Originally Posted by Aero92

My racing glider, harness and instruments all cost me $8,000 used. A new setup would be $12,000 or more. Older, good quality gear can be purchased for much less. It takes a few hundred hours of practice to fly a comp glider safely. Everyone learns at his/her own rate and it can take anywhere from six months and 50 hours to several years and many more hours to be able to safely fly in mountain thermals and unknown terrain. Our plan was to fly all the way to Big bear Lake and land across the highway from the finish line but the lift wasn't strong enough so we played it conservative.

If you want to inquire about lessons in your area try this link: http://www.hanggliding.org/marketing...tact.php?id=52

I have many other videos posted that give an idea of what the expereince is like: http://www.youtube.com/nmerider

Cheers, Jonathan