nigel_d.

That has to be the finest example of utter bo**cks! Thank-you so much for posting it! Cheers Nige

Fully clothed for this cold weather I weigh 86 kilos, I have a 31 Nucleon and a V5. just lately I have been doing some fuel consumption tests for different speeds. It turns out that to fly with trimmers fully out I used 2.9 litres an hour and fully in 2.4. Also trimmed fast I'm doing 25.5 mph and about 21 trimmers in. Bit slow in comparison to heavier loaded wings. I'm in the bottom of my wings weight range, if I had a smaller wing to achieve greater speed does it follow that I would increase fuel consumption? It seems obvious to me that it would unless someone here could explain otherwise - perhaps a smaller wing would have less drag so as to balance it out maybe? My tests involve putting a measured amount in an empty tank and then after a timed flight empty the tank and measure the remains in a calibrated jug. I have heard various claims that seem too good to be true given the pilots weight and speed etc. - I wonder if such claims are based on the not-so-accurate tank tube/gauge as their basis. Thanks in advance Nige

A couple of us down here are set to play out, hoping the predicted cold temps dont spoil it too much. Nige

Sheep get it bad... frequently fleeced, occasionaly raped, usually end up murdered - and now this extra torment

Made me laugh Cheers Nige

No paramotor ever moaned at me or said I wasn't allowed out etc.

Yep Gary, stumbled on it by chance when after watching How it's made I wondered what Tony Hirst looked like so googled it and there it was in black and white. Wonder what other mind blowing trivia is yet to be found. The V5 did come indoors for a day but despite my best efforts with plastic bags and rubber bands on the air intake and breather I couldn't completely stop the petrol smell so the Missus said it had to live in the shed. Bitch

Tell me about it! It's worse for me - I have a lovely new V5 and only flown it once. Nige

I have a pap top80 with 125 carbon prop ( for sale as it happens) and I weigh 80 kilos. It flies my 31 Nucleon on fast trim at about half throttle doing 29 mph. On full throttle it climbs at about 130 ft/min. On full speed bar it can almost maintain level flight however on tickover it's a great rapid decent method, about 700 ft/min. Hope this helps Nige

Did you know that the guy who narrates "How it's made" is in Corrie? He's Eileen's boyfriend. How about that then! Nige

Hi Alan, had you considered noise cancelling electrets? If you werent aware they have openings on the back as well as front so as to cancel ambient sound to a degree. I have never experimented with them so dont know how effective they are. I have used a moving coil mic which is noise cancelling by way of similar symmetrical front and back porting which was an improvement over standard electret (although a single transistor amp stage was needed), however though air to ground is ok but air-air is just too noisy with the defenders we were using. Regards Nige

There has been a couple of occasions where a few feet of loo roll has been worth it's weight...

Coloured spots? Nah I'm gonna get some "remove before flight" ribbons for my prop covers etc. Nige

As I just mentioned on another forum, its worse for me - I have a gleaming new V5 and have only flown it once, I can polish its rocker cover only so many times. Nige

Tape a couple of neo magnets on the bar and fix a couple of bits of metal etc to the front edge of harness, Simples

Had 3 flights yesterday totalling just over an hour. 12 mph headwind above a few hundred wasnt ideal for distance but ok for local testing. Reaching the starter was only a problem if the handle moved to the side and sat flat against the cage but a cable tye around its frame attachment should see to that. Average fuel consumption was just under 3 litres an hour - a little more than I expected however that was with 3 take offs and climb outs etc, I'm sure on a steady xc it would be lots better. Handling was good with weight shift working well, the bars would move up and down a little with your weight shifting on the seat. The landing attitude (leaning back) concerned me on the first flight but is ok as long as the leg straps arent too tight. One thing with my old Pap was that there was a lot of outward tension on the arms if the chest strap was too loose, perhaps putting a strain on the pivot bolts etc. however there was only a light pressure with the V5, its attachments looking extremely sturdy in any case. Though manufacturers thrust claims are a sometimes dubious there is no doubt that the V5 is a good 10 kilos more than my Pap 1400 top80 with its 125 carbon prop. The extra acceleration at launch and quick lift-off is wonderful also I have no worries about running-in the engine because even moderate throttle settings are adequate for most flying. Setting up the speedbar might cause some concern as there is a shortage of guide rings for the rope resulting in long unguided lengths flapping around, maybe when the manual is published there might be something there I am not seeing. I wonder what any other owners have to say. Nige

So I imagine he's a big fella then? Cheers Teresa Nige

Would like to have seen the state of the paraglider after the cattle stomp. Nige

Good idea Alan. The guy with the synth, how heavy is he? I fly a 31 Nucleon and am at the bottom of the weight range so should be really sipping fuel. I only flew for about 3 minutes due to fog that wouldnt go away so quickly got bored and cold having to keep my car in sight. One thing I found by accident was having the leg straps a bit looser than I normally have them, it made my landing attitude more upright, rather than the leaning back too much which I experienced when I came in on my test flight. I was a little apprehensive as to the cutting out problem which affected the prototype, but mine seems to run confidently, hopefully whatever that was has been ironed out. The hooks on the frame for the hand controller seemed like a good idea but they are a bit fiddly to hook and unhook so I just do what I have always done, that is to latch it in the netting. Nige

79 kilos wet. I thought my Pap1400 top80 was a nice machine until I flew a V5, I would advise anyone not to try one unless you have a spare 5 and half grand - you won't be happy with your current machine afterwards. It has several nice touches and the build quality is very good however I find the pull starter is difficult to reach but I can think of a few easy alterations to fix this, that being my only niggle. The smoothness and quietness is an absolute joy particulary at level flight power. I also love the generous thrust and fuel efficiency although I haven't flown it for long enough to say how efficient it is. Just need a decent day now to give it a proper run. Nige

Am so glad, just spent half an hour writing all about my first flight on my v5, only to find the whole lot disappeared when I went to preview it. Does anyone have any questions they would like to ask instead? Nige

Very welcome Simon, I also trawl this site every day. Cheers Nige

The trouble with batteries is that they "contain" all of the fuel. With petrol engines you have two components to the fuel - 1/ petrol 2/ air The air is the biggest component but fortunately it is widely available everywhere so you only need to carry the petrol. I think battery/motor technology is already pretty amazing so it would have to take a big leap forward to match internal combustion engines because of the fore mentioned advantage. Am I right? Nige

Am expecting delivery of a v5 Wednesday. During the test flight it was the best machine I have flown. 3 previous machines were Pap 1400 top80, Pap 1100 solo210 and Rad MXL. Fingers crossed I dont smash it up! Nige

I have 40 hours on my Nucleon, cant wait to get rid of it. ........ No not really its a great wing!! Heres an observation I have made, it is no problem to launch in nill wind. Not all wings are like this. I once tried a wing I think it was a Revolution, (might be wrong) in nill wind. It would not rise higher than a few feet, I tried 4 times with varying technique but it was if I was trying to launch downwind. I immediately clipped back into the wing I had at the time and it came up perfect. I think some people may have only known "difficult" wings and dread nill wind launch attempts. I dont however look forward to nill wind landings on it, I havent fallen over yet but it is fast, might be theres a subtle technique I need to discover. Nige