6 months ago i had a serious paragliding crash and broke L1 and L2 and am a complete para. last week i took to the air again and did a tandem with a buddy.
please find the youtube footage
http://www.youtube.com/user/qksmith

Only 6 months post and you are already back at it?...Way to go!!! Keep on flyin....
As I always say...."Calculate the risks and examine all the possibilities, Then.....Do At least One Thing Everyday That Scares You."
Darryl

i am an avid recreationist and was hand biking 8 weeks after my accident, and have since kayaked, paragliding, xc skied, sailing and swum.

cant wait to get into the sit skiing next year. the doctors didnt let me this year but they didnt really know about the other stuff ;-)

mind you i think i would be worse if i didnt.

i have a shiney new top end force G handbike on the way to me at the moment. looking forward to that.
going to build a buggy for solo paragliding.

WOW! Looks like some spectacular scenery, Qman! I'm sure you had loads of fun. I'm not quite as adventurous about getting up in the air. But I do love kayaking. I feel so free when I'm on the water.

Keep posting video of your adventures so us armchair adventurists can live vicariously through your play!
Take Care,
Stella

Hi

Has anyone got an idea what the appoximate cost might be to get to get independantly competant with your own gear to do this sport.

I am so jealous as I often see these guys up the road from me going over the cliffs and I really want to do this. As always cost is an issue and thats the only reason I havent already signed up. I know of a couple of Paragliding schools locally too so I'm sure its feasible.

Any ideas or input gratefully received!!

Regards

John

i think you could get into the sport with about 2500-4000$nz worth of 2nd hand equipment, new about 5000-6000$nz

check out pgforum and ask ? there.

Yah! i have my first solo PG flight today 353 days after a PG crash broke my back. was awesome to be back in the air

Kind of brings a whole new meaning to paragliding, doesn't it?

Hi qman. Keen stuff. How are you managing to land safely with your solo?

Also, I'm a bit confused, is it 6 months or 353 days ago that you damaged your spine?

Nomis: I had the same question initially, but then I noticed the original post was on October 11, 2008. So, six months since the post stating that the crash was six months ago.... equals roughly 353 days.

qman: Congrats on your solo flight. It takes some nerve to get back to what put you in the chair to start with. I hope to do the same with riding a motorcycle one day.

i went tandem at 6months and solo again just short of 12 months,

i will post some video but we are using a buggy to launch and land the solo.