Slope landing at Dungiven.

I got a phone call from Bertie this afternoon asking "are you coming out?"

A few frantic phone calls to the missus and work to make sure I wasn't needed for a few hours and I was ready to go. We thought we would give Dungiven a try and see how it goes. While on the way there it looked like there was no wind at all. Another CP student rang Bertie en route to say he was heading down as well.

Waiting for the wind at Dungiven

Got to the site and there were other pilots about but no-one was flying due to lack of wind. Along with the usual horse play when there is no flying, a couple of pilots were gloating about being right out over the town earlier in the day

By the time I got set up, the other student had arrived and I had got my daily checks done the wind had picked up to just about soar-able levels almost directly onto the hill.
The other student went first and was bearly managing to soar and ended by just getting enough height for a slope landing.

I went up next, and the wind picked up a little for me, I managed to soar for a while, then the instructor got on the radio and got me to fly out from the hill to perform an asymmetric collapse. This is where you reach up and grab a A line on one side and pull it until the canopy collapses (or tucks). This is a bit scary because the glider begins turning towards the collapsed side as well as banking. When I performed this maneuver I didn’t need to wait until my instructor told me to let go of the line, I had automatically let go. The glider almost immediately recovered by re-inflating the collapsed part of the wing, and I quite impressively remembered that I am to keep my “hands up” (i.e. do not pull on the controls) and let the glider settle before pointing the paraglider where I want to go next, which was back at the hill for more soaring fun.

A bit more soaring later and Bertie asked me back to the hill for my first slope landing. Wow I can run fast if I have to. A slope landing is across wind and because of this the ground speed is much faster, however, I managed to land and collapse the canopy in an acceptable manner. Yes!!!

So now I can soar, top land, slope land (well I did it once, no reason to think I can’t do it again) and not soil my underwear when the canopy tucks and recovers..... next stop may well be the site I now want to fly the most.....Magilligan, back to where this all started.

Unfortunately the weather forecast isn’t looking good for the coming week (what is left of Hurricane Katia is on it’s way to Ireland, Scotland and Northern England.

On the way home Bertie pointed out that I got a mention in Skywings magazine (the BHPA member's monthly magazine) which was his doing:

More First Flights. Ian Fraser (that is me that is) recently gained his EP qualification in record time (for Northern Ireland) with First Flight Paragliding. Thanks are due to some co-operative weather, and encouragement from Ian's wife, reported to have said she has never seen him so enthusiastic about anything.

 So you heard it here first folks, an Englishman breaking Northern Ireland records. I do suspect that if this is really a record it wont be long before it is broken.

Another milestone, top landings

Took a trip to Dungiven today, there were already paragliders flying when we got there. I was intrigued to see a hang glider sat out on the hill. I am interested to see one flying to understand how they move and behave in the air, and to see just how much faster they are than paragliders. Also I am aware that I will likely have to share the sky with one at some point in the future. Unfortunately it sat unused on the hill until it was packed away.

We started out with some more ground handling. My instructor wanted me to try to get the wing to stay above my head for as long as possible without moving. I found this very difficult and I am not sure if it was because the wind was too weak or I wasn't able to process the feedback the wing gives me by pulling the harness. I would happily blame the lack of wind except my instructor had a go on the same kit I was using and was able to do it without a problem. Just when I started thinking I was getting the hang of it I would notice some head shaking and look up to see the wing over to one side or the other and not happily flying above my head where I thought it was .


After this the wind died down and most people packed up and went home, then it picked up a wee bit (pretty much perfect for me). We went through a flight plan that included trying for a top landing (landing on top of the hill you started from) and possibly slope landings if I got enough height. If I didn't get enough height then I would go for a trusty bottom landing in my thistle field. So off I set, wing above me and staying there ( it seems I can do it al-right if I am moving forward). Up I went and turned into wind, I got a 10 minute soaring flight with bags of height and with radio assistance top landed. Unfortunately lost control of the wing after touch down where I tripped and fell for the first time in ages but got back up quick before anyone noticed.


I gathered up the glider and walked 100 or so meters back to the take off aera. The next flight plan included Big Ears. This is where you reach up and grab the lines that attach to the outside front parts of the wing and pull down until you fold the wing tips in. It is used to reduce height (or to slow ascent in lift) it works because a smaller part of the wing is now flying and therefore generating less lift. We only planned to do this if I had plenty of height. So again up I went, got another flight of 15 minutes, successfully tried Big Ears, I tried for a slope landing, but aborted about 20 feet up as it looked to me like I was running out of field before a fence, headed out off the cliff again, and got a load of lift which put me back where I started. I landed with a perfect (well it felt like it) top landing and controlled canopy collapse.



Signed off on Big Ears task for CP rating, and put down two of my four required top landings.
Top landings are great because with any luck it means I will be doing less of the knackering hill climbing back up to take off you need to do on some sites so I grinned like a maniac all the way home.

When to not fly

We were out training at Big Collin Mountain again today. There were a few other (qualified) pilots there and it is always nice to see other people about when training. I have mentioned previously what a pleasant and approachable bunch they are. There is also plenty of friendly banter (or craic) and often encouragement.

I managed a flight from the top with an accurate landing next to the wind sock. Climbed back up the hill for another go, but by the time I got my breath back the conditions had become too gusty. This is an important lesson right here. Even if you have climbed to the top of the hill and put significant effort doing it, you should only fly when the conditions are suitable. I unfortunately had to pack away my wing, even though I was raring to go for another flight (second flight of the day always seems more exciting than the first to me because the first seems to clear the cobwebs from your mind). Even though other pilots were still flying, you have to remember that they have been doing it longer than you. I comfort myself in the confidence I have built up from the ever increasing height and distance that my flights have given me. It would be a shame to rock that confidence prematurely with what my instructor calls a "roller-coaster ride." Besides anything else, if an instructor with 20 years paragliding experience behind him says it is too gusty for you, then it is "TOO GUSTY FOR YOU."

This reminds me of some wise advice:

It is better to be down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing you were down here.

Although I only got one flight in, I hand made enough (including previous outings) spot landings to sign that off as a task on my way to my club pilot qualification. I also got reverse launches signed off.

Other fun things to do with wind

I wonder how many search engine hits this page may get for people looking for a different type of wind.
We were camping at the weekend in Benone in Limavady (if you get a chance, use the council run campsite, not the privately run one). I did initially think about bringing my wing with me as the Magilligan site over looks the camp-site, but the weather forecast was pants. It turns out this was a good call because it rained on and off all the time we were there. On the bank holiday Monday I got a text message from Bertie (my paragliding instructor) that he was coming to Benone beach with his X-Sail land yacht. 

Waiting on Benone beach.

After we packed away the two tents, we went to the beach to wait for the two retired nutters with their land yachts . The kids started complaining that they were cold, but livened up a bit when the two cars pulled up and started assembling the X-Sails. About 10 mins later the yachts where wizzing up and down the beach. Bertie pulled up in front of us as we watched and asked who was first for a sail up the beach. To my surprise and delight my 5 year old daughter jumped on to Bertie's lap and they shot off across the sand at a rate of knots. That was it then, the 3 boys wanted a go. When it was my son's go he was told that I would be getting a go next.
So the last kid jumps out and I am offered a go (on my own) with the encouragement "Go on, there is nothing to it."

Gingerly I got in, with one minutes tuition, I was racing across the sand with ease. There really is nothing to it, get the wind side onto the sail, gently pull the rope to speed up, release to slow down and steer with handle bars. If all else fails turn into wind and the thing will stop, there wasn't even any breaks to worry about. The yacht travels fastest when the sail is at a right angle to the wind. I think the best part of the experience was when the yacht was up to speed the forward motion seemed effort less.

After a couple of circuits around the ice cream vans I jumped out and let the last big kid (my friend we were camping with) have a go. After that Bertie offered the wives a go, but they declined.

Shortly after this (with the kids moaning that they were cold) we left for lunch in Port Stewart. Over lunch my friend and I talked about how we can convince the wives to let us get X-Sails. Alas I think I need to sort the rest of my paragliding kit first though. Although I have a wing, I need a harness, a reserve and a helmet before I am anywhere near a basic kit, then there is the flying suit, vario/GPS, wind meter and radio. I suspect that may only be the begining of it. At least with an X-Sail that is all you need.

Picturesque Magilligan

Although Dungiven is my favourite site so far for training, Magilliagan has to be seen to be believed. The photograph doesn't do it justice. 5 miles of golden sands and an amazing view of Donegal. Plus this is the site where I got my first taste of paragliding.

The view from take off, overlooking Magilligan point, NI. The mountains in the distance are on the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal, Ireland.

When we arrived there were lots of other paragliders about. Unfortunately the conditions were too bumpy for me. So I encouraged my instructor to go up and have some fun (no point in both of us being grounded and miserable).


While I sat and chatted to the other pilots that were on the ground, there were a few passers by that stopped and came over for a look. One of them came up and started talking about getting into the sport. Phil (the guy that took me up on the tandem) had recently qualified as a paragliding instructor and was explaining what was involved in training and mentioned that I was training. A short while later the guy came up to me and said he was thinking about buying a wing and trying it himself.... on his own..... with no instructor. I explained that I didn't think that was a good idea, I can see that learning yourself could easily be a dangerous thing to do. It is fun, but boy you have to work at it and I think I would have given up a long time ago if it weren't for the support and encouragement of my instructor and to a lesser degree the other pilots.


After a while my instructor landed and he decided I haven't had enough of the training wing, so I spent an hour on it with me collapsing it in the instructor, myself and most parts of the hill I was running around on. I was getting better though. By this time most of the pilots had gone home but the wind had smoothed out.


Then my instructor decided conditions were probably good enough for a tandem flight. He often carries the club tandem wing and harnesses in his car, so I ran to the car to get the gear and we lugged it down to take off.


Having been briefed on what to do, the wing was inflated and up and I charged down the hill for a bit (the tandem passenger is at the front and does the running at take off) then left the ground, I then landed about 20 feet further down the hill and forged on until I ran out of field and for the first time take off was actually like running off a cliff. At the start the wing was way over to the left behind me, but I figured that the instructor can handle the wing, and would tell me if I needed to stop running. 


So we got airborne. It was great, just like I remembered it, only with a lot less height so the water falls and fields of sheep were a good bit closer. We performed several beats back and forth along the cliffs but we were not getting much height, as we flew past the take off area it was obvious we were going to have to do a bottom landing. We landed in a large field full of cows, except the cows got spooked as we came into land (we were probably the biggest bird they have seen for a while) so they were well clear when we touched down. I completely misjudged the landing so I ended up on my front, with the instructor on top. We then phoned one of the other pilots and they kindly drove down to collected us while we packed the gear away.

The crazy training wing

We were concentrating on accurate landings today at Big Collin Mountain. I got 2 flights in, one from most of the way up the hill which I managed to land within acceptable range of the wind sock, the second from the top which I landed a little further than I would have wanted from the sock.

The wind got a little gusty and my instructor decided that we would do some ground handling while we were waiting to see if the wind smoothed out. He produced a training wing, which compared to the monsters used to lift my bulk off the ground was very small. The problem with smaller wings appears to be they are less forgiving. If you don't give it the correct input very quickly, it will be back on the ground. I managed to wear it a few times. It also ended up on the instructor at least once, good job he has a sense of humour.

The above clip was taken while dodging (and sometimes not dodging) huge fresh cow pats... it sounds like an excuse and it probably is as well as a fact.


Today was a landmark as I bought my first wing, a Ozone Electron in Royal blue and red. I need to remember to take a photograph of it when it isn't in its bag.

Passed EP exam, first soaring flight at Dungiven

Back to my Favourite training site so far, Dungiven. Bottom landings are so far away that you have to be picked up in a car, and you can park next to take off. This saves on much huffing and puffing climbing hills with harnesses and gliders attached to you.

When I arrived my Instructor was in the air, so I went and sat on the wall next to the 6 or so pilots that were chatting away. Friendly bunch and I was soon talking away and explaining how I got into the sport and a few of them remembered me from my tandem flight back in April. A while later my instructor landed and he got me to sit in my car (which was at the back of a load of parked cars, away from the noisy rabble of pilots and their horse play), to complete my examination paper.... 10 minutes later I had passed with full marks.

I was instantly congratulated by several pilots, and the weather seemed to be good enough for flying and another of Bertie's students had arrived, so we made our way out into the takeoff area to do a site assessment. The wind was a little stronger than last time I was here and it was directly onto the hill. I could see from the flying pilots' height that there was plenty of lift coming off the ridge. The other student went first, she took off and seemed to go straight up. After a short while she finished with a top landing.

Then came my turn, the training instructor had brought along a wing that he had for sale and he said that it might suit me. Try before you buy style, we laid it out and performed a daily inspection on it and it was practically brand new (apparently it had only ever been test flown).

The instructor went over the flight plan with me again, and it seemed to be the same (except with a bottom landing next to the wind sock) as the previous student's who was more experienced than me. I questioned him on this as it sounded like he wanted me to ridge soar, and he did.

At this point all I wanted to do was ridge soar, the act of staying aloft using a wind that is hitting a ridge and being deflected up provides lift. If the wind is strong enough this can be used to stay up as long as the weather persists in this condition. Hence the term free-flight (I like things that are free), and at my stage in training and having experienced it before on my first tandem paragliding flight, this is exactly what I am striving for.

So excitedly I got the wing above my head and took off, got instructions over the radio from Bertie to turn slightly into the ridge to the right of take off, and then told to turn around when I got so far along the ridge, and that was it, he didn't speak to me on the radio again until I landed about 10 minutes later. I was buzzing. I had taken off, gained height of a couple of hundred feet above take off and flown to and fro in the ridge lift, moved out of the ridge lift and burned off height with 'S' turns and landed close enough to the windsock that I could have spat on it. All with other pilots in the air with me (although they are smart enough to give me a wide berth, it didn't stop them shouting encouragement at me) I quizzed Bertie afterwards and he said that he didn't speak to me on the radio because I was doing fine.

Soaring: tick. Another land mark on my way to being a proficient pilot. 2 days before my fortnight's holiday. Happy days!

Completed EP tasks at Big Collin Mountain

In order to take my Elementary Pilot examination I needed to complete 3 successful flight plans, I already had one in the bag from Dungiven.

It was physically harder than thought, mainly because my flying has improved to the point that I am launching from the top of the hill at Big Collin mountain (nearly 200 feet above take off). As I am still doing top to bottom flights I have to gather up the rather heavy and awkward paraglider and walk back up to have another go. This leaves me with a need for at least a 5 minute breather at the top before I do anything constructive.

I managed to pull off 2 takeoff and landings that qualified for my last outstanding task. My instructor said I was ready for my exam, so the date was set for the following day, and maybe some flying as well if the weather was kind. So I went home, ran through a few subjects for revision and crossed my fingers.

600ft flight, Dungiven

This was an awesome day. With only one thing that I would have changed, one less thistle in the landing field. Bertie (my instructor) took me to a new site that overlooked the town of Dungiven. We stopped at the bottom of a steep road and climbed into a field which I was to land in, we surveyed the site from this angle and talked about the hazards (telegraph poles, power lines and stone walls), set up a wind sock and then set off up the hill road in the car.

Dungiven, 600 feet above the landing field.

At the top there was the view of the town of Dungiven below and mountains in the distance. I laid out the glider and did my daily inspection. Discussed my flight plan, by the time it came for me to attempt the flight the wind had moved from W to WNW, which was just about ok for me to fly. After one false start (make sure the glider is above your head before you stop leaning into the hardness) in a reverse launch I got the glider above my head and stable, so I turned and ran and ran, and ran (with the encouragement of Bertie, "run, run, run" on the radio). Eventually I took off (it seems there was a short lull in wind at the exact moment I decided to take off) and was happily flying according to my flight plan, got a few 180 degree turns in, and generally enjoyed myself.

After I had lost enough height I started my final approach to the landing field. I was aiming for landing on the wind sock, but as I was coming in, the landing slope seemed to be about the same gradient as my wing's glide angle and I just flew on and on past the wind sock with my boots about 8 feet of the ground. Eventually I realised that I need to do something so I slowly pulled the controls for a fairly gentle (if at a jogging pace) landing directly on top of a thistle. It went straight between my legs, spiking both as it passed. It wasn't yet time to cry though as I had to concentrate on collapsing the canopy in a controlled manner, and I sort of succeeded. I spent the next fifteen minutes alternating between packing the glider away and picking thorns out of my jeans.

Dungiven is a great site because if you land in the bottom field, some kindly soul will drive down and collect you. When Bertie picked me up I asked what height that was, so he got out a variometer (a device for measuring rates of lift and sink, plus it tells you your altitude) and reset it before we drove back up the hill, it turns out it was 600 feet!

After some messing with Google Earth (an invaluable tool for wannabe paraglider pilots' daydreaming I might add) I worked out that I would have flown over a mile in distance albeit repeatedly over the same area multiple times.


After this flight the wind moved around more to the north, rendering the site un-flyable (at least for me). At this point I would have called it a day and gone home, but my instructor had other ideas, we went to a private site called White mountain. Site familiarisation is a very important part of paragliding but unfortunately this is all the weather allowed me to do, then again the pain of not flying is dulled by views like these.

That is Lough Neagh in the distance

100 feet high

Big Collin Mountain

Same site as the previous day, but with bigger fish to fly.

Met around 11 am. You definitely can't over practice ground handling. The more time you can spend controlling something that could happily lift 8 times your weight if the wind is right (or do I mean wrong) the better. Thankfully your paragliding instructor wont let you out when there is that sort of wind about.

Another student joined us in the early afternoon. She was just finishing off her CP (Club Pilot) tasks before her exam and had previously been on two foreign paragliding training courses to get her to where she is in her the training.

View of Lough Neagh from Big Collin Mountain

We moved much further up the hill than yesterday, we were aiming for 100ft flights. We ran through a flight plan that would involve a few gentle turns and a landing near the wind sock. By the time I had done my preflight checks and gotten off the ground a couple of ramblers had come into view on the road at the bottom of the site and I actually flew right above their heads. One of the walkers was happy enough to take photographs of me as I flew maybe 20 feet above their heads, the other was a little less sure and performed what can best be described as a unsure shuffle left then right as he was trying to work out whether I was going to land on him, or in the field next to him. I am sure he was glad when I landed on the grass and collapsed the glider well away from him.

I got another 100 foot flight in (I am hoping I come across all casual about it now) which was more or less a straight top to bottom flight. It was then time for the other student to use the same kit as I had just used. As I watched her take off and perform many turns, then land a good way further out than my landing in the field. I asked my instructor about this and the chances of her catching thermals on her way down which is the only difference between this and my flight, and he just pointed out my wing loading talent was better then hers. I am starting to get a complex.

50 ft flights at Big Collin Mountain

I met my instructor at Big Collin Mountain with a student on a days taster course. We started with some parachute landing fall (PLF) practice. I think I did about 5, the other student struggled a bit, she couldn't seem to get the hang of rolling into it, so I got to see many a failed PLF before she finally "got it" and then, annoyingly, she was able to perform them as well as the instructor.

We took turns ground handling and this was interesting for me to watch someone who hasn't tried paragliding before struggling with it. She made all the mistakes I made and repeated them like I did, it is obvious that paragliding instructors need plenty of patience.

I got a flight in from a good way up the hill, then the other student got a go from much further down the hill. I asked my instructor (tongue in cheek) whether this was because of my superior talent, he just said I was higher up because of my superior wing loading talent. I wonder what he could have meant.


In total I got three fifty feet high flights. Although I had probably done fifty feet once before, it gave me a real sense of achievement and I felt my confidence grow with each flight.

Wasted opportunity

I wasn't sure about the weather. I looked out of the window and on the weather sites and it looked like a maybe. Towards the end my day at work I sent a SMS message to see if my instructor was out and training but received no reply (this is common because if you are traipsing around a field you may not hear the phone and if you are already flying you definitely don't reply to a SMS).

When I finished work I thought I would go and potter around the garden for a bit doubtful that there would be any training now and if there was my instructor could always ring me or text me. Well he did call, several times but my phone wasn't in my pocket where I thought it was,  I had left my phone on my office desk, so I didn't hear it ringing it's little heart out.

By the time I had realised I was without phone, found it, cursed and rang the instructor back he was nearly home. I apologised and he explained that conditions were smooth light wind blowing onto the long slope facing the huge landing area. He also mentioned the phrases "perfect for you" and "I'll send the fire brigade out for you next time."

It is difficult to explain how frustrating this was without resorting to expletives, I just hope the memory of this wasted opportunity will make me ensure my phone is with me in future.

How to annoy your paragliding instructor.... not

At first I though my constant telephone calls to my flying instructor were simply annoying him but after a while I realised his responses were designed to make me think about the weather and the likelyhood of flying. Slowly I started putting together a list of what sites suited which wind direction.

My first port of call for weather details is the excellent XCWeather.co.uk. It isn't perfect (no weather site is until we can predict the weather with accuracy) but it does have a feature where you can put in the name of a town nearby the site you are thinking about flying and it will give you weather predictions for that small area

After a long break

The weather wasn’t kind, so it was a long time before I got any more training in. Things even got to the point where my instructor (Bertie) had sent me an email about the lack of flying days and being patient with the weather in Northern Ireland (imagine someone would move to a country with such bad weather!).

Bertie had given me a book to read while I was waiting on the weather to sort itself out. I read “Touching Cloudbase” by Ian Currer from cover to cover, at least once and have concentrated certain chapters that I was struggling to get the theory right on.

I got in one short Flight at a site called Skeagh and during the process I met two of Bertie's other students. The first was a Dutch guy who was very pleasant (but I have never met a Dutch person that isn't "dead on" as they say locally) and a very busy landscape gardener that unfortunately was booked solid until the August (at the time I was looking for someone to do a fair sized patio area). The second was a equally pleasant Polish guy who was more than happy to dispense friendly and constructive criticism on my attempts to get the wing above my head and to behave.

Skeagh, a pleasant side effect of Paragliding training is that you get views like this.

Unfortunately, later that day the Polish fellow landed his paraglider perfectly but tripped when he ran to get behind it (standard when controlling a wing in strong winds don't you know, see I am learning)  and dislocated his shoulder when he fell onto a very small mound. The instructor is trained in first aid, while he was attending to the injured party he suggested tucking the affected arm into the paraglider harness for support and while assisting this process (gently I must add) he felt a click and the patient felt all pain leave his shoulder. Despite this, the poor chap sent several hours in A & E later that day.

Bertie obviously detected my frustration where ground handling was involved and explained that it is just a case of sticking with it and the penny will drop. He went onto say that all pilots still spend time practicing ground handling whether they realise it or not. Ground handling a paraglider seemed to me to be the dark art of getting the wing to do what you want. There are a couple of things that you need to do that seems to go against the grain.

• Remember your left from right, so when the instructor gives you instructions you can carry them out quickly. This sounds daft, but as the excitement of getting the wing up off the ground hits you and you are trying for the 100th time not to let it crash back to the ground in an uncooperative heap you can’t always process instructions that quickly.
• When reverse launching (facing the glider) you need to remember that if you need to slow the left side of the glider (i.e. it is turning right) you need to pull the control that is in your right hand.
• Once the canopy is fully inflated above your head, you have to keep it there without looking at it, this means you have to learn to “feel” what is going on through the glider pulling on the harness.
• If the fully inflated canopy is pulling to left then step to the left, if it is pulling to the right step to the right. You basically need to stay underneath the centre of the canopy. This is one I had a lot of trouble with, it just seems wrong to allow this unwieldy thing to do what it wants so I was constantly pulling against the canopy, which made the glider end up as a messy heap on the ground.
• Persevere. There a lot of things to do all at once to get a paraglider to behave it’s self on the ground (fortunately things are easier once you have it in the air). Most to these things are not obvious, straight forward or intuitive.
• Don't get disheartened when the instructor demonstrates perfect control effortlessly. It can seem so effortlessly simple when someone shows you something that you have struggled with for hours. 

My First days training

Big Collin Mountain near BallyClare

The Thursday after Easter was a lovely sunny day and I was glad I had put my sunscreen on. I phoned Bertie (Chief flying instructor for First Flight Paragliding) about 9.30 am that morning and he asked me to meet him just up the road from where we both live so I could follow him to the training site (as my local geography knowledge is rubbish). I followed him out to the other side of Ballyclare.

When we arrived, there was already another pilot there, it seems they always fly in at least twos because generally paragliding takes place in isolated areas, if you twist an ankle on uneven ground (or something worse befalls you),  you are a good distance away from anyone to help you. After some necessary paperwork, you have to join the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA) for insurance reasons, and you have to sign a form stating that you are not suffering from any heart problems, etc.

We started by putting up wind socks, then Bertie found me a helmet and a pair of gloves, then a glider and harness for my weight range (they look like a large rucksack when packed away). On a gentle slope  We learnt and practiced parachute landing falls (PLFs) Bertie talked me through the process of unpacking the glider and checking the harness, lines and canopy (called a "daily inspection"). This seemed like laborious work, but Bertie soon had my interest by explaining why and recounting the close shaves of others that had let this important part of checking their kit lapse.

Bertie demonstrated a forward (alpine) launch, at this point we were only trying to get the wing up and over our heads and keep it there. This is a lot harder than Bertie made it seem. When it was my turn I made a complete hash of things, but reassured that this is normal I persevered and fortunately so did Bertie. There is initially something alien about trying to control the wing and not looking at it (you must look where you are going, not up otherwise you'll end up with your foot in a rabbit hole). The wind picked up a bit and fortunately so because I simply wasn't getting the hang of the forward launch. So we switched to reverse launches. This involved trying to get the wing above your head while facing it, this allows you to see what is going on and make adjustments to the wing with the inputs (also known as brakes or controls). This sounds easier, but it wasn't for me, I simply could not get the hang of pulling the correct control when facing the wing, it just seemed wrong to pull the control in your left hand when the left side of the wing was going down.

We spent most to the rest of the day ground handling. And then in the late afternoon it was time to have a short hop off the hill, just to get your feet of the ground for a few seconds. You get fitted with a radio so the instructor can give you instructions and while you get the paraglider fully inflated above your head and run down a slope until you get to the bottom, or the wing lifts you off the ground.

On my first attempt I did more or less run down the slope to the bottom and only managed to fly about  15 feet in distance (probably only four feet of the ground). Bertie was on the radio encouraging me to run and then to collapse the canopy once I had landed. Bertie asked if I felt up to having another go a bit higher up the slope. So I gathered up the glider and walked back up the slope. This time I managed maybe 30 feet in distance. When I landed this time there was no mention of flying again over the radio, so I optimistically gathered the glider up again and set off up the hill to a higher position than before. To my delight Bertie directed me even further up the hill facing a slightly different direction. Bertie explained that this will be the last flight of the day because I would be tired both physically and mentally, and that goes against a safe environment.

My last flight of the day was over 100 feet in distance and probably closer to 150 feet. We then went through the process of how to fold a paraglider away.

I left the training site with a stupid grin and that night I dreamt with my feet off the ground :)

How it all started for me

It started at Easter this year. When booking to stay at a campsite in Benone on the North Antrim Coast line over Easter, my missus asked me if I would like to try a tandem paragliding flight as we have previously seen Paragliders on the hill that overlooks the campsite. I once had a vivid dream about flying a hang glider, and I had kind of put the idea of actually doing an hang glider flight in to the "things to do before I get too old" pile. The two sports seemed closely enough related to make little difference to a layman like me, so I jumped at the chance. Prior to that conversation I hadn't realised there was such a thing as Tandem paragliding. My wife phoned one of the guys we found with a Google search offering tandem paragliding flights, she was told to just phone on the day to see if and where the weather conditions would be right.

View from takeoff overlooking Magilligan point, Northern Ireland

On Easter Sunday we headed to the coast and setup the tent, and went and sat with friends who had a caravan on the other side of the site. My wife and I told our friends that she and I planned to go Paragliding the next day weather permitting. Easter Monday around 11 o'clock the wife called Phil Barron from www.cloudsurferireland.com to check the conditions. He said he was setting up on the hill above us and to come on up as soon as we were ready. Within about half an hour we had made our way to the top of the hill, found where the tandem glider had been laid out. Phil seemed like a great guy, his first words to us were "Hello, who is going up first?" to which my missus replied "Ian is."

A brief few moments filling in some necessary paperwork later, I was given a run down on what to do and what to expect. My part in the launch procedures mainly boiled down to running and not stopping unless told to, even if we were off the ground.

I donned the provided helmet, gloves and sunglasses then I was strapped into a harness, and another kindly paraglider pilot checked I was strapped in correctly. After some incomprehensible pulling and pushing and being told to move forward and turn around Phil was telling me to "Run, run, run, keep running..." and in a very short distance I was running without touching the ground. I can only imagine the feeling is a bit like being on a ski lift (I have never been skiing). As we lifted away from the slope Phil told me to push myself back into the harness, which was impressively comfortable.

In a tandem paraglider the passenger sits at the front with the pilot sitting behind. I can see why some might not like the sound of this as when I speak about this experience some people assume you throw yourself of a cliff edge. This certainly was not the case with this flight as we gently just lifted away from the slope. The support felt from the wing and through the harness is very reassuring. In no time at all we were soaring along in front of the cliff edge amongst the seagulls. Phil was completely in control of the aircraft at all times and he started to explain what we were going to do before we did it, like leaning ( or weight shifting) to the left or right in the harness which helps the glider make more efficient turns. The views were amazing and I was easily able to see Portrush 10 miles away.

Phil pointed out different things such as when we were getting lift and explained which land features were deflecting the sea breeze up and that the glider was using this to stay up. We spent what felt like 10 minutes zipping backwards and forwards along the cliff face gaining height, then Phil asked if I had had enough, I said yes because I was keen for my wife to get up and experience this amazing feeling. It was only later in the day when discussing my flight with some of the observing paragliding pilots that I found out I was in the air for nearly 45 minutes.

One of my favourite moments was when we flew past a crowd of waving people that were out at the cliff edge viewing point. They seemed really close and I could hear them talking, it felt like they were about 10 meters away. I was so exciting I waved in what I thought was a cool manner, but I suspect it looked more like I was an over excited 10 year old.

Later in the afternoon, it was my wife's turn. While I watched her from the ground I was talking with the other pilots that were on the hill and I noticed how pleasant and approachable all these guys are. In fact they are the most friendly group to outsiders I think I have ever had the pleasure to meet. It kind of felt like they were all there for the love of flying, and they were more than happy to share their experience and opinions with anyone who was vaguely interested. I suppose there is a lot of sky to go around. At this point I thought that I was more than vaguely interested in paragliding.

Sharon very much enjoyed it, and although she said that the experience was a worthwhile one she was not as taken with it as I was. Sharon later commented on the fact that I appeared to be still on a high from the flight and we discussed what I wanted to do about it. I was at first reluctant to take things further because of the money it would cost and that it might involve going abroad for the training, but she assured me that as I don't exactly do a lot for myself it is something we should find the money for.

We left Benone on Tuesday and by the Thursday I had booked myself in for my first paragliding lesson with First Flight Paragliding. First Flight Paragliding is based a few miles from my house and is run by the man that brought paragliding to Northern Ireland 20 odd years ago.