There’s nothing like flying a powered paraglider. For an investment of about $6,000, you can take to the skies, no license and no training required — although, without the latter, you are taking your life into your own hands.
Should training be required for the operation of a powered paraglider? Yes, it should.
There are 12-15 powered paraglider, or PPG, pilots in Kitsap County, according to a cover story in the March 6 Kitsap Week. While each local PPG pilot seems devoted to flight safety, the fact remains that the aspects of PPG flight that make it so attractive — anyone can pilot a machine for a relatively small investment — seem to make some sort of training or regulation necessary. We expect the number of PPG pilots and the number of PPGs in Kitsap skies will grow (we think the PPG could be a good commuter transportation alternative). According to one report, ultralight aircraft like PPGs comprise up to 19 percent of the total civilian aircraft registered in Canada. PPGs are not required to be registered in the U.S., so the number in U.S. skies is not known.
Flying a powered paraglider is not the same as hang gliding, paragliding, kiteboarding or kitesurfing. A powered paraglider is a machine. Held aloft by a parasail and propelled by a prop, some are capable of speeds of up to 64 mph, according to the United States Ultralight Association, although local PPG pilots say their crafts travel at about 25 mph. Some PPGs consist of a seat and frame with prop; others consist of three- and four-wheeled carts with prop.
While training is not required, it is advised by the United States Ultralight Association. One PPG pilot told Kitsap Week that he participated in a 10-day boot camp offered by Team Fly Halo. He studied how to master the controls of a wing, or parasail, for six days, studied weather, and trained for two days with a PPG. Upon graduation, he was rated by the U.S. Powered Paragliding Association.
The pilot said he never flies above homes and will fly across, but never along, a road. That’s to ensure, he said, that in the event something falls from his pocket or his craft, it doesn’t hit a home, car or person.
That’s also in keeping with Federal Aircraft Regulations, Part 103, which regulates how PPGs and other ultralight aircraft may operate: between the hours of sunrise and sunset, in uncontrolled airspace, with an anti-collision light visible for at least 3 statute miles. Part 103 also states, “No person may operate an ultralight vehicle over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons.”
According to calls and letters received by this newspaper, the latter rule isn’t uniformly followed; some readers report PPGs flying close to homes in Hansville and Miller Bay Estates, their days interrupted by the sound of two-stroke engines.
The U.S. Powered Paragliding Association should work with legislators to develop PPG pilot licensing rules, with training and knowledge of applicable aircraft regulations required.
Keep the skies open for alternative forms of flight. But keep them safe.
