragliding Association has a disabled initiative called Flyability.

I really want to get the word out that Paragliding is accessible to wheelers, either as a full-time sports with solo flying, or even just as a great day out for kids to experience a tandem flight.

Feel free to ask any questions!

Where do I sign up? It's something I've been promising myself I'd have a go at ever since being injured. Family might have something to say about it though, I think they might draw the line at me throwing myself off a mountain and getting airbourne intentionally.

I did some paragliding before my injury and it was a blast. It felt so free to be floating in the air. My uncles are really into it. They also have backpack style motors. But after seeing them as able bodied people get slammed to the ground from the force of the wind, I don't think it is something I want to try unless it is off the side of a cliff or mountain. Even then one of my uncles got slammed into the side of a cliff wall and spent a few days in the hospital. I guess it is just my fear fo not having control that gives me the creeps.

Russ - If you check out the BHPA list of clubs in the UK then you should find one fairly close to you. They will/should be able to sort you out with an instructor, or at least get you in the air for an 'experience flight' in a tandem.

I say 'should' because not many people, paragliding pilots included, are aware of the fact that wheelies can fly and Ive found that the ignorance means they may err on the side of caution and say that they cant do anything for you.

But they can!

Flyability is the disabled initiative of the BHPA and will help with the cost of learning to paraglide, and have 'buggy's' available to lend learner pilots (exactly the same as the one I am flying with in the pic I posted). Your local school can call flyability, ask for a buggy and take you flying.

Also The Calvert Trust in keswick run a paragliding course in the summer each year, which is awesome and gets you qualified in a week with the help of Flyability and one of the best instructors/pilots in the world, Jocky Sanderson.

bdbpastx - Yeah, as with any sport there are dangers, but as with any sport you can choose to make it as dangerous or as safe as you want. Paragliding is very weather dependent, the wind is a major factor, too little and it isnt happening, too much and its close to lethal.

The closer you are to the ground, in strong winds, the more danger there is of the wind doing something crazy and slamming you into the ground. But to be honest its not a real consideration at all, as long as you fly within your limits and dont get the 'Im gonna show-off' bug then things will be fine.

Flying and soaring close to the hill or cliff is an awesome buzz, but obviously places another factor in the things-that-can-go-wrong equation.

Its an amazing sport, and actually very safe, if you want it to be, and at no point should you ever feel as if you are not in control.

The control is one of the things I love about it so much, being completely free and in control of moving in 3D so easily and effortlessly, no more cumbersome and awkard wheelchair maneuvers!

Would love to do that, wonder if there is any places here in the US that would allow a para onto one of those things. I've wanted to fly like that since I was about 10 and first saw some one doing it on TV.

They have a place in Austin that teaches the classes. You have to take the class and be certified before they will even sell you a paraglider. I get you the info if you want.

Flying down would be the easiest part.....how, and how much to get up top?

Hi pawperso!

Your paragliding pics are simply amazing!!! I tried paragliding once in Switzerland before my accident and love it!

I would love to experience "flying" again.

I live in Quebec, Canada.

Do you know anyplace that has the right equipment there? Or elsewhere in Canada? Or in the US perhaps?

Thanks!

Have a good one!

Caroline

I WAS GIVEN A LESSON IN A SKY TRIKE FOR MY BIRTHDAY IT LOOKS LIKE A HANG GLIDER WITH A ENGINE ATTACHED . CANT WAIT

Hi Pawperso, just wanted to say this looks so exciting always wanted to do this myself.

I looked into ParaGliding (also called ParaPenting) and invited a German paraplegic girl called Petra Kreuz to come over with her gear. Petra broke her back ParaGliding and designed this chair and took up the sport again.

Click to view attachment

I think Petra wanted to start up a school so maybe we can all meet up in Germany and see who can fall off the highest cloud! lol

LOL I'm up for it ;)

Here's a short clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGI8jMKX6eA

That's so cool!

Im sorry for not getting back to people who have posted or sent questions, Im down in alabama at the moment and will get back to you all as soon as I get back.

i know a slovenian guy who does some skydiving and paragliding... he's a T12 due to an accident as a skydiver...

dave... petra's rig is kinda cool.

i've tried skydiving [with an instructor] in spain back in '04. it was fabulous!

OK, so Im sorry for not getting back to people a little earlier, but I have some time infront of the mac right now so will try and answer some questions and give some more information to ou guys.

Every country has their own Paragliding and Hang-gliding Association who will regulate the sport and provide country specific information etc.

It is common practice to not sell paragliding equipment unless the buyer is qualified in the sport, which makes sense obviously, and officially even if you are qualified to fly solo, but still only under instructor supervision, some governing bodies wont even let you keep you glider at home with you, it has to stay at the school/club until you are further qualified to fly without supervision!

I'm fairly sure that they is a paragliding club/school fairly close to just about anyone in the world, its just a case of hunting them out and making them throw you off a mountain!

The only possible barrier, as always, is equipment. It is entirely possible to fly without ANY special equipment, I know of a guy from poland who just sits in a normal harness and gets thrown off the hill by a couple friends, making sure that he lands nice and softly without breaking his legs!

With a little adaption to the harness, a normal manual wheelchair can be used to fly, but its best to have something with a wider wheelbase for take-offs and landings.

The buggy I am flying in at the moment is just a full length fibre-glass seat, home made, with solid nylon struts with mountain board wheels on the ends. Its great because the nylon flexes and acts as suspension, and as the wheels are out away from the main body of the buggy itself my center of gravity is harder to displace etc

I spend the winter season in Canada (BC and AB) skiing and then try to get as much flying as possible in the spring/summer. Last year I had another buggy type contraption made here in Canada to try and cut down on the huge amount of luggage I travel with.

The buggy is awesome for flying, but leaves me standed whenever Im on the ground, which kinda sucks, a lot. Im working on trying to design and build a new flying chair that is good in the air and on the ground, possible powered to allow me to launch by myself, and recover back to a road when I land in the middle of nowhere.

Petra's chair looks pretty cool, but there are a few things about it that I want to improve on I think.

If any of you want to go flying then dont worry about not having chairs/buggy's etc, you can get clipped to the front of a tandem rated pilot who will be able to take you for a flight so you can see what the fuss is all about without any problems.

As for getting to the top of mountains to actually launch, that is a bit of a pain in the ass, and basically limits you to launch sites that are accessable to vehicles, but even if you have no hills where you live then you can still fly. I've launched from sea level via winch's and even been towed behind a pick-up to get in the air, there's always a way!

Last spring I flew at a Canadian Paragliding Competition and they were filming a documentary at the time, Ive just been given a link to a small clip of me thats been posted on YouTube.

Its a pretty short clip, and you dont get to see my flying buggy in much detail, but hopefully it can give you an idea of how simple the equipment itself is.

You can watch the clip here

Thanks for the clip! I'm looking forward to feel the freedom!

Caroline

Hallo everybody in general, and pawperso in particular (this is the "Polish Andy" from Hedley meet)

Here's me

and here's one of my flights in Hedley (you can "fly it" for yourself moving your cursor on graph - really interesting feature, giving you a smell of looking for a thermal and then circling it up to the cloudbase. There is more tracks with longer cross-country flights there).

For a short introduction, I've been paragliding for many years on a high level as a competitor and instructor, broke my back in 1998 (while paragliding) and am flying back again since 2000.

As you all already know, PG is really accessible for paraplegics, even without special devices (modern harnesses are really well padded, sometimes even with a sort of airbag, so soft landing on your back is really an option). As for tetraplegics I wouldn't be so daring, but since there are most various outcomes - it depends really much on your hands ability. Controlling the wing does require (sometimes substantial) strength and coordination but it is fairly easy to check if you are fit - just ask some school nearby to for a tandem ride. Once in the air pilot can give you a try at steering, and on the ground you can try kiting a wing, discuss things and see for yourself whether you are able to do it or not.

I noticed Petra's clip here (I've met her in person before - a great pilot, but her flying chair is rather cumbersome - pawperso's better, and flying without any is even better ) and wanted to add some more to give you a better picture of the activity. So do check out a clip on Lars Taylor (from Vernon, BC) or one of mine (there is more of them on youtube).
And as for websites I'd recommend Flyability with a number of different rigs and mine more complete story with more clips. Besides you can visit Russel of California website - the guy does some paragliding with his interesting mix of chair and paragliding harness, but is more active as a skydiver (being paraplegic of course).

I am really glad to find this forum and know that there is some interest this sport - it can give you rare freedom of movement, once on the air you can completety forget about yor legs. The only other moment when I can forget about wheelchair is while kayaking - do you know of any others?

Sorry for a longish post, will be around for any further suggestions.

Good luck all!

http://www.youtube.com/user/qksmith

i had a paragliding crash and left me a t12 complete para. here is my first attempt back to the air 6 months after my crash