The Ulster Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club (UHPC) is the only hang gliding and paragliding club in Northern Ireland. Its forerunner, the Ulster Hang Gliding Club (UHGC), has been active in hang gliding in Northern Ireland since 1975. Since incorporating foot launched paragliding into our activities in early 1990, we became the UHPC, operating under the auspices of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA).

The UHPC comprises some 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 an hours drive from most areas of the province.

While we are a well established club, and have some excellent sites, our XC (Cross Country) records are not particularly impressive by world standards (Paragliding 40 miles/Hang Gliding 47 miles). Our only consolation is that no visiting pilots hold any of these records!

Our friends in the Irish Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association (IHPA) have a higher cloudbase ! Their XC record is 80 miles, flown from Mount Leinster just south of Dublin.

You can check out the IHPA web site for further information in the Republic of Ireland.

We are always keen to share our sport with anyone interested so give us a call and come along and see what the sport is like for yourself. We will be more than keen to show you the latest equipment and talk to you about the variety of ways to 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.

(Pictured right: Paraglider about to launch)

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 picture alongside is of Donal Hamilton flying over the Silent Valley on a misty morning.

Flying a hang glider or a paraglider with a power unit is definitely only for experienced pilots so you will need to master unpowered flight before considering strapping an engine on.