Swedish Ground Launch Boogie

Finding some quality gear to begin your ground launching activities is one of the first steps you can take to get involved in this fascinating and exciting activity. If you have ever considered piloting a parachute or a hang glider down the side of a mountain, then this could be something for you. The best advice I could give to you is to get some quality training and take great care in choosing your equipment.

One of the biggest considerations when choosing your equipment is your experience and skill level. Bear in mind that the heavier canopy or parachute or paraglide you choose, the more of a slope or wind will be required to get you going.

You could pick a good speed flying wing and harness or maybe a specific ground launching wing. One good option is the Daedalus GLX or GLS. These are solid pieces of equipment that most experts would be willing to recommend even to someone who is just starting out in the sport. This equipment is relatively easy to control, although it will require some getting used to and you should definitely not even consider flying without getting the proper training.

There are many other options to consider if any of those options are not appealing to you. You may use any kind of ground launch canopy or open nose sky diving parachute. Just make sure that it has a wing loading capacity of 1.3 or less. For someone with limited experience a parachute with an open nose and flatter glide will offer the best range. Additionally, it will also be much easier to launch. An experienced runner will fare better with a cross-braced canopy.

Whatever equipment you choose, be sure that you know how to operate it. Get whatever training is required and make sure you master each successive step in the process.

As a first time ground launcher you should really consider what type of protection to use. This does not mean the actual canopy or parachute itself but rather what you should wear as you attempt to train or actual do a launch.

Most people may not be aware that this is actually a sport that can give your body a pretty good beating. It is very important to make sure that your body is protected. For starters, make sure to wear a good helmet. Something like a motorcycle helmet would work, but make sure it has as much padding as you can possibly find. There is no substitute for head protection.

Also make sure that you wear protection for your joints. This includes knee pads and also elbows pads. Once again, just make sure that there is a lot of padding and protection here as well. As the author points out, motocross attire is quite acceptable. This should include some type of padded pants along with leg and back protection. You may also consider a neck brace like some football players wear. To round off the equipment, make sure to bring a good pair of hiking boots to provide ankle support.

This article sent me on a very interesting research project. I am not they type of person who is interested in extreme sports or even more mainstream sports like skiing. In fact, the last time I went skiing I remember not being able to figure it out at all. Eventually I grabbed a sled and went down part of the beginner trail on that sled!

I have not watched any of the X Games or other extreme sporting competitive events. To be honest, I have never even been tempted. Although I know what they are, they do not hold any interest for me. Having said all of that, I was actually quite intrigued learning about ground launching and the Swedish Ground Launch Boogie event.

The first question I had as I started looking into all of this was exactly what is ground launching. I learned that this is actually a bunch of people with high tech parachutes or even sky diving equipment who launch themselves off of the sides or tops of mountains. There are actually a number of different ways to do this sport or activity.

Since it is more challenging to launch from a higher elevation, most beginners start out at a lower point of the mountain, possibly even the ground level. This is a great position in which to get training on how to operate the equipment, which can also be called a canopy. In fact, there is even an actual school that teaches people how to enjoy this activity. The school was started by one of the pioneers of this so-called sport, out of Lake Isabella, California. Apparently, the school has been quite successful as interest is growing in this type of activity.

Someone who may be interested in learning about this can find out a whole bunch of information by browsing on the Internet. There are many sites that provide information and a huge number of videos. Some of these folks taking advantage of this sport are really incredible. In fact, that is something that the beginner should remember. Indeed, I discovered that many of the folks in the videos are world-class sky divers or para gliders. It is easy for a beginner to look at a video and think that it looks like fun and they want to give it a go.

Please do not forget that doing something like ground launching is actually quite difficult. It will require a fair amount of training and practice. This training and practice should be supervised by a quality and experienced instructor. Not only is this training important, but it may even help if you had some hang gliding or sky diving experience and training as well. Also, be sure to proceed in a graduated and consistent manner. Start at the lowest type of elevation that you can. Only after you have mastered how the equipment works and understand the basic mechanics, should you proceed up the mountain. That school in California is one of the best places to obtain quality training.

This looks totally awesome!  I plated a video game once called “Just Cause 2” and ground launching and platform jumping were an integral part of the game play that really made it cool.  It was a game that was what they call a “sandbox” game where you could literally go anywhere in the game at any time and do whatever you wanted, there was not set storyline that you had to follow.  The world you played in was huge too, and with the ability to basically “fly” using an automatic parachute and a grappling hook, you could explore just about the entire thing. 

The mechanics of the game gave me an idea of how fun the real thing could be, although some of the things done in the game are not really possible in real life.  For instance, you could launch yourself in the air by aiming your grappling hook, which was kind of like a retractable harpoon of sorts, at some point off the ground higher than you are, firing it and have it pull you forward into the air and then releasing your parachute to catch the wind from your speed and then, poof, you’re flying.  I guess the physics of it are possible, but the practicality of it really seems far fletched but, what the hell, it is a video game. 

The point is, once you got airborne on this thing, whether it was from the means I just described or by performing a base jump or ground launch, the physics of flying through the air under a controllable parachute were very realistic and truly made the game what it was in terms of playability and enjoyment.  It highly makes me want to try the real thing and it seems like ground launching would be the closest approximation of doing so that a normal dude like myself could handle. 

I would be pretty afraid of the effects of crosswinds and downdrafts though.  It seems like a lot of practice would be necessary in order to be able to handle such unexpected circumstances and the only way to truly practice is to do it.  Who is to say you would not get caught in some kind of up draft and then go much higher than expected?  That could not just be a mistake on the way to learning that could be a mistake on the way to dead kind of a thing. 

I would guess that helmets and some kind of pads for the elbows and knees would be necessary, but even with that, a crash to earth is going to do some damage.  I would probably want like a whole football uniform with the full cage helmet.  That might make me a little heavy to do it, but I think I would rather error on the side of caution and it would look totally crazy to see a guy in a football uniform hurtling down a mountain on a parachute.  Ok, now this really sounds like a good idea.

Wow, this sounds like an incredibly fun experience.  I have never heard of ground launching prior to reading this article, but after getting the jist of it, I had to go out and learn more.  There are a lot of great websites out there that detail where you can go and what equipment you need and with events like the Swedish Ground Launch Boogie, it seems like there is a strong community of enthusiasts that you could meet and get to know.  It really all sounds like a lot of fun. 

I personally have never gone sky diving, bungee jumping, or anything really like that.  I think I want to, but by this point I think if it has not happened, there is probably a reason.  Ground launching seems like a lot of fun.  Leaving the ground and gliding down a mountain that close to the ground and being able to climb and soar at will just sounds like an amazing experience.  Human beings have always been fascinated with flying and although airplanes are cool, it kind of removes you from the experience.  Being out in the open air and under your own control really seems like the ultimate possible situation to endure. 

This does seem like it would be an exceptionally difficult, expensive, and relatively dangerous hobby to take up.  The equipment alone would cost thousands of dollars not just to buy, but the maintenance must be costly as well.  I have experience with sail boats and perhaps one of the greatest expenditures of money and effort are the preservation and care of the sails.  It must be every bit as important when you are doing so for a flying machine that could literally hold your life on its intricate structure.

Storing the equipment must be difficult as well.  It seems like the chutes that keep your mass afloat are rather sizable and although you can fold them, you have to keep them very dry and avoid misshaping the chute so it can be steered and manipulated when needed.  Control is obviously going to be very key and crucial to doing this activity successfully.

Despite all these challenges though, it truly does sound like a thrill and I will investigate more about the sport of ground launching in general.  It seems like ski hills in the summer time are a good place to look to see if I can find somewhere locally to get involved and start learning about how to do it properly.  I will also continue to search online and see if I can hook up with some of the community and get involved that way.  I really can’t wait to fly!

I just do not understand the infatuation with almost-dying that some people have.  After reading about ground-launching, which I had never heard of before, I think I may have reached my limit.  People go skydiving, they go bungee jumping, and cliff diving but evidently that is not enough of a challenge for some and they feel compelled to add the danger of flying REALLY CLOSE TO THE GROUND down a mountain for a thrill. It kind of blows me away really, just when you think do not have enough ridiculous activities to throw their money at, the next new thing comes out and baits them right back in. 

Now I do not really care how people get excitement in their lives, but what I do have a problem with is people who spend ridiculous amounts of money on frivolous crap and experiences that only serve themselves so they can brag about it later.  Throw in the irresponsibility of potentially killing yourself in the process, leaving behind friends and family to lament your early demise, and the act of ground launching just seems silly, selfish, and disrespectful.

Could not thousands of dollars be spent better elsewhere?  Without going into a rant about the essential nature of man, I just cannot understand how easily we will spend three, four, or five thousand dollars on a trip like this one or some other thrill seeking adventure ride, could not they spend that money on helping a volunteer organization or something else more worthwhile?  I just feel ashamed of our society as a whole when I think about (and this is going to sound cliché’) the people in the world who have so little that they are literally starving to death.  At the same time somebody is fighting for their very right to survive and struggling against hunger, disease, and terror, some other yahoo is plunking down five G’s to throw himself down a mountain with a parachute on his back.

Ok, I will get off my soapbox here.  Far be it from me to point fingers and cast stones about how my time and money is spent.  But I think we can all agree that the truly wealthy among us have become or always been very OK with spending their money on lavish things that really should not belong to anyone or really exist at all.  Thrill seeking is great for those who can do it, but maybe they should just join the army or something and put that need to push the envelope to good use. 

All that being said, the sport of ground launching does sound really cool.  I mean, if I could afford to do it and had the ability to I totally would.  It would be a pretty darn close facsimile to actually flying as a bird does in real life.  Close to the ground, very much in control, and completely independent.  It really does sound like a thrill.

Just received a note from www.canopypiloting.com 

The Swedish ground Launch Boogie has been canceled for 2008 and will be rescheduled for 2009 due to construction of more chair lifts in the area.