alan_k Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 When people find out I fly a paramotor (generally included in the thought of ‘microlight’ in France) I am sometimes asked if it is dangerous. I usually answer that with a no as I consider myself to be a safe flyer. This got me to thinking of the perception of ‘Extreme Sports’. I’m sure with media coverage there is always an element of sensationalism, leading to public understanding that the merest slip-up will lead to injury or even death. As a topic for discussion I have listed what might be considered as extreme sports: Quadbike riding White water rafting Skydiving Powerboat racing Off piste skiing Speed flying Snowboarding Free climbing Mountaineering Base jumping Bungee jumping Gliding (sailplane) Hang gliding High wire Ski jumping Wingsuit flying Skateboarding BMX Paintball My feeling is that those activities that include the least predictable weather or conditions are the most ‘extreme’. When I fly I always take notice of the conditions and the beauty of PPG is you can land almost anywhere if you need to. What are your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richwill15 Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Have to agree Alan. Weather is a big aspect of whether (no pun intended) to go or indeed be able to go flying. I guess there are far more extreme (read dangerous or foolhardy) sports to take part in. I see what we enjoy as particularly safe and certainly no less safe than say riding a motorbike IMHO Regards Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Agreed, my dead mate ratio from my biker days is 400% higher than that of my Paramotoring ones. SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poz Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I would say that it's less about the actual sport and more about the participant (attitude, intelligence, ego, age etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poz Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 dead mate ratio Jesus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outkast Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 dead mate ratio Jesus his dead too, but I dont think he was one of Simons mates I used to help run a national quad racing series, when we first started out most people had never raced quads and the accident rate was quite high, however as the season proggressed and riders became much better the accident rate dropped considerably. I used to race quads and only fell off once, and that was at a practice track, mind you I made sure I did not go fast enough to get hurt if I did have an accident, thats what I told people anyway, but for some reason they just thought I was old and slow, HEH! what do they know LOL Had more accidents on bikes on the road, I used to do trackdays on bikes too and had a few scary moments but managed to stay on I was thinking about the whole extreme sports thing the other day and wondered how many of us have signed up to this. http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/how_ ... _donor.jsp Lets face it, if it all goes belly up for us we may still be able to do something for someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clivefreeman Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 Dave go to bed you are suposed to be getting married i the morning !! dead mate ratio Jesus his dead too, but I dont think he was one of Simons mates I used to help run a national quad racing series, when we first started out most people had never raced quads and the accident rate was quite high, however as the season proggressed and riders became much better the accident rate dropped considerably. I used to race quads and only fell off once, and that was at a practice track, mind you I made sure I did not go fast enough to get hurt if I did have an accident, thats what I told people anyway, but for some reason they just thought I was old and slow, HEH! what do they know LOL Had more accidents on bikes on the road, I used to do trackdays on bikes too and had a few scary moments but managed to stay on I was thinking about the whole extreme sports thing the other day and wondered how many of us have signed up to this. http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/how_ ... _donor.jsp Lets face it, if it all goes belly up for us we may still be able to do something for someone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbertflyer Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I've always considered an extreme sport to be one where you're waiting for a significant critical event to save your life. eg Parachuting, Base jumping, Wingsuit flying, Bungee jumping. Even compared with Motor Biking, PPGing is quite a 'woossey' sport. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outkast Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 I've always considered an extreme sport to be one where you're waiting for a significant critical event to save your life.eg Parachuting, Base jumping, Wingsuit flying, Bungee jumping. Even compared with Motor Biking, PPGing is quite a 'woossey' sport. Richard Clive hes calling you a woosey! Fight ! Fight! fight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmouse Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Well im a Sailplane man . And having flown with the Team swift pilots a couple of weeks ago id say aerobatic sailplane flying is extreem, especialy the rolling on Tow, inverted spins, and balistic rolls. And being in formation with other aircraft on the ridge in scottland doing 100kts with big pull chandells at the end of the ridge to go back the other way . But the best has got to be in a start line thermal with 20-30 other ships waiting for the start line to open there are aitcraft everywhere . behind you ,above, below, in front, people joining. and somtimes you get really close when its busy .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted November 9, 2011 Author Share Posted November 9, 2011 Thanks for the insiders view Speedmouse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard1910 Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 I've always considered an extreme sport to be one where you're waiting for a significant critical event to save your life.eg Parachuting, Base jumping, Wingsuit flying, Bungee jumping. Even compared with Motor Biking, PPGing is quite a 'woossey' sport. Richard Snowboarding, Skiing, Wakeboarding, White Water Rafting, Skateboarding, Kite Surfing, Surfing are all classed as Extreme Sports, even Cheese rolling is an extreme sport (if you can call that a sport) and as for the element of risk, you're more likely to die as a pedestrian than you are as a Skydiver! There's Main Stream Sports and there's Extreme Sports Richard X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard1910 Posted November 10, 2011 Share Posted November 10, 2011 My feeling is that those activities that include the least predictable weather or conditions are the most ‘extreme’. When I fly I always take notice of the conditions and the beauty of PPG is you can land almost anywhere if you need to. What are your thoughts? Skydiving is done in similar conditions to Paramotoring. Richard X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenzoDV Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 It's easy to convert harmless into extreme .. as you wish [youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 F that! SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyfreefly Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 NO way I get VERTIGO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenzoDV Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Stupidity is boundless [youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquatix Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Stupidity sounds a bit harsh ...... it looks like a warm day so maybe he didn't need his gloves or helmet ........ I can't see he is doing anything else wrong ......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tj Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Used to do the med cover for the cheese roll. Jesus. It's the dodgiest thing I've ever seen. Diving with sharks without a cage is safer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
like_a_g6 Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Looney tunes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.