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Is there any cheeper way to learn this without going to a paragliding school and spending 1500 dollars on piloting a wing? I have skydived in the past, only 23 times though, but it is some canopy experience.

it depends on how much medical care costs in your country.

put this on dropzone.com... its not base.

Definitely closer to base than skydiving though.

find a big grassy hill and go for it.

stilletos work good actually but most people will tell you that they are bad and will collapse on you.

you can get a speedwing for like 800 used. they are supposedly better. I've groundlaunched sabre2 and stilleto they both worked good. I have some really big grassy hills that work good though.

you want to get proper training. Like base, if you don't you will most likely kill or seriously hurt yourself. canopy skills are the least of your worries, you need thorough knowledge of wind and how air acts around mountains, among a shitload of other stuff that paragliding will teach you.

Contact Justin or Daniel at Flystyle.

where is flystyle located?

You should have at least 30 jumps before you try ground launching.

yes but did you catch the part where he said cheapest way possible? Not everybody has money and you can't really expect them to just sit on the ground instead of jumping or flying.

I'd say the best bet would be to find a friend with some experience that would take you out for your first run. Then find a good nice slope with not too much diving involved to stay close to the terrain.

peace

A stilleto, a long grassy or sandy hill, an area with consistent smooth winds. Big bumps cause turbulence, youll figure it out from there. Basically how I learned. Speed wings are far superior, but thatll get you a few hundred flights before you know the difference.

Flystyle is in southern Washington state. Google/facebook.

The only way it's going to be cheaper is if you buy used gear or borrow a wing from somebody and have an experienced mentor, I do not recommend using a skydiving canopy since there are a lot different characteristics.
It would also depend on the size you would get, where a large speed wing or mini-wing has more paragliding characteristics and requires a lot of knowledge about thermals and weight shifting as well as adjusting the trims in flight.
I suggest looking at the speed flying forum on pgforum.com

Yeah, Flystyle! And please please please please do not ground launch skydiving canopies, thats analogous to jumping skydiving gear off fixed objects. We have the equipment thats made for ground launching (flatter gliders, shorter recovery arc, seat harnesses, back protection, trimmers etc....) and bottom line speedwings fly better (in that environment) there is a huge change in glide between 8" of brake and no brake, and they're very roll responsive, both of which help you stay down in the terrain safely. Yarding on front risers on a sky canopy is not a safe way to do this. Speedwings all take off and land slower/easier, but fly faster than the same size skydiving canopy.

Find a used Speedwing, a 16m probably (like an XT). But! As mentioned above, your skydiving experience means jack beyond knowing which toggle to pull. Wind/Weather/Rotors/Thermals....this is what will wreck you. Educate yourself as if you are learning to paraglide. 'Understanding the Sky' is a good rescource. Its like base, in that, what you don't know will kill you...and there is a lot to not know. You don't need to pay for a course, but at least find someone to show you the basics. Have fun.

REGARDLESS of how solid people say they are, speedwings are prone to collapse in thermaly weather and if flown improperly. i know money is an issue, but if you cant find an experienced mentor to help show you the ropes and help you understand weather/environmental fundamentals, you are already setting yourself up for failure. dont be fooled, speedflying in proximity to the earth is rewarding and awesome, but can fuck you up REAL bad.................i wouldnt cut corners on this one if i were you

and yes, DEFINITELY call the flystyle boys, it will be well worth the investment.

Exactly.

what if somebody likes the feel of a high performance skydivng canopy and would like a canopy that has a negative/neutral recovery arc in a terrain flying environment...is there no option in the speedwing market for this person??? Is the only option crossbraced skydiving canopies? A 100-120 sq ft elliptical skydiving canopy is plenty roll-responsive to stay close to terrain no?

With the longer recovery arc that skydiving canopies have people tend to hook themselves in.

You should also check out: http://www.speed-flying.com/
Forum all about SF

And this site: http://www.speed-flying.com/fatality-list

It's in the community forum though. People talk about donkey sex and post stupid pictures of pregnant cakes in here. Surely it can support a thread about speedflying and how non-speedflying it is to use a small skyjumping canopy.