Customer Reviews

Starting Paragliding [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have not seen the DVD hence the neutral 3 star rating. However $29.95 is a lot for 30 minutes, especially considering the reviews by others who have seen it. It is clear that no one learns, or should learn paragliding from a DVD. However if you really want to see instructional footage on a DVD my advice would be to buy the comprehensive, and perhaps definitive book "Paragliding: A Pilot's Training Manual" which includes an 80 minute DVD illustrating all of the critical paragliding techniques (but again is no substitute for instruction). This book is available from Amazon for $39.95 and if out of stock or on a extended delivery schedule you can find it at the USHGA store, and from several other paragliding and hang gliding organizations.

Had I not been around other sky sports (sport parachuting and flying) I'd have learned nothing. As it was, I learned little.

The video was all shot on consumer equipment with an unsteady hand and poor sound (no narration, just chopped-up video of a guy talking people through disjointed parts of information). Worst of all, there was nothing that explained the mechanics of flight and paraglider flight in particular, how paragliders' shape affects their handling characteristics, where to learn more information, how to get started, costs of lessons, how long it takes (on average) to solo...nothing.

An extravagant price for 30 minutes of poorly done video.

Amateurish and poorly edited, the DVD was very disjointed. The material didn't flow well, there was no information on where and how to obtain lessons or puchase equipment, nothing on how lessons or equipment work.

Very Short & Shallow video, not a real starting paragliding video, just some good flying videos, safe money & don't buy, tones of those videos are free on youtube!

As mentioned in the title... Don't waist your money and time on this one, it's not even worth downloading.

This film is made out of random cuts taken from a random beginner pilot class and filmed with a home cam and it's just 30 min.You'll hardly learn something if anything as it's not covering any specific techniques or even introducing the equipment. As I mentioned previously it's just random cuts.

If you are really looking for a beginner learning package this is what I would get (I personally own and consult frequently).

Books:

The Art of Paragliding by Dennis Pagen.

It is the most comprehensive book I know out there for beginners.

Sells for about $30

Paragliding - A Pilot's Training Manual by Mike Meier and Mark Stucky.

Might be harder to understand than the first one but covers more advance techniques an also includes a 80 min DVD.

Sells for about $45

DVDs:

Paragliding: Learn to fly

Paragliding: Ground Handling Techniques

Really get both of them... They each cover over an hour of material. If you have to pick one, then go for ground handling as it covers more techniques and you can transpose everything for your flying later.

Sells for about $40 each

Also would be a good investment once you've learn to fly:

Instability II

What can I say... It's over an hour of SIV and recovering manoeuvres.

Sells for about $45

Hope this helps!

Good luck and fly safe!!

Maude

Get yourself a flight simulator, you may learn more than what you get from this DVD

Luckily not money for me as I was lucky enough to see it before deciding to purchase. The title is very misleading. Absolutely no explanation whatsoever as to what a paraglider is or the parts that make it up. So when he's talking about A risers....."What the hell are those".

The video starts off with students that are already on their 4th day of training.....come on. 10min in and you're watching an advanced pilots section (Big ears. I only kinda knew what this was because I read it in a book), about 20min in you're doing tandem flights. Some short (2min) sections of instruction (limited) linked together by clips with guitar music.

That's all folks!!!

Don't bother, rather by a book at least it explains and shows you the basics all the way to the more advanced subjects.

Even though this video borrows heavily on the intrinsic beauty of being in the air and/or photos of people flying...it is very spotty in what it claims to be about "starting paragliding'. It jumps ove basics of proper inflation etc etc which are certainly in the realm of 'starting' and leaves the viewer with just enough information to know they have not learned anything in any useful progression. I was both surprised and disappointed. I have dvd's and videos that are not labeled 'starting paragliding' that have more information and viewable sequences of even the most basic techniques. If this is 'like being at a class' it must be like being afew hours late for that class.

Not advised.

After reading the negative reviews of this DVD, I hesitantly purchased it anyway, and I'm glad I did. I do agree that the DVD is pricey for the amount of footage on the DVD--I would have liked to have seen at least another half hour of footage. However, I respectfully disagree with the other negative comments. The photography is very good--and the in-air shots from a camera mounted to the paragliding rig are excellent. The footage is shot as if you are right there on the training hill with the instructor and other students.

Although I expected reasonably good video resolution on this DVD, which it is, I really didn't expect Hollywood-level cinematography along the lines of Outside Magazine's exciting "Never Ending Thermal" paragliding episode that recently aired on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN).

The DVD has much footage of launches, landings, and other glider handling--a picture really is worth a thousand words. This DVD should get anyone pumped up to give paragliding a try.

This DVD is intended to give a prospective pilot a good overview of the sport. The information and music are great as well as the photography. If one desires a list of paragliding schools & sites, then I suggest using the web to easily find that information.