Paragliding as a new hobby - Any advice?

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
1
Hello Efers,

I have always liked the idea of paragliding, as it seems so calm and the feeling must be amazing.

I am not too keen on extreme sports, so I would never do a parachute jump for example but this one doesn't seem so dangerous.

Is anyone on the EF a paraglider?

Anyway here are some pictures from the weekend which have really inspired me to do a little bit more research before I take the plunge (pardon the pun)

2
As of 2012, the sport of Paragliding is only 27 years old. In the early days of the sport, the statistics about paragliding looked pretty bad. At this time the sport was growing very quickly. Occasional fatalities made big splashes in newspapers and radio.

Nowadays, it's much safer than other extreme sports, and in Switzerland paragliding is even not considered as extreme sport according to the insurance companies. The only insurance you need is a casualty one, you'll get it for approx 80,- a year.

I will start doing my license as a paragliding pilot in July, happy to give further advice if needed.

If you feel intrigued, why not try it out ?

3
Thanks Lee, I've been reading on some paragliding schools websites and the paragliding forum, and as you say it might not be regarded as an extreme sport as many tend to refer to it as an adventure sport .

Where are you doing your paragliding pilot license? I will certainly have to try it out before I commit to a course as I might not like it that much in the end and there are plenty of places where you can do tandem flights it seems.

4
I've been flying since 1993 but not in the last couple of years as I need to get my Swiss licence sorted out and I've been a bit busy with a young family etc.

But, it's a great sport and things have really improved over the years regarding equipment and performance.

I used to take my glider everywhere on holiday and get in the air to get a different perspective on things.

Switzerland is also great for cross-country flying as it's easy to get back with all the public-transport options.

Anyone I know who has had a bad accident has done something stupid which was within their control if they had thought about it or asked someone more experienced for guidance before launching.

5
TBH, I'd go for a training taster day when you get to fly a bit and at least play with the wing rather than a tandem flight when you just sit there (though I've never been on a tandem flight).

The difference is probably akin to actually having sex compared with watching porn. (if you get my drift).

6
I looked into this a couple of years ago but never really pursued it. I was advised by a very good paragliding shop (in the UK) to read this book first:

Touching Cloudbase

7
I can't say I do lol

I'll have to try whatever is on offer and see how I get on

PS: I have to wear glasses for 20/20 vision, is there a specific vision requirement? I could be wasting my time otherwise...

Cool we'll have a read once I get around to having my taster lessons...

8
The guy who wrote the book, Ian Currer, originally taught me to fly in Yorkshire back in 1993.

Some of the photos in the first edition of the book were taken on our first days of training.

It's a great little book.

No problem flying if you wear glasses.

9
How have you got on in your quest? You should note that my old school ( www.paraworld.ch ) does is ground school in your back yard (menzingen, zug), and most of the high flights form the same sites as your photos.