phil_r

I live near Martock & know of at least 5 other active pilots within 1/2 hour of you. We tend to communicate by phone/text, rather than on forums, so I'm not surprised you think there isn't anybody else out there, however that's not the case. I have flown up to the Tor a few times in the last year! If you PM me your number then I'm always happy to meet up & have a chat. I'll PM this to you too, which should throw up a notification.

I fancy Tucker Gott!! OK that's a lie. The truth is I was mad keen on planes when I was a kid & I used to daydream about what it would be like to fly. Fast forward a few years, in my teens, I was flicking through an aviation magazine one day & saw an article on Paramotoring & it caught my imagination big time. That thought never really went away. I then moved to a job in Pirbright in 2010 & a Paramotor flew right over me one day. Time, circumstances & money were right & I went straight onto Google & found that there was a school that was only 10 minutes away. I signed up straight away & was flying 6 months later. Never looked back & still love flying now as much as I did then!

Where abouts in Somerset are you Wanstronian?

Clearly Bristol isn't viable to fly, but there were a fair few active pilots who flew in the surrounding areas (mainly around Bath). I haven't lived in the area for a while, but I'm sure many of them are still around. Good bunch of lads & I'm sure they'll be happy to chat about flying in the area & maybe show you some kit.

Jacques, i haven't been here for a while so I've only just seen this post. I work in Blandford & plan to fly as soon as the weather lets me. Happy to meet up for a chat. PM me if you're still interested. Phil

Hmm. Brown wings, red wings & now Paramotor wings. Sounds like a great wing collection!

Steve, I think I may be one of the Paramotors you see over Somerton as I am local. A mate who is just outside Long Sutton who flies a fair bit too. Happy to meet up & have a chat about flying if you want to.

Si, Happy for you to pass on my details if he wants somebody to fly with him once he's finished training. Who is it BTW (I'm assuming he's in the same line of work as me)?

Wesley, I'm guessing you're at the top of Black lane in Blandford? If so I will be arriving mid December & plan to fly from there. PM me if you fancy a chat - happy to talk about flying, Paramotors etc. There is somebody else there too who is looking to fly soon!

Had another flight on the Maverick, with a friend. This time I tried out my new mic setup for some in flight chat, seems to work OK!

Give me reliability any day! That's why I now own a Moster (with a shroud, but no temp gauge, so I have no idea if it makes much difference).

Thanks for the link Alan, The linked video makes a lot of sense & I would recommend following his advice. An alternative, that Parajet use (& is incorporated onto the Maverick & I'm assuming all other models too), is to attach the throttle cable to the swing arm with velcro. This prevents it from physically being able to move back through the cage. In my video I have not re-attached the velcro as It was preventing me from showing the fitted cable fully. I'll try to get a photo uploaded later today to show what I'm trying to explain more clearly.

This in my second attempt at a Vlog. This time it's much shorter at 6 minutes & I have sorted the sound out! I plan to do a number of these shorter videos covering fuelling, how I transport my Paramotor, pre flights etc etc. If you feel these are useful then please let me know, along with suggestions for other topics you want me to cover. Here we go...

Aidi, I have another video in the pipeline which hopefully will be useful to you. I am just in the process of modding my towbar rack to carry the Maverick (it worked great with the Bulldog). I plan to discuss in a bit more detail the methods I have tried & why they were good or bad.

I thought I would give the vlogging thing a try as I have just received my new Paramotor & I saw an opportunity to fill a gap in the UK regarding info on Paramotors & flying in general. It's a bit of a shakey start, I'm already finding out that it isn't as easy as it looks. I have got lots of ideas for improvements & ideas for more videos, including a mini 5 minute series of video's on things like how I transport the Paramotor. Mixing, storing & carrying fuel, etc. Happy to hear feedback on how to improve the videos & suggestions for anything else people want me to cover...

Where abouts in Dorset are you?

@ Dave M: I live close to Glastonbury, in fact I flew over there a few weeks ago with a mate. Once you're trained up & flying then give me a shout & we'll get some flying in!

Talented chick, she can control a reserve & smuggle peanuts at the same time!

I had a Bak Rak for my car whilst I was in Cyprus. They're cheaper, stronger & a bit smaller than the Thule 949's. I have just bought another Bak Rak off eBay, now I'm back in the UK. I'm planning to make a copy of what I was using before. I have just rubbed it down & given it an undercoat, I'll post a few more photo's when it's done in a couple of days. There is also a stainless version if you're richer than me! I used a couple of spare glider lines to tie the props before, but I'll probably just take the prop off in the future as it takes 2 minutes to put it back on & I've already saved a load of time by turning up with a 95% assembled, fuelled up Paramotor!

Well I can't even fly yet & I'm interested! I have every intention (&, finally, the money) to learn in Oct, when I get back from working overseas. I started to look into paramotoring years ago and have not managed to shake off the feeling that it would be an awesome thing to do. The main thing that interests me is the social side of things and also it seems like a great opportunity to build up some serious air time & learn a lot from more experienced pilots. IMHO the race aspect would probably detract from that so the fact this seems to be leaning towards a chilled holiday type thing appeals.

Well I can't even fly yet & I'm interested! I have every intention (&, finally, the money) to learn in Oct, when I get back from working overseas. I started to look into paramotoring years ago and have not managed to shake off the feeling that it would be an awesome thing to do. The main thing that interests me is the social side of things and also it seems like a great opportunity to build up some serious air time & learn a lot from more experienced pilots. IMHO the race aspect would probably detract from that so the fact this seems to be leaning towards a chilled holiday type thing appeals.

Thanks for the replies. We've just arrived here. I've tried to complete my EP (twice) but didn't get much air time due to bad weather. I've had my own wing for a while, which I've practised GH with. Am becoming a little frustrated at the lack of progress in the UK hence tying in learning to paramotor with working out here. Will look into PG & PPG schools in the local area, now I've got some ideas where to start, and see who looks good.

We're off to Ridgecrest, California. If you know anyone in the area that would be great. I was just seeing if this was a viable plan - looks like it is so I think I've just found something to do at the weekends!

First of all this is the first time I've posted here so Hello to everyone. This might seem a strange question but I've been wanting to take up paramotoring for years but have never had the money to do anything about it until now. Problem is I'm off to America to work for a couple of months and was tinkering with the idea of learning out there, taking advantage of their better weather. Is it worth me doing this or will the American qualification mean nothing when I return to the UK?? Cheers

First of all this is the first time I've posted here so Hello to everyone. This might seem a strange question but I've been wanting to take up paramotoring for years but have never had the money to do anything about it until now. Problem is I'm off to America to work for a couple of months and was tinkering with the idea of learning out there, taking advantage of their better weather. Is it worth me doing this or will the American qualification mean nothing when I return to the UK?? Cheers