ScoobySnacks, I'm an expat brit living in CA. Ping me for some flying site on the west coast and an introduction to the NorCal flying crowd. What time of year? Maybe there is a fly-in you could attend?
Regulation in the US for foot launched PPG is very relaxed. We fly under FAR "Part 103-Ultralight Vehicles" and technically are not classified as aircraft, but vehicles instead. That said, FAR 103 is deliberately ambiguous, so basically any public complaint could cause problems. Essentially: don't take passengers, don't fly over gatherings of people, keep out of restricted airspace. That's about it.
One thing to remember on the CA coast is that there are a number of State parks with 500' minimum altitude for aircraft (remember what I said about vehicle/aircraft designation) and NOAA with 1000' minimum altitude that regulates all flying things from high tide mark out to sea. Don't mess with NOAA and respect the state parks/rangers even if technically legal. There have been one or two bozos (Dell Schanze for example) who has disrepected our simple restrictions and has single handedly managed to get entire stretches of the Oregon coastline shutdown to PPG.
This is brilliant site for viewing / downloading airspace maps for your GPS: http://www.maddyhome.com/ctr/
and this for NOAA: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/flight/mbnms.html
BTW The PPG Bible is IMHO essential reading. Jeff Goin has done more of the sport in the US than probably anyone else and his book is full of useful info and tips.
Cheers,
- Paul.
