neilc

Hi Colin,

I may attend..............what time are you getting there ?

Neil..

I do believe our very own Simon `live steam, spotter`westmore is at this very moment furiously beavering away in his garden shed. Polishing up the next revolution in steam power.

Colin B[/quote

I've seen one of Simon's Hornby steam engines that he's restoring........

So I'm sure he has some idea's...

Its been a bit quiet on the Kent side of things, I am assuming that was down to bad weather.

Well that has gone now and it can only get better?!!

Had my second flight out of my field (now dry) was going to attempt to fly out to circa QE2 bridge and have a good full on 2 hour flight but decided on an hour as it was mid day and the wind was changing direction a lot. All in all went well apart from a reverse launch that I almost lost but recovered and took off. The trimmers work well now that I have taken the slack out of them.

Lets hope this year is a good one. The French trip will be a good start to the year for me!

Mike

Hi Mike,

sounds like you had a nice flight!!.....

By the look of the weather it does'nt look like I'm going to get any more flight time before we go to France.... I'll have to settle for getting as much ground handling practise as I can in the next couple of weeks...

Neil..

Went into Town this afternoon to the North Face store in Covent Garden......

Got myself a Polar Flare sleeping bag . I got talking to a bloke in the store who's been on various mountain expeditions and has used this bag down to -35 degree's!! with no problems at all. He said he had to use thermals, but was toastie and warm, so should be plenty good enough in France!!

The bag compresses down nice and small, and as you can see in the pics, when in its sack is only as tall as a soft drinks bottle.

Nearly there with all my kit, roll on the 1st!!

Neil.. [attachment=5]DSC00315 (Small).JPG[/attachment][attachment=4]DSC00319 (Small).JPG[/attachment][attachment=3]DSC00320 (Small).JPG[/attachment][attachment=2]DSC00321 (Small).JPG[/attachment][attachment=1]DSC00322 (Small).JPG[/attachment][attachment=0]DSC00323 (Small).JPG[/attachment]

Hi Mike,

I think they may do the bag in a medium length..... My one's the long and it's got loads of room in it (I'm fairly large build - 5' 11" And 15 stone).

As regards the cost they're a bit pricey, I paid £400......I think you may be able to get one for a bit less on the net... I made a few phone calls, but most outlets don't stock them and have to order them in (4-6 week wait I was told!!). That's why I went direct to North Face.

Neil..

Neil, how much was it? Does it come in sizes i.e. medium / large?

I dont think we will be experiencing that type of cold............................gulp.....will we Simon?

Mike

Went into Town this afternoon to the North Face store in Covent Garden......

Got myself a Polar Flare sleeping bag . I got talking to a bloke in the store who's been on various mountain expeditions and has used this bag down to -35 degree's!! with no problems at all. He said he had to use thermals, but was toastie and warm, so should be plenty good enough in France!!

The bag compresses down nice and small, and as you can see in the pics, when in its sack is only as tall as a soft drinks bottle.

Nearly there with all my kit, roll on the 1st!!

Neil..

Hi Simon,

Possibly a silly question but do we need some sort of map holder for the route and will we be provided with paper route maps each day?

Getting really excited now.....

I think this is where the Gin flight deck will come in handy!!.......

Looks like great fun.........Until a car comes around one of those bends on the wrong side of the road..

great video and beautiful scenery!!

Neil..

Here is a link to a review from someone who has used it on Mt Everest.

http://www.everestnews.com/gear/thenort ... 072004.htm

WARNING!!! IF YOU READ THIS YOU WILL WANT ONE!!

SW

I didn't know the "Tundra" model existed!! I've been looking at other North Face bags and was considering the Solar Flare - RRP £400.... The -40 degree Tundra is around £325.

Hope you are all packing thermals..........looks cold according to the weather?!

Mike

And there was me thinking about getting a budget sleeping bag!!......

If it's going to be a bit nippy, I think I'll go for the all out/five season/duck down/Everest conquering one!!!

Hi Paul,

I'll be using a Garmin 495 GPS, with the iphone MotionX as back up....

I'm not sure about the suunto issue though....

Neil..

I am just off to Alton to pick up the personal kit boxes and some other things from the Skycar truck.

only 20 days left !!

SW

That's not long at all !!...........

Exactly. The Revo and the Synth are so good that you can buy one of these as your first wing and happily fly them right through to British Open standard and still be competitive! They will look after you and you might well find you never need to upgrade again (until a paramotor version of the bbhpp come out, mmmmm!!!).

Also don't forget that despite what I have written above there are still many training establishments that have kittens about anyone starting on a Synth or a Revo!

If not a Synth or Revo, what other wing could you start with that is more forgiving or stable for a beginner ?...........

Neil..

PM sent

I've got some HanWags - great support if a little hard to come by. I use them hiking and climbing too - but they are a tad heavy for constant use really.

Ben

I recently bought a pair of HanWags.....No problems with them so far, very supportive round the ankle, and comfortable too.

Neil..

Not sure about the Synthesis.....I have a Revolution 26....

I'm still learning and I've only had one flight, but the wing seems very stable and I know alot of schools teach with them.

Neil

The Cyclone looks like a lovely piece of kit........

I'd love one of those.......(better learn how to take off properly with my Macro first though!!.... )

Neil..

Another thing you can use is small electrical "P" type copper clips that are normally used to fix MICC cable (pyro). you can get these in either bare copper or pvc covered (red, orange, white and black are the common colours). They bend to shape very easily, and you can secure them using a short 4mm brass nut and bolt.

I've used these clips myself for a variety of jobs, including fixing a Scotoiler oil feed line to my motorbike swingarm.....They're very strong and effective!!

Neil

Brilliant video Mike!!.......Especially where you have the camera fixed to your wing, never seen that before. How was the camera attached ?........

Neil

Been up to my local Milletts camping store this afternoon and virtually everything's half price!!!.......

I got myself kitted out with all the neccesary utensils, but did'nt know what tent or sleeping bag to get.......

Anyone got any idea's as to what type and make to go for?.......I haven't got a clue with this part of the kit....The last time I camped out was 30 years ago with the Scouts!!

Neil

To all who are coming to France :-)

I have now almost completed the 'joining instructions' for want of a better word... for the France trip, you should have a PDF file to print off in the next day or two, with a time table, a suggested kit list, a must have kit list, and a few other bits of information.

I would ask that, everyone has paid the full amount BEFORE the 7th of March.

It's just around the corner now

SW

That's me all paid up!!.......

Not long to wait now.....

All those on the France trip...

Please could you PM me your UK passport number (if you hold one) your address, and your wing and motor type and your current hours.

Thanks!

SW

PM sent......

I'm just hoping the weather's going to be kind in the next few weeks so I can get some flying practise in!!!!!........

Otherwise France for me could be.........

Neil..