Aquanaut

Bloody hell, all I wanted to do was say hello! So far I'm having zero success with instruction/instructors in the North East. Most of the PPG guys I've met are self taught, the rest did training overseas. The worrying bit was the overseas trained guys all said for what they paid, it wasn't worth it - they could have figured out what they were taught in a couple of extra days alone, and a day with an experienced PPG pilot. So, what the hell do I do now? Other than getting airborne and freedom, so far I'm not feeling even remotely encouraged by what I'm hearing/reading. Is this the only uk forum, or are there others? I'm just trying to get a balanced opinion. No, I'm not trolling, I just genuinely want to get as much info as possible before I start spending hard cash. Cheers.

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.

So far I've wasted less than £100 on a harness and wing just so I can prat about on the field where I live. Its rated well below my weight, and will end up as a couple of hammocks when im done with it I'm going to stress again that I'm NOT a Darwin award candidate, I just want to have some fun whilst I'm learning, and before I shell out the best part of £5k on kit. Then I'll need to spend that amount again, as my wife also wants to join in. She's a bigger adrenaline junkie than I am So, back to the original question, where's recommended in Europe to do the course, and at what cost? Cheers again.

Hi folks, It appears that courses near Newcastle/Sunderland are either top secret or don't exist. Does anyone have any info/prices of where overseas it can be done. I'm looking at somewhere like Spain rather than the states or south east Asia. Cheers in advance. Oh, is a standard paragliding harness the same as a paramotoring one? And for wing size, what's the addition to naked weight? Is it about 30kgs? Lots of questions and research before organising training, I'm not another Darwin candidate!

Hi again, Are there any instructors/courses in the Tyne & Wear area, or do I need to travel further afield? Cheers in advance.

Hi folks, Just a quick introduction. I'm looking at getting into this as it appears I may not be able to dive anymore due to medical reasons (nothing that would bar me from aviation though!) I have had some parachute experience along with an entire year of paracending (weekends) but that was over 20yrs ago. All I've done since is the odd 1500ft static line jump. So, where do I start? I gather that ground handling is a big thing so I'm looking at a wing/harness to get me started. I'm guessing a fairly cheap eBay special will be suffice? What sort of money should I be looking at spending for each? If it helps, I'm about 15st and 5'8". Ok, I hope that's enough to start with. Aquanaut.