When ive done all my lesson and bits could any one advise me on on the cost of a second hand set up .i am very new to this and just want to see what sort of wing is best for the beginner plz advise . i have a budget of about £1200 be very honest with me can i get what is nedded on this buget cheers andyt

Andy, You should have no trouble at all getting the gear you need for £1200. The expensive items, wing and harness will have to be second hand, but that is not such a bad thing when you are learning to fly just out of school. theres also an awful lot of kit where the basic stuff is all you need, get an ordinary vario without GPS, you probably dont need a radio, (unless for coaching, then I'm sure some-one will loan you one) An open face helmet is OK for paragliding. What is your weight? (in Kgs)

Thanks Ian for the info i am at 113 kgs at the mo but a am on a diet at the mo ..... so hope to be att about 100 kg when i start .i am going to do my epc through active edge not yet booked but was wondering should i leave it till march ish of next year till the weather get better what do you think ? ae you better with a closed helmet thanks andy t

Andy, I thought you were well through your training and was going to give you acouple of contacts or suggestions, but if you have yet to start your training it is best you concentrate on that. As I said earlier £1200 is a perfectly adequate budget for your kit.
Active Edge is a good school, looking at the pilots who have trained there. Personally, I do not think there is a good or bad time of the year to start your training, their is a good argument to get the ground handling and school stuff out of the way ready to progess the main flying in spring - it's more what suits your circumstances. You should be able to get your EPC very quickly, 3-4 good days, but you need to complete your CPC before your can join a club and fly in that (non-school) environment. Dean & the boys at Active edge can advise and offer both new and used gear. Good luck.
Ian

thanks ian just want to understand what i need before i start many thanks for the info so far looks like my wife is going to buy all the things i need for my birthday hoping any way

Andy, The school will loan you FOC all the gear you need throughout your training. You can take your time choosing to buy from the school/shop or from other pilots/open market late on in your training.
Ian

cheers ian

well i got a epc gift of my wife for christmas so the next question is should i wait till summer to do my epc or is there a better season to do .......

Hi Andy,

If you have few pennies I think the best training I've ever seen was at http://www.verbier-summits.com/ Great place to stay, HUGE top to bottoms, the most professional instructors I've seen and AMAZING food.

I know it looks expensive but you'll save yourself so much time not having to drive to a UK school weekend after weekend.

Have a look in the gallery section for pictures I took there a few years ago.

i can vouch for verbier summits training methods and venue, i went out as a total beginner last july and completed my ep and cp in two weeks , it prob worked out cheaper than trailing around this country and ye get a cracking holiday into the deal. the only critisicsm i would level at giong abroad to train is that the conditions are much lighter than in the uk so the ground handling side of things does need some coaching when you get on a hill in the uk.
hope this helps
Graeme


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