Powered Paragliding Bible

Chapter 34: Cool Places To Fly: Site Reviews & Legalities

See also: Challenging Sites

This is a web-only Chapter and will be updated as new material becomes appropriate. It has a ways to go as I and other contributors have flown hundreds of sites around the country. We will gradually add them here. If you have an addition that you would like to make, please send it here to contact.

Foot launching makes flight possible in places where other no other aircraft could even dream of flying. Given appropriate skill, even curvy roads are possible to launch from. Such variety comes with a price in risk, though, since unimproved surfaces can lead footsteps astray.

Flying a new site means responsibility, too. Don't ruin it for the next guy or the locals by flying around houses or anywhere else that people or their animals reside. Always be seen as something cool to watch rather than an annoyance. 

This chapter doesn't exist in the book because of its fleeting nature. Sites are painlessly easy for landowners to yank from our grasp—all the more reason to handle with care. I've watched numerous beach sites disappear over the years when pilots carelessly annoyed the locals until the locals got them banned. 

Other Countries and Legalities

Flying paramotors in other countries requires some knowledge of their rules. Many countries don't have any specific rules addressing paramotors which means it falls under the existing aircraft rules. That almost always means that it is an aircraft and must be certified, have a registration number, and flown by appropriately certified pilots. But given that there is no certification program for paramotors, doing so is impossible. Mexico, for example, is like this.

In countries that don't recognize PPG it is usually tolerated provided the pilot doesn't cause problems. Mexico, Russia, Iran and many other smaller or less developed countries are like this.

Here's a list of some of the known countries as of 12/26/2009. Aviation rules/law by country. In many countries, foot launched craft are largely unregulated while wheeled PPG's fall under more stringent rules.