framoo Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Hi, I have tried to find information about the "regs and rules" for paramotor flying in the UK. Believe it or not, but the only thing I can find is that it's deregulated. To what extend is it deregulated? A website with all the information? A link to a document? In The Netherlands we are struggling already for over a year and a half to get better take off and landing possibilities. We can't just go to a farmer and ask him to use his land. I Will spare you the details. Below a link to a Vimeo movie about paramotor flying on december 29th, 2010 in The Netherlands. The text and subtitles are in Dutch! http://www.vimeo.com/18303074 All the best, Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Hi Frank, For the UK you have to comply with the Air Navigation Order, i.e. rules of the air, I imagine this is universal for any country. Mainly the 500 foot rule (shall not fly closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle or structure, except when taking off and landing). Shall give way to all other aircraft and are prohibited from controlled airspace. Take off from almost anywhere with landowners permission. No license, permit to fly, certification or medical required. Not sure whether 3rd part insurance is a legal requirement or not. For comparison in France: you must compy with the rules of the air and can also take off almost anywhere with landowners permission. A ULM license (paramotor class) is required plus registration of the paramotor/wing. 3rd part insurance is compulsory but the only medical required is a one off statment from your doctor that you are fit to fly. Cheers, Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framoo Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 Hi Alan, Thank you very much for your quick reply. Indeed we fly by the same rules. The only problem we have is how to get from groundlevel to 500ft. Paramotoring is legally allowed in The Netherlands. We fly basically by ultralight rules. There are some differences between the normal GA rules and ultralights. At this moment we have two options: 1. A permit for 12 days (2 take offs and landing per day) in one year. 2. A kind of long term permit. You are actually applying for an aerodrome. The proces will take at least 3 to 6 months. Experience learns that it may take longer. The flight operations will be very restricted, like a maximum amount of flights (100 per year) We sure hope, that we can work something out. We are in the middle of that proces All the best, Frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquatix Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Frank - how are those rules enforced, and by who ? Surely if the permit allows for 12 days per year it would be hard for the authorities to know what days you had actually flown on ? Alan - similar query for France .... are visiting pilots exempt from the wing registration etc provided they hold 3rd party liability ? There didn't seem any problem in St. Hilaire but perhaps things were relaxed for the festival. Hoping to do some travelling & flying round Europe this year and don't fancy having my equipment confiscated by an over-enthusiastic gendarme .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framoo Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 Hi Aquatix, That's a good question! 24 hours before flight you have to inform the authorities by email that you are going to use the location. We tried to convince them that it's not possible to know 24 hrs in advance that you are actually going to fly. Sometimes the decision is made just half an hour before flight. If somebody is filing a (noise) complaint, the authorities are going to check if you had informed them about your flying plans. Indeed, pilots tendens to fly more than these 12 days. They take a risk and the fines may be quite high. Needless to say, that just 12 days is rediculous. The 12 day permit had been created for helicopters and is used now for paramotoring as well. Aviation is so overregulated in Holland that both the authorities and pilots have to dig into the airlaw in order to find solutions and, unfortunately, ways to block you. We have to fly with a registration (mine is PH-9C6), so it's quite easy to find you. Till november 1st, 2009 the national authorities (like the CAA) were in charge. Since then it is deregulated to the 12 provinces who can make their own policy with regard to the way they implement the rules for using non-aerodrome locations for flying purposes. They don't have to give you a permission. Over the past year we have learned that there is a big variety in policy between the provinces. Some provinces are on our hand, but we have to cooperate with provinces that have the policy not to contribute to new initiatives in aviation as well. Again, we are working on a better future for paramotoring in Holland. All the best, Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Do you have to have any training? SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Since then it is deregulated to the 12 provinces who can make their own policy with regard to the way they implement the rules for using non-aerodrome locations for flying purposes. They don't have to give you a permission. Frank, I would cite the UK position in your arguments for safe flying, the statistics show paramotoring to be one of safest forms of aviation. Be sensitive with your noise footprint by flying different routes and places, if possible. Good luck, we all feel for your position. Aquatix, you can fly in France for up to 90 days as a visitor, with 3rd party insurance. Cheers, Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyfreefly Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 I hate to say it but I reckon in the not to distant future all of us who fly paramotors in the UK will have to comply with wing registration, insurance ,licence at the least...... A guy who is with the Special branch counter terrorism and extremism unit visited the field where I was flying from on Jan 2nd and gave me a friendly warning about flying too low (I disputed his Guesstimate ?? of what height I was actually at).....and said that even if I was within 500ft of anything I was on my landing desent anyway....he seemed to be ok with me after a bit of a chat and a coffee....but was very interested in the speed ,range, carrying capacity, of the paramotor... he admitted that these flying machines are/could be a bit of a nightmare for somebody employed to do his type of work....we parted on friendly terms.....happy that I was not going to strap *removed by admin* or a bomb to myself... ..and he then went to the local airport ( I found out after )where a speech on powered hangliding was underway..on speaking to the guy who was giving the lecture afterwards it transpires that Mr Special Branch was asking all the same questions he had asked me I think its only a matter of time ........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyfreefly Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 *removed by admin* ...... ehh.....why The word D...R...U...G....S.......is worse than the word bomb ????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 It's a system setting somewhere.... Due to mainly d r u g s people spamming the site in the early days. SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Maybe it gives ideas to those not intelligent enough to think them up themselves << Tongue firmly in cheek >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christian Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Food for thought I have a French License. In the back of the French book that I used for the theory exam it states that despite the fact that Paramotoring in France is regulated they still have twice the accidents that occur in unregulated GB & USA. Don't ever let a bureaucrat tell you that regulation will make anything any safer. Christian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquatix Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Bureaucrats have no place in any sport - certainly not this one. Looks like they have put an end to cross channel swimming this year (it can now only take place on a few set days per year when you can't possibly predict what the weather will be like) and they have even managed to ruin the school egg & sppon race .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framoo Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 Hi Simon, We do have a well organized training system which consists of three phases. Phase 1: groundhandling without the paramotor. Some trainee's go through a "winch" course. It's not mandatory, but both the ground handling training and free flights after being pulled up to around 600-800ft by a winch pay of in a later stage of the training. Some trainee's just go through ground handling training without and with a paramotor on their back. Phase 2: this is the pre-solo phase and lasts at least 10 hours. You are in direct radio contact with your instructor. After this phase you must be proficient in several excercises. Your instructor will sign off the pre-solo phase if you meet all standards. Phase 3: you are allowed to do the preflight, take offs and landings without direct supervision of an instructor. It is mandatory to have a qualified instructor available at the spot. The minimum requirement for this phase is also 10 hours. After this you should be ready for the skill test. To get your PGL license you have to pass a theoretical test as well. My estimate is that the average trainee needs about 35 hours before he/she is ready for the skill test. The license remains valid fot two years. You have to log at least 20 hours and 20 landing in two years if which at least 10 hours and 10 landings in the last 12 months to revalidate your license. Hi Alan, Safety is top priority 1. We have an excellent safety record. Paramotor flying is legal since 2004. No fatal accidents. Just minor incidents like injuries that happen on a football pitch as well. Too Many people are convinced that we fly with very noisy lawn mower type engines and that it's just dangerous. It's a state of mind and not based on the facts. to be honest, it's our job to prove the opposite. We have about 130 licensed paramotor pilots in Holland. There are a few "hotspots" where people are complaining about noise. It's our job as pilots to realize that noise production can be disturbing. Like you mentioned, alter your routings, etc. Requirements: License Registration Certificate of airwortiness (special) Insurance Medical (quite basic) Maximum noise production with full throttle at 500': 60dB Reserve chute Altimeter/verticalspeed indicator Compass Helmet Specific field dimensions (about 210 x 75 ft) Safety regulations (realistic items) Wings and engines must be certified Greetz, Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Food for thoughtI have a French License. In the back of the French book that I used for the theory exam it states that despite the fact that Paramotoring in France is regulated they still have twice the accidents that occur in unregulated GB & USA. Don't ever let a bureaucrat tell you that regulation will make anything any safer. Hi Christian, As I'm sure you know, it is a commonly held opinion in France that rules are there to be broken I have seen French pilots performing crazy manoeuvres in microlights, maybe it spreads to PPG though I haven't seen many French paramotor pilots personally. Cheers, Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christian Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Hi Alan, how's it going? I think that's the point. Safety is about attitude rather than regulations and peer pressure is probably better at nurturing a safety conscious attitude than any amount of regulations. Christian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Very well said SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnzzz Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 im just reading this now in 2017, im in the uk. I only got interested in Paramotors about a week ago and im absolutely transfixed by the whole thing. Ive been watching Tucker Gott's and Woodys videos. So what is the situation in the UK today? Is this still unregulated? Could I theoretically go on ebay today, buy a wing and motor and fly? I would never do that by the way,im currently pricing up training, preferably a pay one time and keep coming back until im confident of flying alone kind of deal lol Just wondering about the current regs/nonregs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin (Simon W) Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 "Could I theoretically go on ebay today, buy a wing and motor and fly?" Basically, yes. Welcome to the Paramotor Club! I am not sure where about's you live but I would say it's worth checking out the link below for our main event in the summer. There will be lots of people with lots of different kit, flying lots. SW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dariuszk24 Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 You can but first ask yourself do you are confident what you doing and how you doing??? Other worlds if you make small mistake during take off time or landing,without supervision this can be also fatal to you. Make your choice wise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldFart Posted June 18, 2017 Share Posted June 18, 2017 I've not yet done any paramotoring (plan to start mid-July), but I do have a PPL, though my knowledge of air-law may now be a tad out of date. I saw the query about how to get to 500 feet without breaking the rules. I'll comment that the 500 foot rule states that you must not fly within 500 feet of people and structures *except for the purpose of take-off or landing* so you are operating within the rules during your take-off climb and landing descent. The 1500 foot rule applies effectively to areas coloured yellow on a UK air chart. The rule regarding the amount of times per year you are permitted to use a private site refers to the number of times *per runway*. Change your take-off or landing direction by more than 10 degrees and it becomes a different runway! I was told by an instructor that the purpose of the latter rule is to prevent aircraft operating from a private site from becoming a noise nuisance. It is unlikely to be enforced unless there are noise complaints, so choose departure routes to limit your noise footprint over residences. Landings are less sensitive (lower noise). Apart from accidents, excessive complaints from members of the public are what would be likely to drive regulation and registration the most, so to stave off the regulations for as long as possible, fly considerately. As well as noise, that will include not flying in a way that would make the average non-flying person who sees you fear for the safety of yourself or others. Don't "blip" the motor (can be mistaken for a mechanical problem). If you do any aerobatics or other extreme manoeuvres, stay in the area for a few minutes afterwards in climbing & controlled flight so that nobody sees you disappear over the horizon, thinks you've crashed and calls 999. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnzzz Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 On 17/06/2017 at 07:17, admin (Simon W) said: "Could I theoretically go on ebay today, buy a wing and motor and fly?" Basically, yes. Welcome to the Paramotor Club! I am not sure where about's you live but I would say it's worth checking out the link below for our main event in the summer. There will be lots of people with lots of different kit, flying lots. SW Im from South Wales, near Swansea. Thanks for the link to the event, looks like it could be very well attended ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Edwards Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 On 06/07/2017 at 15:23, arnzzz said: Im from South Wales, near Swansea. Thanks for the link to the event, looks like it could be very well attended ? Hi Arnzzz, Did you make it skyward in the end? Where did you end up going for your training? Im from the Swansea area myself and am toying with the idea of getting into the sport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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