Most of us will commute to work either by driving our cars, riding our motorbikes or catching a train or bus. If you are feeling more energetic, you may be tempted to get on your bicycle and start pedaling.
However, Paul Cox from Wales, weather permitting, uses another novel form of transport – a paramotor. This is a powered paraglider that is launched by foot. A small engine is used to run the propeller that is strapped to the person’s back with the assistance of a frame and harness accompanied by a paraglider wing that is fairly similar to a parachute.
Paul, 51, who is married with two teenage children and works as a Royal Navy overseer travels from his home in Gwalchmai in North Wales to his place of work at Holyhead Boatyard on Anglesey– a distance of about 10 miles. In the right weather conditions it takes him about 30 minutes.
He became interested in paramotoring on a trip to Spain where he subsequently trained to fly one. He then spent in the region of £8,000 on the necessary equipment and then started to commute to work using the paramotor. Prior to taking off, he must obtain permission to do so by RAF Valley’s 22 squadron that is located around Barry.
Whilst making the trip he will even take videos of his journeys. Once he lands at his workplace he just packs everything neatly away before venturing into the office. He has even been as high as 7,500 feet in the vicinity of Mount Snowdon.
One thing is for certain, once in the air he will not get held up by any commuter traffic that the rest of us frequently encounter. He is combining something that he obviously loves to do with an extremely interesting mode of commuter transport.
In this respect, we would love to hear from our customers about any other unusual ways that they get to work each day. It is also worth noting that AIB Insurance are specialist insurance brokers that can arrange cover for various forms of aerial activity so why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 to discuss your requirements.
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