Anyone try paragliding?

[EnderJE]

I thought I'd take it up this year OR commit suicide by paragliding.

 

[chris302001]

is that the same thing as hang gliding?

 

[samoth]

Is that where you jump off a cliff or from a tow while holding onto a triangle-shaped aluminum frame covered in cloth?

I have no idea what I'm talking about, but it sounds fun; albeit I'd certainly need to learn some of the dynamics and specs before trying it. I'm assuming there are ways to compensate for random air currents that would send one spiraling to their doom... can you even control these things?

 

[PhoenixS]

You know what sounds fun to me? I think I would like to do a bunch of Lipostim and bungee jump and see what happens.

 

[samoth]

is that the same thing as hang gliding?

Okay, I just wiki'd it. I was thinking about hang gliding. Paragliding involves parachute-kite looking things.

 

[EnderJE]

Is that where you jump off a cliff or from a tow while holding onto a triangle-shaped aluminum frame covered in cloth?

I have no idea what I'm talking about, but it sounds fun; albeit I'd certainly need to learn some of the dynamics and specs before trying it. I'm assuming there are ways to compensate for random air currents that would send one spiraling to their doom... can you even control these things?

It's called "faith".

 

[chris302001]

You know what sounds fun to me? I think I would like to do a bunch of Lipostim and bungee jump and see what happens.

im gonna say that the large amounts of lipostim and its sympathomimetic effects + vagal response from bungee jumping will make you shit yourself.

 

[samoth]

It's called "faith".

I don't know much about aerodynamics or engineering stuff, but aren't air current extremely random and unpredictable, especially from the places one would hang glide? Maybe they limit flying to certain terrains and topologies that don't cause hapless puppynoob hang gliders to get BIGWINDGUSTPWN3D.

I wonder what the weight limit for those things are...

 

[pin]

I heard a story once about a guy who was hang gliding in Cali and caught a therml that caused him to get caught in a wind channel higher up which took him all the way to Australia in 3 days.

Sounds like a far fetched urban legend but it was a cool story anyways.

 

[chris302001]

I don't know much about aerodynamics or engineering stuff, but aren't air current extremely random and unpredictable, especially from the places one would hang glide? Maybe they limit flying to certain terrains and topologies that don't cause hapless puppynoob hang gliders to get BIGWINDGUSTPWN3D.

I wonder what the weight limit for those things are...

i think its more predictable in the desert southwest or places where teh ground can heat up significantly where they have "thermals" or whatever they're called.