Welcome to the website of the 1st Paragliding Club of SA. We are a paragliding club based in the Gauteng area and are responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Dam flying site near Hartebeespoort dam.
The purpose of this site is to publish important and relevant information about flying at Dam. Please feel free to browse around the site and take a look at what we get up to.
The Dam is arguably the most reliable site in Gauteng, and one of the best in the country. During the cable-car days, the site was extremely convenient too, with a brisk 7 minute cable-car ride to the top. Although the cable-car has been closed for several years now, it is currently undergoing a much-needed revamp and will be operational towards the end of 2011.
The site has two main take-offs both approximately 300m high, one for N to NW winds and one for S to SW winds. The northern slope of the mountain is very gradual, so pilots are in close proximity to the ground until they find a thermal to climb away in. The southern side of the mountain is a cliff launch, with corresponding difficulties. As a result, the site is rated advanced, so pilots need a minimum of 60 flights experience before visiting the Dam for the first time. In addition, a stringent sign-off system is in place for new pilots to gain experience under supervision of the site regulars. Full details can be found in the Site Rules section.
The club has installed a windtalker on top of the mountain, giving real-time weather conditions.
All pilots who wish to fly at the Dam, irrespective of which club they belong to, need to hold a valid license and a valid DAC card. Details on how to optain a DAC card can be found in the DAC Card section.
For those pilots who wish to join our club, details can be found in the Club Membership section.
Everyone is welcome to attend our club meetings, details of such can be found in the relevant sections.
Any questions may be forward to us by
.
Hope to see you on the mountain soon, safe flying.
The 1st Para committee
News Flash
Minutes of the 2011 AGM - 23 June 2011
The minutes of the 2011 AGM are available for download from the Documents section.
Cableway progress - 23 June 2011
The latest anticipated date for completion of the new cableway is Decemeber 2011.
Access up the north side jeep track - 04 July 2011
An arrangement has been made with the north side landowner, allowing pilots to park their vehicles on the property (for security reasons) and accessing the site, on foot, via the north side jeep track.
The access gate to the property has a GSM controller installed by the club. Pilots with valid memberships will gain access to the property by "phoning" the gate from their mobile phones. Pilots may then park on the western side of the owner's residence, and access the jeep track via the pedestrian gate on the southern side of the property.
Pilots are asked to please introduce themselves to the property owner on their first visit, so that they can identify who is on their property, etc.
Submit your DAC applications and your mobile phone number will be added to the system.
