'Birdman' takes to the skies over Galway
He’s the ‘bird from the sky’ who has intrigued onlookers in the South Park area for the past couple of weeks in his powered paraglider.
The pilot is Polish native Jacek Chonanowski who has been involved in aviation since 1977 and who regularly does trips across the West of Ireland including the Burren.
“What we need is a clear day and calm conditions and we must always look at the weather forecasts,” Jacek told the Sentinel.
Galway Flying Club have confirmed that as a precautionary measure they have made contact with ‘the parachute man’ purely as a safety procedure, in the context of their own plane flights.
The power paraglider can fly up to 1,000 feet and makes regular trips from Oranmore to South Park.
According to Jacek, his paraglider is powered by a 172cc engine with a 10 litre fuel capacity – he also said that he wanted to reassure the public that he is widely experienced in all aspects of gliding and paragliding for nearly the past 40 years.
“There are times when I would glide close to the surface but that’s when I’m coming in over the sea. I would not do that in areas where there are houses,” said Jacek.
He also said that he had been in touch with the aviation authorities in Shannon as regards his aerial activity but pointed out that paragliding was not properly regulated in Ireland with some inexperienced people in the air.
Jacek also confirmed that the Galway Flying Club had been in touch with him, and he makes regular contact with them before his ‘flights’.
In the Paraglide West website, they warn that ‘paragliding is a dangerous sport that contains elements of risk’.
They advise that accidents in ‘paragliding tandem flights’ are possible due to stumbling or wrong reaction during take-off or landing.
They also advise passengers to wear proper footwear with ankle protection as well as warm winterproof clothing.
Paraglide West can be contacted through their website or on 085 2838844.
In terms of regulation, the IAA (Irish Aviation Authority) are the body in charge of any issues relating to the use of powered paragliders.
Powered parachutes, often known as PPCs, are considered the cheapest way to ‘get into the air’ and are normally flown at heights of between 500 and 1,500 feet with a maximum flying time of about three hours.