How to start flying, even on something, on your own

My childhood was spent among people who used to fly all the time. They built, developed a new one and flew it right there. At the age of 5, it became a discovery for me that someone in this world might not fly. For my 26 years, I managed to try almost everything on what you can fly. I want to share my experience and talk about the possibilities available.
To start flying you have such options:

1. Parsers (in this article)

• Paraglider
• Hang glider
• Glider

2. Motor flight ( second article )

• Light aircraft
• Trike
• Paratrayk
• Paramotor
• Motoplaner

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The principle of soaring flight is based on the existence of ascending air currents. Like the wind, just straight up. The pilot's task is to find such a flow of air and stay in it for some time to gain altitude, and then fly to the next flow. And so in the cycle.


The main advantage of pars is flying without fuel. Only starting energy is needed to set the initial height. However, this imposes limitations. For take-off, you need somewhere to take the initial energy. You can take off or from the mountain, or with the help of a winch, or after another, motor, aircraft.

One of the main characteristics of any aircraft is quality. And for parners, this is the most important characteristic. This value determines how many kilometers you can fly having decreased by 1 km. Usually this value is from 3 to 60. That is being at an altitude of 1000 meters you can fly up to 60km in a straight line. (in absolutely perfect conditions and at a certain speed)

Stereotypes about soaring flights

• Fly is dangerous.
  It is dangerous to cross the road in the wrong place because you can be hit by a car. And in the air, everything depends on you.
• In the air, you can encounter another aircraft or a bird.
  This possibility exists, but its probability is so small that cases of such collisions can be counted on fingers. One of the most famous is alive, safe, an eagle . The probability of a collision with another aircraft depends on the number of these devices around you.
• It is very difficult to take off and land.
  Yes, this is the most difficult part of the flight, but not more difficult than driving an unregulated intersection by car. However, it all depends on your chosen aircraft. For paragliders and hang gliders this is much more complicated than for a glider.
• It takes a very long time to learn how to start flying by yourself.
  It is necessary to study, but not more than on automobile courses. Even less because There are no traffic policemen and road signs in the air. But to fly away from the place of take-off somewhere, you already need to learn much more.
• No flights without wind
  The wind is practically unrelated to the ability to fly. The flight is due to vertical air flow.
• Without a motor you cannot fly long and far
  On a plain in normal weather, you can fly all daylight hours. In the mountains, you can fly forever. there are streams of flow around the mountains. In my first summer year, in Kiev, on a glider, I once flew 6 hours a day without a break. It could have been longer, but the strength was gone.
• If something breaks in the air and there is no chance of escape .
  The design is so simple that there is almost nothing to break in it under normal loads. Electrical systems are auxiliary and their failure is not critical for flight. No device is vital. You can take off and land without any instruments at all. In addition, there is always a parachute for unforeseen situations.
• This is really extreme
  It depends on what is meant by extreme. All aviation is based on flight safety and extreme sports minimization. If you learned to take off and immediately flew along the route, then this is not extreme, but stupidity. Listen to experienced pilots, read the description of the flight accidents of other pilots and do not violate the laws of aerodynamics, and you will fly safely.
• It is very expensive
  In reality, it costs from 50u.e. / month. Your aircraft does not always need to buy. Renting is often more profitable.

Paraglider

Data

• Flight speed from 20 to 70 km / h.
• Design only from fabric. His progenitor was a parachute.
• The weight of the pilot is from 40 to 130 kg.
• The weight of the paraglider with the equipment is about 15kg.
• World record for the distance (downwind) 502km .
• Record on the triangular route with the return to the start place - 118 km .

pros

• The feeling of free flight when the wind is right in the face.
• Very compact. It fits in a large backpack with which you can even drive in public transport.
• There is no red tape with documents and medical records.
• Very spectacular and impressionable .
• You can fly without help. Took and flew. I landed somewhere, packed everything up in a backpack, and drove the bus home.
• It’s hard to break. You can break.
• Landing outside the airfield is not a problem. You can sit anywhere.

Minuses

• Takeoff / landing from the feet. Risk of injury.
• Wing without pipes. This means that theoretically it can collapse in the air . However, it is possible to reveal it =)
• Very small flight speed. Flying against the wind is actually not realistic (except for flights in the mountains).
• Take off only from the mountain or by towing. Take off on their own from the plain is impossible.
• No cab. The higher you fly, the colder it is.

Budget

• Ride in tandem. It costs about $ 50.
• Training takes place on small slides on club technology from $ 50 per month.
• You can buy yourself second-hand for $ 500-1000.
• A sports paraglider costs about $ 2500.

Ordinary paragliding in the Crimea

Hang glider

Data

• Flight speed from 30 to 120 km / h.
• Triangular shape, from metal pipes and fabrics.
• It is long put from 2 meters (usually put in a 6 meter package). Weight - from 25kg.
• The weight of the pilot is from 40 to 130 kg.
• World record for the distance (downwind) 700km .
• The record for the triangular route with the return to the starting place - 357km .

pros

• The feeling of free flight when the wind is right in the face.
• Easily transported by car.
• Easy to repair.
• There is no red tape with documents and medical records.
• Fly against the wind is possible, but difficult.
• Landing outside the airfield is not a problem. You can sit anywhere.
• You can fly without the help of the club. Took and flew. But someone has to pick you up by car if you land outside the airfield.
• Sports hang-gliders twist some aerobatics.
• Spectacular.

Minuses

• Takeoff / landing from the feet. High risk of injury.
• For take-off, you need either a mountain or a towing vehicle. It is impossible to take off from the plain yourself.
• Great load on the shoulders and back. Do not believe the song Leontiev "And how easy my shoulders." He obviously never dragged a hang-glider on himself.
• Training takes place almost independently only listening to the instructor's advice. Tandem (two) flights exist, but are quite difficult to learn.
• Due to the specific location of the pilot constantly have to strain his neck.
• Transportation only by car. Public transport is possible, but very difficult.
• In the early years, the raid is very small.
• Easy to break. Most problems can be fixed by yourself, but some details have to be ordered from the manufacturer.
• No cab. The higher you fly, the colder it is.

Budget

• One can ride in tandem. About $ 80.
• Training takes place on the club technique. For the CIS about 50 $ / month.
• Own second-hand hang-glider can be bought for $ 500 - $ 1,000.
• A sports hang glider costs about $ 4000.

Normal flight in the mountains

Glider

Data

• Metal or plastic construction. The use of fabric is minimal.
• The oldest of the aircraft. Any aircraft is nothing more than a glider with a motor.
• Flight speed from 50 to 300 km / h.
• The weight of the pilot is from 50 to 130 kg.
• World record for the distance - 2256.9km 3009km .
• The record for the triangular route with the return to the starting place is 1756 km .
• Big planes also know how to be a glider. For example, one and two .

pros

• Safe. The man is in a closed cabin. Take off and landing occurs on the chassis.
• In this sport there is no limit on age and health.
• Available for training. A lot of double gliders, which is trained. Management is completely duplicated in both pilots.
• A large number of clubs in the CIS, which exist thanks to technology and personnel from the USSR.
• On gliders twist almost all aerobatics.
• Take off and landing only from the airfield or level field. Taking off from the mountain is not practiced.
• Far and fast flies. The wind is not particularly affected by the ability of the airframe.
• Flight comfort Sitting in a glider is more comfortable than in a chair.

Minuses

• All over the world, except the CIS, it is an elite and expensive sport.
• Landing outside the airfield requires a well-chosen field. The difficulty with the evacuation of the airframe, in the case of landing outside the airfield.
• You can fly without club support only on a glider with a motor.
• Spectacularly nothing more than a game of chess. Those. If you understand what is happening, you can admire . There are exceptions .
• A lot of work or money you need to invest in the club (airfield, club equipment)
• In the CIS, gliding is not put on commercial rails, so it exists at the expense of enthusiasts and equipment from the USSR. Accordingly, the concept of “client” for those who want to learn how to fly is just being formed.
• To fly independently you need to either get the “rights” to the glider or fly in the club on club equipment and keep a lot of documentation related to it.
• There is a medical commission.
• The more expensive the glider, the more difficult and expensive to repair it.

Budget

• You can ride for 80 $ -100 $. Pilotage has recently been banned from training gliders, but the last 30 years have been rolling.
• In the CIS, training costs about $ 200 / month + work to serve the club. The more experienced the pilot, the cheaper.
  There is the concept of VIP training. For $ 500 / month you can fly to the maximum and not be distracted by anything.
• It is possible to buy a used educational double glider for $ 4000 -8000.
• The sports second-hand glider without motor costs from $ 10 000.
• A glider with a motor costs from $ 30,000 to $ 400,000.

Regular glider flight

findings

All submitted aircraft are completely dependent on the weather. To fly from point A to B is difficult. There is always the risk of landing somewhere in the middle. This is a hobby that allows you to feel the taste of free flight and look at the earth from a height. Soaring flights can not get bored - this is a non-standard task every time.
Want to fly safely, high and with comfort - choose a glider.
Want extreme and wind in the face - a hang glider or paraglider.
In any case, you can try everything.

Addition to the conclusions after the comments.

Safe flight - is following the rules that are written in the books on the organization of flights and their own responsibility for their actions. If you learn to fly without reading books, without learning the principles of aerodynamics and meteorology, then you will fly at random. And someday you will be unlucky. You can fly safely on any aircraft, if you follow the instructions for organizing the flight and pre-flight training. Paragliding is the easiest way to break these rules. there is an illusory simplicity of control and the principles of flight organization are most often violated. On gliders you will not be allowed to start flying by yourself until you have a guaranteed minimum of knowledge, which will be supported by control flights with an instructor.

Paragliding and hang-gliding , like a weekend hobby, is quite safe and budget for the middle class. However, injuries occur during the learning phase. As a sport - this is extreme sports. This is very dangerous, and only for those who are ready for it.

Gliding is not an extreme sport. Injury - football while waiting for the weather.
Flight accidents - is, was, and will be like not calculated situations in flight. But it is still comparable with the probability of a car accident.

But the daily 12 hour sitting at the computer is guaranteed to lead to irreversible injuries of the cardiovascular system. They are not visible for the time being, and then, as a rule, “late to drink Borjomi”.