r/paramotor

There are a few people who have been flying over my house, and I'd like to give it a try. I'm trying to find a school that has gear available to borrow/rent during class so I don't have to buy all the expensive gear then find out that I've satisfied the itch during the time spent in class.

Does anyone know anywhere in the "mid-Atlantic" area (in quotes because I mean that loosely. Really, anything within eight hours of DC, maybe farther may be fine) that provides such a service? I've found a few training facilities, but I have been met with "we used to rent but don't anymore."

I'm not simply looking for a tandem flight; I know that would be exciting and I would enjoy it, but it wouldn't answer my questions. I want to do the entire training from ground school to flights and I have no problem paying the sizable chunk of change for the training and the rental so I can then decide if I want to spend the money the full complement of my own gear or if after the training I decide "that was super cool and fun! But I don't know that I want to fully commit to buying (and storing) the gear."

Thanks!

Traveling internationally with PPG gear is a pain.
Oversize baggage, airline rules, extra fees, dragging a wing and motor through airports...

Would you rent out your gear to another pilot visiting your area?
For example, when somebody visits the US, they could rent gear from someone there instead of bringing their own equipment.

If there were a website for this, would you list your gear and be willing to rent it out? What would you need to feel comfortable? Deposit? Pilot verification? Minimum experience?

As a traveling pilot, would you rent gear from another pilot? Or would you only trust your own gear?

Curious whether this is something people would actually use if there were a website for it.

New pilot here with 10 flights. I’m using PPG report and windy. The problem I’m having, for example, is some models on windy show strong gusts while others show fairly calm conditions.

Then I look at PPG report and it shows good flying conditions.

How can you determine when it’s safe to fly without actually being up in the air to sample it?

Hey everyone, I hope you all are well.

I've always dreamed of being able to fly around without having to spend thosuands on a plane and thousands on maintenance every year. When I learned about paramotors, I realized that they were something that I could potentially afford. What is making me hesitant though, is the fact that I've heard you can only fly them in the morning and evening, and that they can be challenging flying over mountains. I live in Charlotte NC, and I've always wanted to go flying over the NC mountains. But based on the research I've done, it sounds like this may not be achievable with a paramotor, especially during the day. I'm curious to know what you guys think about this? Is this something I could do after getting some practice? And how dangerous would it be flying during the day and/or flying over mountains? I'd appreciate any thoughts you have.

Thank you!

I’m a newer/local paramotor pilot and I’ve been trying to find responsible, low-conflict launch options near me. There’s a large athletic field complex in my city that looked like it could be a good candidate during quiet windows - early morning around 6–8 AM or evening around 6–9 PM, only when there are no games, practices, events, or people using the fields.

The place is gated, so instead of being sketchy or assuming anything, I called Parks & Rec and asked what the proper process would be. I explained that wind and weather change, so I can’t always specify exact dates far in advance, but I’d be happy to call ahead, work around their schedule, follow a case-by-case process, avoid events completely, and provide whatever safety/training info they wanted.

They called me back and said the parks manager has authority to approve or deny on a case-by-case basis. Then they said I was denied and that I’m not allowed to take off from any city park within city limits. Period.

I get that they control the land. I get that athletic fields are maintained, and I understand liability concerns. I’m not planning to ignore them or launch there anyway. But man, it’s frustrating when you try to be transparent and responsible, and the answer is just a blanket “no” across the entire city.

It feels like one of those situations where the safest/responsible pilots are the ones who get boxed out because we actually ask, while the people who don’t ask just do whatever.

For those of you who have dealt with city parks, public land, athletic fields, etc., is this pretty normal? Did you have better luck with county/township land, private landowners, airports, fairgrounds, snowmobile clubs, farms, or other types of sites?

Mostly venting, but I’d appreciate any practical advice on how people build a small list of legal, drama-free launch spots without burning bridges.

I'm in the NW US where there's a lot of thermic activity if that matters. I've enjoyed watching all the great aerial footage but am hoping to find a channel that's a little more informative about things, a lot of what I see is just pilots showing there flight from point A to B. I'd also like to avoid any that have unsafe practices.

I searched for this question and only found a few questions from years back that were more related to equipment theft.

When I got my training someone said "sign up for a membership at USPPA and you get $2 million in insurance. After signing up I found that is not the case. You are directed to another organization for Ultralights where you can become a member with the option to purchase insurance.

So, the questions are...

1. Do you have insurance?

2. If so, was it expensive?

3. Is insurance a waste of money because foot launch, what damage can I do, 30 mph, yada yada...