Now I needed instruction.  There aren't very many schools for paramotoring in Canada, let alone Ottawa.  I narrowed it down to two choices, Quebec City and St. Catharines.  I contacted both locations via email, had a few back and forths and after further thought I went with the St. Catharine's choice. It is a one week course...so have to book some holidays from work.   

See link here:    Powered paragliding Ontario 



"Learning how to fly powered paraglider under instructor's guidance is essential for safe and continuous enjoyment of the sport. To earn an ultra light pilot license required to fly PPG in Canada a student pilot must complete 30 take offs and landings totalling 5 hours in a log book."

No flight experience necessary."

"Course fee includes use of our certified, state of the art PPG equipment."

Link:  Course Info

I sent the instructor/owner (Andre Zeeman) my $1000 deposit for the May 4th, 2013 course.  They are only limited to two people so I made sure I did this early.  Andre sent me a course package and syllabus.  I was on my way.  He asked me if I had any equipment and I responded "No".  "Well if you can practice kiting a wing before you come it would speed up the learning process."  It would also cost me less in the end as you pay on the hourly learning process.

Hmmm...Kiting.  What is it? Well, basically you take the wing/kite and you kite it while wearing a harness.  No motor needed.  It is all done statically in one place, not unlike a child with a kite.  By kiting, you learn how the wing responds to brake (steering lines) input and and learn control.   



I searched the internet and found a 30 square meter wing for sale on Kijiji, but it was in New Brunswick.  I called and he said it only had 10 hours on it...he bought it from someone getting out of the sport.  So it was new.  A new wing goes for about $3000.  He wanted $1000, what a steal.  I asked Andre what size I would need because wings are dependant on the weight they hold in the air.  A good starter for me would be a 30 m2 wing...PERFECT!!!!  Now, how to get it to Ottawa?  After a short conversation the seller told me he was coming through Ottawa in two weeks (over the Christmas break) on his way to Toronto and could deliver it...wow...lucky or what?

I bought the wing and rigged up a rock climbing harness to fit my need that I purchased at Mountain Equipment Co-op or MEC as it is know in Westboro.  Never having worn one it was a little snug on the package but I guess that's normal. 

Fast forward to January 1st 2013.  1st Kiting session.  Alex (my 9 year old son) and I walked to a local field the day after a heavy night of partying with neighbors till 3:00am.  No better way than to start off the new year trying to kite.

Alex took pictures while I climbed into the harness, layed out the wing in a crescent shape, clipped the wing risers into the carabiners on the harness and exhaled loudly...now or never.  The wind was about 14km from the North West and I wasn't sure how it was going to react.  I pulled hard and it lifted from one side and crashed, lifted from the other side and crashed.  After about 20 minutes in -15 degrees and snow covered field I was dying of heat...wow what a workout!  I finally got it to rise up overhead and while pulling on the brake toggles...it stayed up for about a minute.  I did it!  It felt great!

I decided to buy a book online that almost all PPG'ers (powered paragliders) buy.  Called the "PPG Bible 3".  Lots of great info for anyone starting out and it had great tips for me on kiting.  I think I have read it over about five times now...can't get enough.