Wanting to start speedflying/riding (in Austria)

I'm living in Baden, near Vienna. Not the optimal environment to start flying...

However, I have already booked the Basic Course 1 and Basic Course 2 for paragliding at http://www.flugschule-salzburg.at/ because I found the prices to be most affordable.

I hope I will be able to fly on my own (in the schools environment to begin with) afterwards and earn me the official license until this winter. Then I'm going to do a speedriding course. I found that Flugschule Salzburg also offers courses for speedriding, but as the dates are not yet online and I don't know (but I strongly think) if paragliding is for me in the first place, I did not yet book that one.

Thanks for your contact, I'm going to get in touch as soon as my plans start to work out and things are getting "rough". If you wanna contact me in the mean time, my mail is amann.daniel@hotmail.com.

You can e-mail me whenever Maskoolin, my e-mail is: jesse@diefotos.net

Sounds good, my buddy is a Paraglider and he recommended this school in Stubaital: http://www.humaneagle.com//index.php?option=com_contact&Itemid=3 I am not sure where you are though, I am in Innsbruck. I think I might be taking the sky diving AFF course in Radfeld next month.

I'm going to do my first paragliding course in one month (in Salzburg) and plan to do my first speedriding tests (I guess I'm going to do a course also) this winter.

I've also never seen anyone doing this in Austria, maybe we can hook up and try this together.

Good info, I am in Austria as well and would like to get into this but never see anybody else doing it..

Hi Masko'. With lots of experience in speed flying and normal pg canopies, I'd venture to say that you could do it easily with a wing like the Ibex 15, which although smallish in area, is also very forgiving (its not a genuine speed wing). The larger Bobcat 18, might also be a "goer", but it's a little faster. ## Don't be frightened of the "SPEED"....just select a flying course completely free of obstacles (no houses,trees, masts etc) , and make sure the wind is coming straight in. And then slowly get used to the increased speed that these canopies fly. The landings are easy, as you can slow speed wings down quite well to land. There is a school of thought that says it may be wiser to learn on speed wings (on beginner's slopes naturally) and then graduate to normal thermal flying ...? Charly

Thanks a lot. Really appreciate all of your comments. I'm going to do my PG basic course in Juny now. I guess it'll be easier for me to decide afterwards.

Just one more thing: Do you think it would be possible/reasonable to get myself a mini-wing to practice with this after my basic course (in the schools practice environment) or is this really only for experts who know how to fly a regular wing exceptionally well.

The background of this question is, that I would prefer to skip the expenses I'd have to make for a regular PG equipment (€ 2000 - 3000) and directly venture into the speedriding/flying area. That'd save me some money I guess.

If you are physically, and psychologically adept, at learning new skills and sports, you "might" try pulling up a small mini pg (eg "Swing Savage" 13sqm or similar) on your skis, on a small baby ski slope. You could do this parallel to your normal pg course. The smaller canopies are much easier to inflate, control during flight, and land. They are ideal for skies, as they need a little more speed than a normal foot start pg's. Provided you avoid obstacles, and kids, you shouldn't really hurt yourself, provided you start directly into wind ! And snow is much softer than the hard ground. I learnt hang-gliding on skis, and a small mini pg is a lot easier to handle than a hang-glider. Charly

I start speedriding on skier with an swing savage 13 sqm after 3 years intensive paraglide training, this wing was perfect for me and my weight (85kg). In summer it was a little bit tricky to land without skiers, but it works.
I think you can buy any wing with more than 11sqm, but the best way to make your choice ist to look at this wing-load table (only in german): http://speedflyingverband.com/index.php?mid=14&smid=28&nid=64&PHPSESSID=2mdc9l57knd3g9q9tdfeclhao3

SCY

Thanks for the hints. I'm going to start paragliding this summer (I just booked a course today) and I hope that I will be able to get me the license until winter.

I'm not trying to get myself killed, but do you maybe have any recommendations on speedriding/flying glider models (or manufacturers) that can be used in summers and winters (where you can adjust the glide ratio) that are good to begin with. Or are those "convertible" gliders not good to begin with anyways?

Blue skies

Hi!

First, in austria you need a license for paragliding to speedride. This ist the law. Second, speedriding is an extreme sport and this is not the same as paragliding. Start with paragliding and look for the pro's who are good speedriders and learn it from them. If you want practice the groundhandling of an speedglider, you can buy an used >=13sqm system. But please do not fly with it, it can be the last thing you ever do.

SCY