I'm out of practice! Been elsewhere for a wee while. All good.
Paul. Good try with the winged wheels, sorry the bike cant have arm bands or something. Think about speaking wi a local paragliding school...? They are less fancy, not needing the boat or the water to get airtime. I've seen images of paraglider pilots on bikes, who knows, chase that dream old bean!
Kman. Look up on amazon a book called 'Touching Cloud Base'. If your serious about using your local hills, here are some tips...
Hang gliders need minimum wind speeds (ground speed) of about 19 m.p.h. They are heavy and cumbersome to heave back up the hill each time you land at the bottom (while your learning anyhow). They take a while to rig and de rig. Are harder to master. They have a greater glide angle.
Paragliders can glide top to bottom in zero wind, giving you good conditions to learn the basics without dramas. They pack down into a ruck sack for carrying and are easier to learn on. Rigging is easy to understand and takes little time. They have a shorter glide angle.
Both scare the crap out of any live stock below.
The wind direction has to be bang onto the hill face. What is your prevailing direction usually?
You need patients. Often the wind will change direction or speed and flying becomes quickly restricted.
Your hills need to be free from obstructions like trees, buildings or valley features to avoid down drafts (rotor) and turbulence.
I learned to fly one from the book I mentioned, in the 1990's. it's proper fun and if I had my own hills, the air space would be all mine!
Good luck either way, the sensation of being lifted off the ground for the first time is magic.
Davy - get a push bike if it gets too cramped indoors! Hope the new lead arrives pronto.
Mommas I hope to catch you all in game soon. I'm not playing as much at the mo but try to at every turn.