MarkRussell

Hi, Driving home today (Tuesday 16/09) saw a yellow/blue PPG over the fields in Mortimer Common (Reading) a couple of hundred metres from my house. Was that anyone from this forum by any chance? Just curious whether someone has field near by as that would be rather good! Mark.

As an ex-member of both BHPA (Hang Gliding) and BMAA (Microlight) I must admit I'm quite enjoying NOT being a member of any organisation or association at the moment (this forum excluded!). I also quite like being taught by an independent instructor too. However, when I was (much) younger the warm feeling I got from knowing I was being taught to HG by 'qualified' instructors was quite important and I imagine that may be the same for some flying novices when learning PPG. I guess PPG is different for a lot of us as we come from other forms of aviation so we are possibly happier to judge the quality of our instruction (if we have any) for ourselves, rather than relying on the certificates he/she has on the wall. Having said all that, I don't have anything against membership of a suitable organization if it's main focus is PPG, which is why I voted for 'start from scratch'. I remember when the accuracy paracending clubs joined the BHPA and immediately became a very under-represented minority in an association whose main focus was HG and PG, always made me wonder why they joined? Mark.

Hi Ian, Not sure about Limepits? Never heard that mentioned, so far I've been down to Stephen's new house down in the New Forest and up at Crabtree. As far as I know they are still flying Blacklands though Stephen didn't seem overly enthusiastic about it and did mention that it's not always in a flyable state! I haven't been there yet myself. Not sure if high hangpoints do float my boat yet, but as I'm coming from Hang gliding rather than paragliding I have no particular predisposition toward one or the other so figured I'd let Stephen guide me on that one. I'll moan at him later if I decide that I would have preferred low ones. Regards, Mark.

Hi all, I too live near Reading (Mortimer Common) and work just north of M4 J11. After 20 years Hang Gliding and a few years flying Microlites from Popham I am converting to Paramotor (got a Fresh Breeze Simonini and Dudek Synth) with Stephen Hemsley in Basingstoke. I would love to make contact with any pilots (or trainee pilots) in the Reading area, especially if we can find a decent site to fly locally. I went over to Lambourn yesterday to have a look at Simon's Lambourn club site and think I will join them as it's a very nice area to fly (and hang out while it's not flyable). I'll also be flying from Basingstoke I suspect, but somewhere a bit closer than either of those sites would be great for after work flying. btw: does anyone have any suggestions for local ground handling practice? Cheers, Mark Russell