privateer570 Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Hi all, I have been maintaining a watch on this and other sites for a while and decided to actually get my stuff together and ask some of the questions, and look for some answers to paramotor-ey things I have been wondering about, so here goes... I currently live on the island of Anguilla in the Caribbean and to be honest I haven't seen any paramotors/paragliders round here or surrounding islands - I guess that means training here is out of the question? Anguilla is as flat as a pancake which I conclude means paragliding is out of the question but it also means we get the full force of the trade winds off the Atlantic leading to gusty wind pretty much all the time - again I'm assuming that's not good for paramotors? I am assuming that paramotoring is not an option in the West Indies, but I will soon be returning to the UK to live. I come from Worcester, and was wondering if there were any paramotor places/instructors in the county/area? Assuming I find an instructor, what sort of training period should I plan for and what prices should I be looking to pay for tuition and equipment etc? - Is there a big saving to be made in buying second hand? I don't know how relevant it is, but I had a CAA PPL (prior to JAA) but unfortunately that is no longer current and I moved abroad before the NPPL came in. Would this prior knowledge help me in terms of training, awareness etc? I appreciate that a lot of the information I have asked for is out there but I was hoping to get the opinions and thoughts from people here so I can plan - unfortunately, money is a factor - enthusiasm is not! Over to you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantheman Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Hi Privateer570, You have lots of questions which is the best way to approach this sport, your PPL experience is very relevant in some areas like knowledge of the principles of flight etc plus navigation but it's a whole new aircraft type to learn. I suspect you are right about the wind over there, definately play it safe with that one. If you have chance then read the training blogs on this forum, they show you how long it's taken us to get into the air and there are so many factors which come into play. For example if you were able to camp on site for a solid week you would most likely get in loads of good training followed by a variety of flights (weather depending) wheras if you are fitting training in between work/family etc then it would take longer. Ability comes into play but only you hold the key to that, I'd say that paramotoring is 50% skill (learned) and 50% commitment. Don't rush into a kit purchase, you may blag a discount through your training or find a second hand setup thats as new for half the new retail price. As for training its from a few hundred quid up to a grand, if you are on the ball then you may get away with a couple of days hard tuition, either way a taster day (some are free) would be good for you to get a feel. Whatever you do don't rush it, you have loads of time to scour the forum, also check out other sites and digest as much info as possible, that way when you get here you will be very prepared. ps It's the best feeling ever pps almost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
privateer570 Posted February 19, 2008 Author Share Posted February 19, 2008 Thanks for the quick response... I guess it makes more sense to wait till I get back to the UK to start any form of paramotor-ing. Thanks also for the advice on kit purchase - I presume the instructors have spare equipment for training? On the subject of training, does anyone know of any decent instructors in the south Worcestershire area, or failing that, in that general area that I could get in contact with in the near future? All thoughts and (positive ) comments are greatly welcomed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Hi all,I currently live on the island of Anguilla in the Caribbean and you are coming back to the UK? but its s s so cold here! the most northerly of the leeward island Anguilla is the first landfall of the norteast trade winds and is therefore "windswept". That is not to say that paragliding would be impossible. a small fast glider on a ten foot dune or a block of flats facing the sea would be entirely possible and great fun. Probably not so good for the beginner though. Flat lands would be great for winching but that needs quite an infrastructure to support it. Paramotoring really needs winds below 10mph, certainly for training. It may just be that no-one has started doing it there yet. I was looking at Trinidad as a location as it has a mountain range facing the northeast and the winds are not quite so relentless down there. I investigated and found there is little paragliding activity on Trinidad. There is some in the Dominican Republic, that has a bigger land mass and is further into the Caribean though I think. You will find a trainer nearby when you return home, there qare a few dotted about the midlands. Good luck. Francis[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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