flyingfergus

Hi Stu, I spent a week with Paul Haxby (AXB Sports) flying from a farm cottage holiday let NW from Criccieth (about 5 miles from Porthmadog). Its a brilliant place to fly & managed to fly over the top of Snowdon. Going again in September.

I researched flow meters & work with a company that uses these types of devices. I also spoke to Paul Bailey as I have a Bailey V4. Basically because of the pulsing of the fuel the accuracy is +/- 10% which is not accurate enough as far as I was concerned. In the end I bought a R series Sensor(see links below), & got Baileys to make me a bespoke rectangular tank with a fitting for the sesnor ( I changed form a V3 to a V4 so he didn't charge any extra). Let me worn you its not cheap but it depends what you want to prioritise on equipment. http://www.gillsensors.co.uk/content/RSeries.htm http://www.gillsensors.co.uk/content/gauge.htm Its very accurate & ignores the sloshing around on turns etc. Each light is 1/3 litre & I have landed plenty of times with no more than 100ml left in the tank. It doesn't enable you to see which is your most effecient flying rev / speed that an accurate flow meter would, but it gives me the information I need to know how far & how long I have left in the air.

Managed to grab an hour flight today to take a look at the snowy landscape. Low cloud drifted in off the Wash & made the last couple of miles interesting

Hi Dave, Sent you a pm about meeting up Sunday on my way down to Cornwall. Paul C

Surely its litres used per x miles on neutral trimmers / trimmers / trimmers + Speedsbar (& if you have a Speedster neutral Trimmers + Speedbar) will tell you which is your most effiecient setting for fuel consumption

It was blown up Sunday to stop paramotoring getting a bad name ( or was it so Tesco can continue to conquer the world and build another bl**dy great store ? ) Us locals will just have to revert to doing touch & go's on Holbeach bombing range tower

Had the same issue trying to access it from my saved favourites link. Got so fed up I decided to Google and enter the site from the Google address. Had no problems since so I wondered if something has changed on the navigation on their site. Best regards

Hi Meds, I have tried to PM you (currently in bar in Aberdeen train station) but not sure if it has sent. I get over to Market Drayton once a month. Would be great to bring my gear and go for a buzz one evening when the days are longer. I can't fly near Market Drayton due to RAF Tern Hill. How far are you from Market Draton ? Happy New Year

Bar humbug

Hate to ask the question after all your issues but why did you rule out the Bailey 200 (V4) You can't beat them for service & back up. I'm guessing they will do pretty well in the survey.

Hi Poz, How did I get my daughter interested ? Like this:- (Thats her on the front of the tandem)

I have posted an advert in the Kit For Sale section. Really good bargain for those new into the sport. regards Paul C

Reaction TST for sale. Yellow & black. For those new to the sport it has tip steering and is fully reflex. They are still sold new by Dudek for £2000 + Purchased in 2008, has done 117 hrs flying from my log book. Well looked after & checked annually by Aerofix. Has one patch done by aerofix but you can't see it. Dudek weight range 95-125kg ( include equipment: empty engine (without fuel), harness, wing and pilot itself) I am 90kg & fly a Bailey Happy to send it to Aerofix for check & letter of good order for a serious buyer. I am running out of space for my gear & need to get my daughter a training wing. £750 ono NOW SOLD

Has anyone got a Marlin training wing they are finished with & want to sell ? Don't fancy paying full new price but my daughters want to start ground handling so they can fly when they hit 16. If so PM me. Many Thanks Paul C

I've been for the last 4 years. Sadly it's got less paramotor stuff every year. I couldn't even get any heated leather gloves there last year. I'd be surprised if there's much more than Baileys's , Parajet & Ozee. Nothing to learn either. I will not be going. Save your money & go flying instead.

Just uploaded my 100th flight which was at Paul Haxby's fly in at Lord Stones the weekend before last. Sadly it was pretty windy and only a few of us went up late on the Saturday. The upside was my spot speed exceeded 100kph a few times on the return leg, my fastest ever. (The wing is Ozone Speedster 28). The link to the uploaded flight on connect garmin is below. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/1202 ... pSSqOiHIjo Has anyone done similar top "spot" speed

Hi Roy, I fly the V4 ( Bailey 200) but it is fitted with easy start system that enabled them to develop the V5. There are several out there but those who have them are not regular posters on this forum. They tend to post on the Yahoo paramotor forum so you could ask there. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PilotsPPGclubUK/ I have found the equipment & service back up from Baileys excellent. Delivery times for new paramotors can be several weeks due to their popularity. However they are always promt to deal with parts, service & breakages. I am firmly in the 4 stroke economy & smooth power camp. Baileys is only 1 hour away from home so also handy for running motor in for a service which also counts or a lot. best regards Fergus

Hi Morgy, I am one of the few who have a Speedster 28 so far. It is a joy to fly and I haven't found any characteristics of the wing in any conditions that I have not loved. I am purely a recreational pilot who likes X country, ground skimming & challenging myself on slalom. I have no affiliation or vested interest in any equipment supply. I guess the highest speeds will be achieved by those competitive pilots who fly the best combination of small wing x lightweight motor x max power. I will leave them to argue which combination is best. However from my experience the Speedster is among the fastest factory production wings. I was hoping to have gone head to head against a few other wings at some of the flyin's but the weather & work seem to have made that a bit challenging since I got it in August. From my own "fly before you buy tests" it was fater than the Fusion, Force & my Reaction. I fly a Bailey 200 with an all up weight 127kg. The Speedster 26 was a bit too small to give level flight on max power on max speed configeration (trimmers off + full speedbar), the 28 gives me +50ft/minute. I will do some circuits at the different settings and upload them to garminconnect so you can see speeds & glide ratio's for yourself. My only negative was I didn't like the speedbar supplied. The only way to adjust the length is to keep untying the line from the speedbar. The Dudek easy catch speedbar is still the best & can be adjusted in flight & so I use the one from my Reaction. best regards Flying Fergus

Sunday afternoon near the Wash was forecast for low winds, sunny spells & no rain showers untill late evening. Mid afternoon conditions looked ideal with some cotton wool clouds looked fun so went for a fly. After 30 minutes flight heading East to Kings Lynn I looked back to see the biggest black storm cloud with a column of rain heading for my take off site. Infront was blue sky, low tide, miles of empty beach, mud flats & exposed mussell beds. Thought process was keep going, by the time I get back the storm will have passed. Conditions were actually pretty smooth. The clouds were moving pretty slow & as I headed back the first storm had passed my landing site but a second would arrive about the same time as me. The only thing was this time the rain was accompanied by lightening ! Decided to follow the Wash round to get up wind of the 2nd storm and then tack East / West and follow the storm cloud as it headed South. Saw a couple more lightening forks in the cloud which made for some anxious times As soon as it cleraed I landed back at base after 2.5 hour flight (thank goodness for 4 strokes). The misses was gob smacked I hadn't crashed or landed out. Calmest dam storm conditions I have ever experienced.

Absolutely no wind at 7.00am on Thursday near the Wash. First true nil wind take off on the Speedster & it was a beaut. Came up first time nice & square. I was expecting to run like a maniac but a steady trot & dab on the brakes & up she went. Lengthened the tip steering lines since last time so I can hold brakes & tip steering together for slalom round the few fields of straw bails still around. Haven't got enough confidence yet to just use tip steering & throttle and leave brakes parked but I think this would be better option as wing turns on a sixpence with the tip steering. Coming in to land a couple of hours later after a 60 mile round trip revealed the windsock still had a severe case of brewers droop. Approach was fast but the Speedster flared nicely on landing and I was able to trot the energy off the wing & drop it nicely. I could never do that with my Reaction. Loving the Speedster more & more every time I fly it.

I don't fly the V5 but have the pleasure of the first V4 with the easy start system fitted (took delivery Nov 2010) which enabled Baileys to develop the V5. I am no mechanic but I believe the easy start principle is taken from 4 stroke motor bikes. The minute amount of oil that is expelled through the airbreather tube in the frame is because the oil recovery disc now has a slot cut in it to accomadate the easy start mechanism. Paul Bailey showed me when I first queried the oil coating in the frame. I just have to remeber not to put it on the wifes best carpet They don't noticably use any more oil than the the V4 without the easy start system. Done about 60 hours on my V4 with no isssues. If you like to cruise the sky for 3 hours on a 10 litre tank there is no competiton.

I'm not getting into fixed wing flying. Today a pilot of a light aircraft has sadly been killed close to where I live after hitting power lines & closing the A1. This is the 3rd light aricraft pilot to be killed in my local area in the last few years. Thats more fixed wing pilot deaths than the entire history of Paramotoring in the UK. http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news ... _1_3023847 TROLL

I personally do not feel that amount of run up before the lines go taught is necesary or safe. I have seen slack line sucked up & tangled in the prop. If you can achieve the same momentum as the lines go taught from just a couple of steps backwards then that would be my choice. I also fly a Bailey V4 which is heavy so that probably influnces me as well !

I am twenty minutes flying from UKPPG. Friday it rained all day bar a couple of hours in the afternoon ( when it looked like it might rain any minute). Saturday & Sunday have been bright but windy. They may have got flight in very early & very late for an hour. I've not seen anybody over my way & so I am tyding my garden. I am planning to fly over if the wind drops late Monday to show off my Speedster 28 but the best weather is forecast for Tuesday onwards. Poor old Nigel who runs UKPPG doesn't have a lot of luck with his August Bank Holiday fly ins. Last 3 years have been flying weather up until Friday, blowing a gale until late Mondday & beautiful on the Tuesday. I think the same happened when he was hosting PPG League comp. I don't bother planning any flying if I know Nigel has an event organised ! Fingers crossed for better weather.

Hi Meds, I had 175 for nearly 3 years till last November (now have V4). Definitely first get your motor checked over by Paul. I originally flew Mojo then moved to Reaction 28 for 2 years no problems. I tested the small Force and couldn't climb out well even on slow trim. Tried the Medium (29) and maintained level flight on fast trim but lost 150ft / minute on speedbar and would have had to go to the large Force but speeds would of course been slower. The 175 is probably underpowered by modern standards so I upgraded this first. I now have a Speedster 28 and this climbs virtually like for like to my Reaction 28 ( although not tested it properly on Speedber due to the poor configuration on the one provided). My experience would be that the combination you have is probably going to be a challenge on climb rate. Soz for the view but that's my experience.