christian

Hi Fix. We swapped emails before you left for England. How does flying in England compare to flying in the Midi Pyrenees? What's good and what's not so good? Christian

Miniwing, there is a very good user group on Yahoo. There are several very knowledgeable people from all over the world and I have never had to wait more than 24 hrs for quality responses. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/top80/info Miniplane Ireland are good and quick for parts. Fly safe, Christian

I fly in France where wing registration is mandatory. It's a bit of a non-issue, it's neither expensive, nor complicated and if it stops me being blamed for another's foolishness, then that's great. ..........but any creeping bureaucracy is best resisted. Christian

http://carte.f-aero.fr/carte-aero-v2/ and you can find NOTAMs here........... http://www.sia.aviation-civile.gouv.fr/asp/frameset_fr.asp?m=39

Thanks for getting back to me....... Not sure whether the radios work in the air when the motors are not running. I can't see why they wouldn't as they have tested fine on the ground, we are also flying Miniplanes, so not much in the way of wiring. Anyway, I will try this out the next time that we are up.........but the weather's not looking good for the next few days. I an using an NGK B9ES. Christian

A friend and I have Midland G7 radios. The radios work fine on the ground, but are almost useless in the air. Reception is broken up or non existent. I have attached my G7 on the paramotor frame to be as far as possible from the motor and on the opposite side to the throttle cable. Has anybody got any ideas to get these radios working? Thanks, Christian

It's ironic, Andrew and I are good mates, 95% of my flying is with him. And as far as he is concerned, I am his flying bitch. Sony HDR-AS30V. Very happy with it, good results and simple, clear menus. Christian

Put some names to those smiling faces.

[youtubevideo]www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnkkXMBddlc[/youtubevideo]

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I often stop and start my Top80 in fight, no problem at all. Simon's right about the carb and have you thought about the bungee cord modification? It's like a primitive 'flash starter' and it makes it easier to reach. Christian

There is a brilliant Yahoo group just for the Top80 engine. You will get a pretty much instant reply from some very knowledgeable people all over the world. I think that this is the link.... https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/top80/info It's one of the many good reasons to have a Top80. If ever I have a problem, it's the first place that I go. Fly safe, Christian

Great photos Xavier. I learned to fly at Sarriac and sometime meet up with the Haricots Tarbaises. I have sent you a private message. Christian

Try Paul Mahony in Provence. I did a few days training with him and he's very thorough. His courses are BHPA courses and you can use his equipment. http://www.mahonyaviation.com/ That is assuming that you want a course in English, leading to a British qualification. If you have no interest in the paperwork and speak French I could dig you up a list of French schools. Let me know. Good luck, Christian

Paul, you say.. IMHO it would be better if you did it the other way around and bought a new motor and a second hand wing. If you buy a good motor there is no reason that it should'nt do you for several years. On the other hand, if you get a nice calm wing to start on, which is a good idea, then you will probably grow out of it in a year or so. Just my opinion, good luck, Christian

Bloody Hell, that was quick! and soooooooo much better. Thanks. Christian

Any chance of getting rid of the old or irrelevant stickies? Thanks, Christian

E-Props http://www.e-props.fr have got a good deal on for props ordered before the end of the year. €299 instead of €350. They speak English and there is a good English version of their website. I have no connection with E-Props, other than I have just taken advantage of the offer myself. And if my wife asks, it was €150, OK? Happy Christmas, Christian

parachutes?.............bunch of pussies.

Thanks for the suggestions. Christian

I am hoping to go to northern Spain next week for a couple of days flying. Does anybody know where I can find Spanish air maps online? Also if anybody has experience of flying in Spain and could pass on any necessary ‘dos and don’ts’, I would be grateful. Thanks, Christian

http://www.trikebuggy.com/othertrikes/ The Flat Top one is a favourite.

I read in one of my French text books that that France, which is regulated, has about double the accident rate of the UK.

I didn’t say that I am for regulation, I am not. I feel strongly that any given situation can and will be made worse by the involvement of a bureaucrat, lawyer or politician. And your point against ‘only the guilty having anything to fear’ is one with which I totally agree. However because I live in France I have no choice but to fly under regulation and I wanted to point out that is not as terrible as is sometimes implied, I feel no loss of freedom. There are even one or two advantages. I suspect that that British paramotoring will be regulated in the end. There will be some official out there looking to build himself a little empire and then an incident will give him his excuse. The trick will be in getting pilots involved before the bureaucrats come up with their hare brained schemes. Regulation in France is not too bad (yes, there’s plenty of lunacy), but Germany and Switzerland is another matter altogether. Christian

This will not be a popular view. I fly in France where paramotoring is regulated and we have to have registration numbers on our wings. Despite France's deserved reputation for bureaucracy I have not found regulation an imposition. One of the biggest advantages is that when a pilot misbehaves, because he/she is easily identified, they damn only themselves and not the whole paramotor community. The other advantage is that you know that everybody on a field has at least achieved a minimum level of training. That said, I am told that unregistered wings & unlicensed pilots are not uncommon. ............I'll get my coat.