interested in learning this hobby what are my options? where can i fly?

[harry200sx]

Hi I'm from Canvey Island Essex. I have been interested in flying for many years and after having a gliding day I decided I will seriously pursue this hobby, I have done some research on cost etc, and ppg seems to me the cheapest form of powered flight, without the huge tests that usually go with means of flight.

lets just jump in here,  I fly quadcopters (built from scratch) not brought from a store. so I understand the laws that we have to abide by, and the dangers involved with lack of maintenance, common sense and complete disregard for rule and safety of others. Not to mention the danger to the sport just because someone took advantage of somewhat relaxed rules.

I have a lot of questions so lets just start with some basic ones, (I have done some looking around on the internet but nothing seems to be a solid answer in this hobby.

1. what class airspace can you fly in and launch from, here on canvey its class d, is there any free maps online that shows the airspace classes that are clear to read?

2. Is it possible to fly from one location to another lets say for example Essex to Yarmouth, with a flight plan, (or do you need airspace permission, along with support team) is it possible to go around the no fly zones to get to a destination?

3 obviously I will get training before attempting to fly, so whats the cost of training to be able to join a club, and are there different levels of licenses for this hobby?

4. i will keep this as the last question and add to it as I get more answers, I'm on a budget and I know I cannot afford to buy all the equipment new. Therefor I will have to get into this hobby using used stuff, my last question is, is there a big saving by buying off of ebay, or some other used selling site, or shall I buy my used stuff from a reputable shop or trainer, and if I bought say from ebay, do I need to get it inspected by the loft before I'm allowed to fly from a club site?  

 

I hope this post will help out others wanting answers to these questions to. 

thanks for any replies in advance 

Harry 

 

 

[alan_k]

Hi Harry,

First bit of advice, buy this and almost all your questions will be answered https://www.paramotorclub.org/store/product/5-paramotoring-the-essential-guide/

1. It's Class G airspace for us. I have flown from a Class D airfield but that is unusual.

2. Yes to flying from one location to another, avoiding restricted airspace. You don't need to file a flight plan for Class G airspace but prior planning is highly recommended. You will need an up to date air chart or GPS so you know where you are and what restricted airspace you need to avoid.

3. You don't need to be in a club for paramotoring, the training cost with Simon on here is about £1100, this is a typical price but Simon gives training until you are competent to fly alone. There is no license in the UK for paramotoring, unlike France where it is included in the microlight category.

4. Look at the Classifieds on here for good 2nd hand kit. Beware of used wings on e-bay, particularly as a newbie .

Alan

[harry200sx]

13 hours ago, alan_k said:

Hi Harry,

First bit of advice, buy this and almost all your questions will be answered https://www.paramotorclub.org/store/product/5-paramotoring-the-essential-guide/

1. It's Class G airspace for us. I have flown from a Class D airfield but that is unusual.

2. Yes to flying from one location to another, avoiding restricted airspace. You don't need to file a flight plan for Class G airspace but prior planning is highly recommended. You will need an up to date air chart or GPS so you know where you are and what restricted airspace you need to avoid.

3. You don't need to be in a club for paramotoring, the training cost with Simon on here is about £1100, this is a typical price but Simon gives training until you are competent to fly alone. There is no license in the UK for paramotoring, unlike France where it is included in the microlight category.

4. Look at the Classifieds on here for good 2nd hand kit. Beware of used wings on e-bay, particularly as a newbie .

Alan

hi thanks for such a quick reply. I will order the book now,

I'm trying to currently get my head around aviation maps and where the class g is, I have read that class g is also below the class e 

is there a map online that shows for the most part  where we can fly, would it not be easier to use colour on a map to show the different areas, I know a lot of the airspace overlap so you could have class a as yellow class b blue and where they overlap its green, (all of this to make it easier for me lol) is there a tutorial video anywhere or will this be covered in the book you suggest ? 

[AndyB]

Look here  http://notaminfo.com/ukmap

 

[harry200sx]

is there a there a thread on here that shows where we can fly I'm looking at a lot of maps and they all read different, I have a friend who says I cannot take off at canvey at all this is southends airspace, and I have spoke to people who say you can, and maps to show we are outside of southends class d airspace. 

that website abopve just give updates on cranes and events happening in the air over the next week doesn't it ? or am I wrong ? its quite possible

 

On ‎02‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 08:38, AndyB said:

Look here  http://notaminfo.com/ukmap

 

 

[Neilzy]

Harry mate ther are a few places to fly around the area when we meet up will go through it all with you to be fair until you up and flying there are plenty of places to fly from local to us if we not flying now it's prob a given you can't as we would have exploited every place we can. 

 

[AndyB]

20 hours ago, harry200sx said:

is there a there a thread on here that shows where we can fly I'm looking at a lot of maps and they all read different, I have a friend who says I cannot take off at canvey at all this is southends airspace, and I have spoke to people who say you can, and maps to show we are outside of southends class d airspace. 

that website abopve just give updates on cranes and events happening in the air over the next week doesn't it ? or am I wrong ? its quite possible

 

 

Hi, the link is the correct one. It is set up for Notams because most people already know the airspace where they are flying.

You need to:

unclick the Notam info to get rid of it.

click the airspace tab (under the Notam info)

then tick all the airspace tabs and zoom in to your area.

regards, Andy

 

[Mark Pugh]

I recommend you download the App. "XCSoar" on any smart phone. It takes a short while to understand and set up for a paraglider, but follow the instructions on youtube. Then later when you are flying it can show you where you are in real time, just be aware that it "sups" a lot of power from your battery and you may need to add a battery back-up for longer flights.