Powered paraponts

[Fuji Abound]

Having watched one of these today (and purely out of interest not because I want to report them!) I was interested in their current classification. I seem to remember reading a slightly bizarre story of a vicar a few years back who got in trouble with the CAA. I think this was because a powered parapont was considered to be an aircraft and as such presumably subject to the same rules of the air as the rest of us. It also left me wondering whether the "craft" should have a registration number on the sail if this is so and whether the regulations about where they might land are in some way different.

[Genghis the Engineer]

If you mean what I think you mean, there are two basic flavours...

(1) Powered parachute (PPC). These are basically self contained, have an undercarriage and one or two seats. Legally they are microlights, you need a licence, registration and permit to fly.

(2) Powered paraglider (PPG). These you wear, have a much lower maximum weight and no undercarriage - although they can come in single and two place (harness really, certainly not seats) versions. These require no licence, no airworthiness approval, and no registration.


The well known batty vicar (actually I think he was some kind of lay preacher) was in a powered paraglider preaching over a housing estate with a megaphone. I believe he got charged with breaches of rule 5 and also being inside Old Sarum's ATZ without ATC clearance.

After he was convicted, he decided to give up on PPGs and learn to fly conventional aeroplanes so that he could be a flying missionary. I heard that he also wrote to CAA enforcement branch thanking them for prosecuting him since it made them an instrument of God's will in showing him the way he should truly be learning to fly so as to do HIS will. I gather that the enforcers were rather bemused by this, but rather chuffed at what was probably the first and last occasion of somebody thanking them for prosecuting him!

G

[Pilgrim101]

Go on Ghengis, we all need that extra little help, especially in the air. I did see him once afterwards at Old Sarum, flying a green VW powered taildragger thing I think - Is he with his maker now (Did his maker have even section S approval ?)

[Genghis the Engineer]

From God, or from CAA's Enforcement Branch?

G