Paramotoring - "It’s More Than Just Breathtaking"

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Paramotoring - “It’s More Than Just Breathtaking”
SKY CLUB THAILAND - Pak Nam Pran



HUA HIN: -- They are occasionally seen in the skies of Hua Hin and surrounds. You can see a small seated figure suspended below a fabric wing flying slowly with the propulsion of a small motor. It looks very peaceful and bird-like, although those with any degree of acrophobia (fear of heights) may instantly cringe at the thought!

The term paramotoring was first used by Englishman Mike Byrne in 1980 and popularized in France around 1986 when power was added to the then-new paraglider wings. This form of flying is also known as powered paragliding. It combines the flying characteristics of a paraglider with the autonomy and range of powered flight.

Paramotors are said to be relatively easy to learn to fly and do not need an airfield or runway. They can take-off from an open, flat field with no need to find a hill site facing into wind, or even to wait for the wind to blow.

They are quickly and easily rigged and de-rigged, and once dismantled can be put in the boot of a car or taken to exotic locations as hand baggage.

Paramotor flight has been described as is one of the safest forms of aviation. The primary reason is low air speed and inherent stability. The research and technology that is constantly being applied to paramotoring has made this form of flight extremely accessible and safe for the general public.

What exactly is a paramotor?
This simplest of all powered aircraft consists of a small motor driving a propeller, worn like a backpack under a paraglider wing and providing thrust to take off, climb and maintain level flight. Once airborne, the paramotor can be used to motor along and watch the world go by beneath or, if conditions permit, soar with a thermal lift to make long cross-country flights.

Many paramotor pilots are paraglider pilots looking for more flexibility in their flying; many others are new to flying but become interested in paramotoring, and then also in pure paragliding flight.

Sky Club Thailand
The local venue for paramotoring is located 25 minutes south of Hua Hin city centre at Pak Nam Pran near Dolphin Bay. Sky Club offers a unique aerial experience for all ages.

They have three internationally certified pilots, each with over 10 years’ experience. This includes commercial paramotoring as aerial photography and filming is ideally suited to this form of flight. Aerial surveillance, including the assessment of environmental damage such as illegal logging is also on the resume.

All the pilots are certified instructors with various international organisations such as FAI (Europe), ASC (USA) and Royal Thai Flying Club.

On offer are comfortable, safe and exciting 10 min, 20min or 30min excursions as a passenger. If you really want to get into this form of flying yourself and become your own pilot, a comprehensive training program is also on offer. The time needed before you can fly solo is approximately 25 hours. Of which 20 hours will be hands on training and 5 hours of flight and weather theory.

No experience is needed for you to be a passenger with one the Sky Club pilots at the helm. Just sit back and enjoy the cool breeze and big skies around spectacular Sam Roi Yod National Park and along the beaches of Dolphin Bay, Pranburi.

However the best description of paramotoring can only come from someone who has experienced a flight first hand. Here is an unedited version from one intrepid first time passenger!

When I told friends “I’m going para-motoring”, their first response was always “para-what?” When I explained that I explained that I’d be strapping myself to an oversized fan and a giant parasail before attempting to fly, they said their final goodbyes.

Undeterred I set off for Pak Nam Pran near Hua Hin on a warm, clear Friday morning. Driving in, the Sky Club hangar is a welcoming sight. There's coffee, sandwiches and a dozen people running around. My eyes though are drawn straight to the beautiful machines lined up in the centre of the expansive space.

Waiting for us is instructor Mark Silverberg. He reassures me by talking about (a) his 12 years of experience ( the risk averse, middle-aged family men who make up the usual paramotoring demographic © how the flight is so gentle and relaxing that he considers it "air. therapy. "Most reassuring of all is that Mark himself will take me up today and do all the work - all I have to do is take in the view.

"It's not about going from A to B, it's about enjoying the air," Mark says, explaining that they fly only in clear, calm weather. Though you can go as high up as 18,000 feet, it's clear that flying low is the real pleasure in para-motoring - so low that the tips of your toes brush the tops of trees. It’s interesting to learn that para-motoring lures in photographers, map makers and explorers because of the kind of unparalleled access it offers to wild places. It's better than a plane for low flights, and cheaper than a helicopter, plus you don't have the rotor backwash bending the trees in half and scaring away the birds.

I'm going on the Para-motoring Discovery Flight, but Sky Club also offers training - a week or roughly 20 to 30 hours will be enough to prepare you for your first solo flight. For those interested in para-motoring, the two-stroke gasoline engines come in different sizes depending on how much weight they have to heft. There's the foot launch option for the single para-motorist, chiefly recommended for an easy take off in cramped conditions, and the stronger motors that can help two people seated in a three-wheeled frame lift off.

I now know all I need to know and Mark says the weather is clear enough for us to attempt a flight. We head out to the bumpy runway, my helmet is already strapped on, my earpiece and mike sorted and as I stride bravely forward I allow myself to momentarily savour the illusion of being in the Thailand's edition of Top Gun. Soon I'm being strapped in to my little cloth seat - restraints across the thighs, another around my torso. Mark is saying soothing things in my ear set, but the roar of the giant fan whirring behind me has me clutching my armrests with sudden white-knuckled desperation.

I'm certain we're going to drive off the edge of the runway when I feel the tug and we rise steeply into the air. I can't help whooping, deafening Mark and scattering a flock of white birds that choose to take off in a picturesque formation at the same time as us. Below me is the area around Sam Roi Yod National Park. To one side is a pure white, sandy line of beach and an emerald ocean, to the other the beautyful mountains of sam roi yod.; Just below the lovely white dome of a stupa framed by temple buildings. You'd think I'd be used to Thailand's beauty by now, but the view takes my breath away anyway.

Mark heads down to the beach, doing lazy spirals over a lovely expanse of ocean before flying low along the line where the curling wave meets the sand. The spirals and wing overs help him control height and it's where the adrenaline junkies can get their fix. (Go up high, and you can also turn off the motor and simply glide with your parasail.) Though my reaction to high buildings is usually an urge to jump off the edge, I'm entirely at ease and just drinking in the view. All too soon it's time to land. In moments the break in the weather will give way to rain. As we walk back to the hangar, little drops setting the puddles around us rippling, Mark tells me that once he's had a chance to go up in the air, he always feels like his day is set, that very little could upset him now. I know just what he means.

SKY Club Thailand
Phone: +66 (0) 8740 11113
[email protected]

-- Hua Hin Today 2013-10-31