Tachwedd

Who was the idiot driving East along the M4 at 11.10 this morning (Sunday 6th August 2017) in a dark, possibly black VW Golf type of vehicle with a paramotor attached to the back of it and came off at the Swindon junction? I presume you were going to the paramotor club. You nearly caused a crash in the second and first lane as exceeded the speed limit and cut up several cars to come from the second lane into the first lane at the 100 yard road marker. If you fly like you drive, there is no hope for any of us. Please can the paramotor club check to see if they had this person attend the club this morning. A reckless driver with a paramotor attached to his vehicle! Dave

I hear so much about courses taking a long time to complete due to bad flying weather that it has made me think, how good is the UK for PPG? Is there a PPG season? What is the average hours flown by a UK pilot in a year, subject to weather conditions?

Several friends of mine have asked me about experiencing a short PPG tandem flight without the need of doing a days course, is there such a thing? And whilst I'm thinking about such an experience, are there PPG tandem courses whereby you can offer such experiences to the public if and when a pilot has the knowledge and expertise? It's a question from a friend whose 22 year old son is looking to do in the future. Thanks.

Many thanks Cas.

Many thanks for the advice. I am slowly getting my head around to understanding more about this sport but can't help feeling that I should start by completing at least an EP course first purely for safety and gaining confidence.

Many thanks for the advice. I am slowly getting my head around to understanding more about this sport but can't help feeling that I should start by completing at least an EP course first purely for safety and gaining confidence.

Many thanks Simon. The trouble for me is that different schools say different things eg you must do a EP first, you are advised to do a EP and CP course first to be a better and safer pilot. A school must have a simulator like ours, some students take several extra days to complete their course thereby increasing the cost by several hundreds of pounds, on top of the course fees there are additional fees of petrol, oil and equipment if not using your own etc. One school writes that once qualified, you can't fly more than two miles from your take off (if I read it correctly)! The more I read the more confused I get.

Many thanks for your reply. I am in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

I am getting confused! Having viewed many PPG schools on the web, I am wondering what training you actually get for your money. Some schools give different number of days of training, some want to sell you their equipment as part of their training but I can't find any with a complete syllabus. How many take offs and landings are you expected to do, how much flight time is included and what manoeuvres should be done as part of your airborne time? Any cross country and navigation skills, parachute deployment etc. I have also seen lots of videos of instructors on YouTube, some sound and look good and others! It would appear that some schools follow bhpa syllabus but what exactly is the syllabus? Am I missing something?

Hi Para-Letik, I am in the same position as you and wondered if you had made up your mind on which course/s you intend doing. Dave

Ok, many thanks cas for your reply. I am also trying to learn the PPG jargon/language, all new words to me!

Hi, Dave here. I am 46 and a total novice. I am going to be staying in Stevenage, Hertfordshire for the next six months and looking to hook up with others, even if it's just to chat so that I can learn more about this sport. Not sure how best to achieve my goal ie EP/CP course or straight in for the PPG course. Any advice? Manythanks. Dave