Welcome to the UHPC website.
The Ulster Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club
The Ulster Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club (UHPC) is the only hang gliding and paragliding club in Northern Ireland and is affiliated with the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA). We are recognised by SportNI as the governing body for hang gliding and paragliding in Northern Ireland. In addition, we welcome paramotorists and powered hang glider pilots, whose flying activities closely align with non-powered equivalents. |
Paragliders flying at White Mountain |
The UHPC comprises over 60 pilots who fly sites throughout the province. We have a mixture of inland and coastal sites which cater for every wind direction and are no more than 90 minutes' drive from most areas of the province. We are a well-established club (formerly as the Ulster Hang Gliding Club, active since 1975) and have some excellent sites. Our XC (Cross Country) records are steadily improving (Paragliding 104 km: From White Mountain, overflying the Mourne Mountains, to Kilkeel by M.McBride/Hang gliding 89 km: From Slieve Gallion to Knocknacran south of Dundalk by M Knight) as knowledge and equipment improves year on year. Our friends in the Irish Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association (IHPA) have been similarly improving their flying performances (Paragliding 212 km/Hang gliding 129 km). You can check out the IHPA website for further information regarding flying sites in the Republic of Ireland. We are keen to share our sport with anyone interested, so contact us and come along and see what foot-launched gliding is like for yourself. We will be more than happy to show you the latest equipment and talk to you about the variety of ways to safely achieve your pilot ratings. You may even be able to try it first hand with a dual flight with some of our most experienced pilots. Photograph: Paraglider ready for takeoff
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In the last few years foot-launched powered flight has become deregulated. This allows members to attach a simple power unit onto either a hang glider or paraglider and take off from a flat field, climbing to several thousand feet. The pictures here are of Donal Hamilton flying over the Silent Valley on a misty morning and Gary McKie flying a paramotor over the Ards Peninsula. Flying a hang glider or paraglider with a power unit encompasses a broad range of skills, so to progress safely in these disciplines it is a good idea to master unpowered flight before considering strapping an engine on.
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Donal Hamilton - powered hang glider |
Gary McKie - paramotor |
Further Information about Paragliding, Paramotoring or Hang Gliding
There are many good descriptions of Paragliding, Paramotoring and Hang Gliding on the internet. Here are three sites which describe them quite well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraglider
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramotor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hang_gliding
Or contact the club treasurer by e-mail
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Why not join our club today? You can also join the club by downloading the membership form below. It is in PDF and Microsoft Word formats and should be posted/emailed to the address on the form with a cheque made payable to the UHPC for the appropriate amount. Full membership of the club has recently been reduced to £12 for the current year and runs from 1st April to 31st March, with discounts depending upon when you join. Upon commencing a Club Pilot Novice course with one of the four local training schools, free UHPC membership is available for one year - use this form. Visiting pilots are encouraged to join and get access to our sites guide and lots of local knowledge. Details are on the membership application forms below.
Club Membership Form (pdf)
Club Membership Form (doc)
You will need Adobe acrobat to read PDF files. It can be downloaded from here free of charge.