Scary,find an instructor, talk to them, get the kiting and ground handling training on their equipment while you shop for yours...
Dave B had a guy offer him a like new rig for 500 bucks!!!
a lot of people will give up when it turns out it takes some effort....
The wing is about 2-3K and that's the important part...the engine is the least important piece!
Used gear can be tested by any rigger shop for integrity before purchase!!!
A used wing can be about 1000 bucks for a great one.
A wing and a harness (you can make the harness) for ground kiting practice (a hobby on its own) will make you an expert while you save up for a motor.
If your handy, you can make your own motor, there is lots of plans on the internet.....
It's all about the wing!

There is a guy on Craigslist that has two wings for sale .
They are from the early 1990's for $300 , he had them stored in his basement all these years .
If I could get them for $100 and kite them just to gain the skills that may be a good investment .

Very successful practice today!
Feels good to be doing better....
Here's a video of my forward launch, the wind had shifted just a bit, but I was able to pick up on it and correct for it!

well that sucks, I apparently cant upload a wmv file and have no idea how to change it....shame.

Can you upload it to Vimeo or You Tube - then post here

youtube it I do that too

kiting practice today
Winds slight 2-5 mph from the north west.

Ben- Even though I will no longer fly anything, I am enjoying your experiences with flying a backpack chute. It amazes me how each type of flying craft has its own special techniques to get down to fly safely.

I didn't realize how much learning to kite was...and now reading it...it makes a lot of sense.

Heli, I have always wanted to be the best pilot I can be with a whole host of aircraft experiences to talk about when I'm an old man.
I find that the fixed wings are very number oriented, 80,70,60 knotts on final over the numbers 20% flaps...and so on.
The Gyro was an extension of my will, I thought about banking left and I was, I thought about a spot landing and it was so...my crash not withstanding, I am not sure if it was gods will/fate or my previous experience but after being with Doug on his last flight I do believe I wouldn't have walked away like I did without my seat of the pants reactions....

This paramotr flying is all about feel and response and reading the weather. It is not more difficult than the gyro, just different.
The kiting is absolutely crucial to getting good, but once you get airborne who practices kiting ?
I know I was one of the few gyro pilots who after installing a pre-rotator still occasionally practiced hand starting the rotors...
I hope I don't have any slip ups in my new rig, but odds are I will, just trying to minimize the severity of the boo boos..

I really miss skydiving and flying to the ground under canopy.
The is just like that only with a motor to get you off the ground and flying .
And I don't have to put up with the drop zone seen and dumb ass skydivers .

Here is a nice 4 way skydiving outing to make you feel better Gary Evidently they drove to the airport and couldn't be bothered getting out of the car

Stan.... Maybe you should think about getting a second hand PPC so you can blast around the farm just for the hell of it? You could even fly to your stair shop on a nice day?

Madmuz- I am cherishing my memories of ultralight flying....airplane...gyro....and helicopter. My flying days are over . I enjoy seeing others such as Ben trying new things. I have changed directions, but have lots of good memories flying. I am really enjoying working on a new set of memories that I am experiencing now.

But I love reliving thru others their flying experiences.

I found this on Portland Craigslist .

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/spo/4907092899.html

You know what Im going to say right....
Go visit an instructor first!
What if you buy a good set up like that only to find out you need.to lose 40 lbs to get off the ground!
There will always be another great deal.
The name of this game is self control...

How are the wings sized? By area or weight capability? I have a video somewhere of a paraglider at a ski resort and they fly with 5 people (pilot and 4 passengers) so what on earth size wing must that be? I know the density altitude would be low, but 5 people under one wing?

How much bigger are the canopies for a ppc compared to a normal footlaunch glider?

Not that anyone ever flies anything over mtow in Russia mind you

its not that cut and dry.
Different designed wings have different sizes, ram air or reflex?
Weight is important, but the weight ranges are very forgiving...my 28 meter is for someone between 165 all the way to 280 lbs.
Also the faster you want to fly the smaller the wing, as well as the wing loading and density altitude.
For me traveling around the country the 28 meter was the best choice, as I weigh 205 and 270 with the gear. Its not that close, the company I used uses pilot only weight with a presumed weight of 80 lbs...

I fly a 28 meter, my buddy is using a Dudek snake acro wing and his is only a 20 meter and he wants to move down to an 18!

I can't do anything !!!!!
I'm BROKE !

I was just showing that .

Ben, what is your opinion of the USPPA training program and syllabus? Will you get their ratings? Do you have an opinion of their instructor certification?

Gordon, this is in no way meant to slight any other instructors out there, but after my accident, Tim Chick new a gyro guy who was teaching PPG stuff over in Pensacola. I called Emerald Coast PPG to set up a meet.
His Dad, the one Tim Chick knew wasn't teaching anymore and his son Joe was running the biz.
Joe is a USPPA rated instructor and hands down no shit one of the FINEST instructors I have EVER had military or civilian!!!It was really a shock for me to fins out how young he was, Joe is like in his late 20's!
Teaching old fat complete noobs how to do something like this that is completely done by nuance and feel? Hell I have taught shooting classes for years and Heavy Equipment operators for years and nothing would be as difficult as teaching this...its like if I asked you to describe the color blue to a person blind from birth.
But his easy going manor and demeanor was truly just inspiring to watch, My wife and I even told him how impressed we were.
If and I can't see how, but IF other USPPA instructors are half as good as Joe? then they have gyro CFI's beat by a flat out mile! (And I've trained with more than a few)

There is a big hulabaloo (sp?) in the PPG world because of the two dipshits I already mentioned, Kurt Fister and "Super" Dell Schanze. both in their own way are a disgrace to PPG training. Neither of them is with the USPPA, as a matter of fact, Dell Schanze started his OWN group just to push his products as the only safe gear in the sky.
They have an impressive record of under trained hurt and sometimes dead students to their names....

I do not at this point know if I will pursue the ratings, when I began gyro's I was a bandit taking off from county roads with no license or N numbers....Jim V convinced me of the error of my ways and I got a SEL license and N Number....I'm glad I did. So maybe I will pursue a rating....

I like the Blackhawk sight .
And their dog looks like he is having fun .