Powered Paragliding is also known as Paramotoring. It is basically strapping a huge motorized fan to a back pack or a trike, attaching your paraglider "wing" to it.
The motor, which usually weighs between 45 to 80 lbs, gives you enough thrust so that you are able to take off and reach speeds of 15 to 45 mph. It can also take you up to heights of 18,000 ft, which if you want to be scientific is ridiculously high.
This is not a cheap "sport" to get into either. This guy that I was taken pictures of told me that his paramotor was around $8000 and the wing that he was using is a competition wing that sells for another $6000 because it is designed for doing tricks.
He was able to pull off some crazy maneuvers in the air and it made me more interested in the sport and I wish that I could have been up there flying because he was having a blast. Every time he flew past he was yelling and seemed like he was having the time of his life.
I am not sure how he was able to stay up in the air, but I think the motor must have been extra strong to keep him up with the huge brass balls that you need to have to be pulling off stunts like this up in the air. The amount of control and precision that he had was incredible. This really is a sport that would take a long time to master because any false move could mean serious trouble.
If I wasn't so scared of heights I would look more into this sport for myself, but with my luck I would go crashing down into the water or the side of the mountain during my first flight. There is something to be said about the adrenaline junkies that do sports like this. It is a beautiful thing to watch.
I hope that you enjoyed this post about Powered Paragliding. I had an incredible time taking pictures of him flying around Utah Lake last night. Let me know in the comments which photo was your favorite.
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