Ground launching

[guest]

I am interested in ground launching my skydiving canopy off of a cliff similar to paragliding. I would ask this in a paraglider board but I figured people here would know more about my type of canopy. I jump a 185 9 cell and I weigh 183. Does anyone have any experience doing this? If so any advice? I scared if I do it without any guidance something will go wrong like stalling on exit.

[guest]

Hi J.C.

Paragliders learn to foot launch from small hills (not cliffs), usually no greater than 45 degrees, and usually grassy. That way, if they bail, they just slide down the hill, laughing, instead of riding the white bus with the flashing lights. I'd recommend trying that first.

Also, most paraglider training requires that you spend a full day kiting your canopy (flying it over your head in a headwind, while standing on the ground), to get a feel for the way it will fly, prior to actually launching. If you have lots of canopy time, a full day is probably unnecessary, but some kiting would definitely be helpful.

--Tom Aiello
tbaiello@ucdavis.edu

[yexotay]

Cliffs are not so easy to launch from. I have been Paragliding since 1993 and hope that you would learn a forward and reverse launch and like Tom said learn to kite the damn thing. Make sure that you are used to a hill launch before you run off a cliff and also make sure that you don't jump at all when you leave the earth this usually leads to a messy collapse. If you want to know the whole foot launch method from a paragliding view than you can e-mail me.

icarus120@hotmail.com

[guest]

Good advice from both the above. Bad idea basically. If you are really set on trying it, practice from a gentle slope first until you are REALLY happy with what you are doing and then fly it off, don't jump.