LoveIsMurder13 says:

Haha. Oi, add me on msn. Actaully, PM your email address, I'm on right now.


So what is paragliding??

10 Feb 2007 - 18:56 Brisbane, Queensland

camlew2 says:

paragliding is how u jump off a cliff and glid don't you?

10 Feb 2007 - 18:57 Melbourne, Victoria

LoveIsMurder13 says:

Dunno...That would be cool.

10 Feb 2007 - 18:59 Brisbane, Queensland

camlew2 says:

Yer i guess it would be except i wouldnt have the guts to do it

10 Feb 2007 - 19:00 Melbourne, Victoria

DJaye says:

hang on, I will get some pics (brb)

10 Feb 2007 - 19:00 Sailing The Great Barrier Reef.

camlew2 says:

Ok, Thanks DJaye

10 Feb 2007 - 19:01 Melbourne, Victoria

LoveIsMurder13 says:

Yeah, I would be afraid..Until somene pushes me then I will keep wanting to do it. Usually, something is no where near as scary as you think it is...

10 Feb 2007 - 19:02 Brisbane, Queensland

camlew2 says:

Meh, Somethings i was scared of before it happened but now its all good

10 Feb 2007 - 19:07 Melbourne, Victoria

DJaye says:

10 Feb 2007 - 19:08 Sailing The Great Barrier Reef.

LoveIsMurder13 says:

That looks like awesome fun. I love Kayaking though aswell.

10 Feb 2007 - 19:10 Brisbane, Queensland

camlew2 says:

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA That looks so fun

10 Feb 2007 - 19:11 Melbourne, Victoria

DJaye says:

That was my first solo in NSW. The training field was at Canungra, and we went to Byron Bay (these pics) for first solo flying.

There is a lot of updraft (lift) blowing onto the cliffs there, that flight was a bit over an hour, could have stayed longer, but was running out of light

10 Feb 2007 - 19:11 Sailing The Great Barrier Reef.

camlew2 says:

Looks awsome, Was it scary?

10 Feb 2007 - 19:13 Melbourne, Victoria

DJaye says:

There's heaps of good flying here as well, except it is Thermal lift. I have flown with my mate brett, and we did a cross country flight working from thermal to thermal and flew 220 km. Totally awesome.

A thermal is like a column of rising air, (usually has a cloud on the top) you circle in it, gain altitude, then leave it (glide) and find another one on your descent, then you circle in it, gain altitude, then leave it and glide to another thermal, and repeat the process.

Theoretically, you can fly for hundreds of kilometers given the right conditions

10 Feb 2007 - 19:17 Sailing The Great Barrier Reef.

camlew2 says:

Sounds like great fun

10 Feb 2007 - 19:19 Melbourne, Victoria

DJaye says:

I have a "Variometer" which sqwarks a high pitch when your rising, and a lower one when you are descending. You have probably seen them being used on TV

Yeah, I find it scary, but you get used it. I am horrible with heights. I always fly with mates, which makes things ok, also, you have someone to contact paramedics etc if something goes wrong. I never fly alone.

10 Feb 2007 - 19:21 Sailing The Great Barrier Reef.

camlew2 says:

Yer, Im not really into extreme sports as im scared ill get hurt

10 Feb 2007 - 19:27 Melbourne, Victoria

DJaye says:

I'm like JC, I'm afraidy cat . . . . . meow.

10 Feb 2007 - 19:27 Sailing The Great Barrier Reef.

camlew2 says:

ROFLMAO, Im only into downhill mountain bike riding

10 Feb 2007 - 19:29 Melbourne, Victoria

member8898 says:

i went parasailing kinda like what u did djaye but with a boat attached to the end of a rope. i felt like i was going to fly away

10 Feb 2007 - 20:40 Mandurah,Western Australia (I am the egg man, I am the egg man. I am the Walrus

camlew2 says:

Fly far far far away ROFLMAO

10 Feb 2007 - 20:56 Melbourne, Victoria

DJaye says:

Yeah, its awesome isn't it. If you had the ability to control the wing, (direction & altitude), that is what Paragliding's like.

A lot of people think that with paragliding, you pull on the 2 hand controls to turn, but you don't. To change direction, you shift your bodyweight to the direction you want to go, and the two control lines adjust your speed.

When you are about to touch down, you pull down hard on the controls, which flare the wing, and makes it stall. The hand controls adjust your speed. You do use them a little bit while turning, but it is your body weight that primarily changes your direction.

10 Feb 2007 - 20:58 Sailing The Great Barrier Reef.

camlew2 says:

Hmm i didnt know about that body weight thing, I always thought them controls were for that

10 Feb 2007 - 21:09 Melbourne, Victoria

DJaye says:  

Yeah, you can use the hand controlls for turning, but for intermediates like me, it is not recommended . Because, when you pull down with the controls, it effectively is stalling one side of the wing, and, if you are not careful, it can tuck under (big ears), and put you into an uncontrollable spiral of death.

I have a secondary emergency chute that you can pull if your wing big ears, or collapse. The thing is, you can not do that if you are too close to the ground. (The emergency chute is round, like the WW2 Paratroopers parachute, you have no directional control with them)

There are not many fatalities in the sport, but the people who die, are usually in a situation close to the ground.

Like my flight instructor told me "Altitude is your friend". Most people feel safer close to the ground, which really isn't correct, it is the most dangerous point to be.

(dont get me started with paragliding, you will never shut me up.)

10 Feb 2007 - 21:20 Sailing The Great Barrier Reef.

camlew2 says:

ROFLMAO, Well we will not get you started then DJaye, How long have you been doing it for?

10 Feb 2007 - 21:33 Melbourne, Victoria