Spiked Original: My First Paramotor Cross Country Flight

trooper_trent's picture

Paramotor Cross Country Flight

I don't remember who it was, but someone here a few years ago posted a video of a guy flying a powered paraglider and I was instantly hooked. I've been obsessed with flying since I was a small child and had tried numerous times to get into aviation but it has always been too expensive. I saw the video posted here and it changed my life forever. Fast forward a bit and here I am, running and taking off into the air like fucking Superman.  It's been a dream come true for me. I don't know who you are that posted that video but I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You changed my life.

-Trent

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Comments

lawngnome's picture

Thats great you kept at it.  looks mad fun

 

Thorno, it was.   https://www.spikednation.com/videos/paragliding-accidents

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Thorno's picture

Hhhhhhhhhhh 

Hey Trent, I was the guy that posted that video,this put a big smile on my face, congratulations and welcome to the sport.

I didn't know the video had such an impact on you but that's really cool to hear it ended up getting you into something you enjoy. 

Be safe and try to get signed up to an SIV to practice emergency situations safely so you are prepared in case of situations that can happen.

With paramotors the biggest danger is the urge to show off or push the envelope with aerobatics close to the ground - try to avoid that urge.

 

I am the founder and one of the admins of paragliding forum on facebook if you want to join us for dicussions and awesome posts in your Facebook feed.

 

Beautiful video, Have fun mate and thanks for the post,I subscribed by the way.

Tight lines and happy landings,

Roger

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trooper_trent's picture

Dude, 

I know we'll never meet but thank you. Seriously. From the bottom of my heart. 

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Fullauto223cal's picture

So how much $$$ are you into this hobby?

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trooper_trent's picture

Hard to say exactly. The price of a nice motorcycle should get you a motor, wing, training, essential gear.

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Fullauto223cal's picture

Well now the question is, what did you pay for your "nice motorcycle"?

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trooper_trent's picture

Motor = $7k-9k roughly

Wing = $3k-4k roughly

training = $1500-3K roughly

Misc gear, transport, helmet, reserve, tools, windsock, navigation apps, etc etc = $1k-2k

 

That's estimating low to high so obviously you could get used shit and train yourself off of youtube (and probably die) so you could do it for less. but that would be the "right" way to do it with really good equipment and training.

 

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Fullauto223cal's picture

Thanks.  How long did it take to overcome any fear of heights.  Being that high up exposed would seem to be terrifying to me.

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backdraft's picture
Beta TesterDiscord userImage gallery

Nice one. I actually started paramotoring this year too. Finished my training in the spring months. 

I'm a total noob though and the launches still make me nervous as hell :) I've got maybe 10 hours of flying in the summer. 

 

What kinda of gear you got?  I went full out on and got Nitro 200 and Ozone Roadster 3. A nice beginner wing that still pretty fast and agile. 

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trooper_trent's picture

Nice.  I'm on a Nirvana Rodeo (3 blade) and a Dudek Universal 1.1

I know the Rodeo is a bit heavy but they're just so damn reliable and easy to maintain.  Well worth it for that 10 seconds of only a few extra pounds on your back while running before you take off.

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backdraft's picture
Beta TesterDiscord userImage gallery

Was looking at the Dudek Universal too. It would be nice to have the option for both pg and ppg.

Honestly, I'd like to do PG most of the time, but where I live, it's all flat and managing schedules to fit when there's towing available is too much of a hassle.  The motor still give you so much more freedom that it's the way to go.

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