Farmer_Dave

Very glad you didn't get hurt more than you did Grassy. I always say try to imagine a prop is a circular saw blade. People treat them a bit differently then. It's no. 1 rule that we only start them on our backs at our fly in as there is usually a friend to give you a hand  anyway. I'm not even going to check that mine fires before I put it on my back anymore. Mine is easy to start with one pull anyway, so even if I am alone I can crack it every time

ps. I still have my pressure guage too

Alright Dave

Mine wasn't the Evo but I clocked 150 hours with my mini 2. It wasn't fussy with oil. I ran a semi synthetic chainsaw oil (Huskvarna) and a Morris's synthetic to finish with. Ran at 33/1 40/1 and 50/ 1. Never seized or got too hot. Ran it so lean on the low jet that it bogged down on pick up and had to be nursed up the revs or it died. Huge economy and still no probs. 3.3 litres an hour cruising around with my mates. But a few did melt holes in their pistons. One in ten was quoted. I ran the carb at a pop off pressure of about 13 psi with a blow of of about 20 psi. I still suspect that the ones that had problems were set at a high pop off pressure where the engine was demanding more fuel which wasn't available so they went lean. I maybe wrong but mine seemed quite indestructable. I have a spare carb and starter here. Give us a shout if you want me to see it running and go for a fly. 'Bout time eh ?

Dave

I always fancied a fourstroke but didn't fancy the drop in thrust from the 70 to 80 kg thrust that I 've had in the past. Whilst on holiday, in Cornwall, Whitters kindly let me have a fly of his v5 from the beach near Falmouth. I used my small Nova Mentor and I weigh over 15 stone. Got off no trouble. About 2 litres an hour burn rate. Scanned the ads for a s/hand v5 and bought one a month later. I concur with what Richard said. Spot on.

Fly before you buy

Some motors are fairly quiet and don't use much fuel

You can thermal with a motor if your wing is good for it

If you bomb out you can power up for another go without power and ad infinitum

So if you have a motor it is easier to practice than the poor sods who only have a hill and numerous cars dotted around. No excuses

Next on my hit list. More to keep warm than about aerodynamics though. But if I kill two birds with one stone, so much the better

How about a section for flying sites that are available to share with friends to meet and fly so that people planning a holiday have somewhere to go knowing that they will be able to fly when they get there and B&B near by with phone numbers so they can book. I've often seen messages from people searching for sites when they are coming to Devon and Cornwall on the off chance

I need to use my glasses Simon.....Thought your title was "Paramotor Girls".....doh !

Fuzzy

If you buy a motor that you can start easily whilst on your back the strength of the netting isn't quite as big an issue. I'll grant you the FT is strong in that department. But the center frames break at about 100 hours and can't be repaired.

If you learn to land on your feet gracefully and with pride you don't need the sledge bit. If you don't fly over water you probably won't need the quick release harness. I did like the concept but on the flat top with the wide bars for more weightshift, I have to say it was a bit like sitting in the middle of a park bench (with no mates) and you could slide to one side and get pulled up sideways in the thermals, accidentally weight shifting, often to the wrong side, and trying to keep the other side of the wing inflated using brake pressure. "Too much Fun huh?"Nicer to be strapped in snugly.

If I had a flying school, I have to admit I'd use a Flat Top to teach the first flights and get the learner mistakes done without too much carnage. Once out of school treat yourself to a Bulldog, Bailey, Parajet or other machine of your choice and don't get sucked in by too much hype. Go try a few !

Stevie may have a point Fix. Perhaps we should present some material to the BHPA mag with regard to last weekend when we converged on Spencers house and drank his coffee and scoffed his doughnuts. It was a very good day afterall ???? I do have to agree . For the proportion of motor flyers to free flyers we do seem to pay for more than we are getting. And I bust a free flyers cherry when I got home from meeting with you Fix......! And he liked it ...! With a motor that is Dave

Would it make any difference if there were more than a thousand people gathered by the river to spectate ?

I came from learning free flight and had 4 low hang motors. Now fly high points and get on fine . Launch is a bit different but thermalling in strong conditions is much better and more stable. I had confidence broken by frames cracking and it's nice to know that you can land with a nice harness even if all the metal broke and fell to earth with the motor. It's a very personal choice based on experience

I know they make them but not where to buy.

Basically need trimmers for more speed and shorter than stock preferably 2 hook in options so I can bring my brake handles down to a more comfortable position.

It thermals well and I've overshot most of my landings so far !

Thanks in advance

Dave

It's on Facebook as the Fresh Breeze fly in. I don't mind if some of you would like to come along

There's a bloody great Green "H" in the fields we'll be using (just in case anyone arrives by helicopter.....cough)

Couple of safety rules in advance. No starting motors whilst not strapped into the harness. And no starting motors if not going flying. Plenty of folk around to help

david.govier@btinternet.com drop me a line for directions

Tried changing the spark plug Paul ? And get the timing checked if you have pre-ignition. Last resort to take it apart. If the plug, timing, and fuel mixture, and good fuel are all right I find it hard to imagine it would coke up. There might even be a fuel additive that could help avoid a strip down

Dave

I find that the older one gets, the shorter the take offs become. There is a limit. It's called the stall point. There is virtue in building speed before leaving the ground though.

Can't defend her actions mate. Perhaps she got you mixed up with that nut job in Utah that was caught kicking owls

Flying Frenzy in Dorset are good for wing skill. But they don't motor. Think Phyppsy in Cornwall motors and Whitters motors and is qualified but not sure if he teaches. Tiz ard.

Probably best give us a ring. Left number in your in box

Pleased with mine Simon. Can be a bit hard to pull start on your back if left for a month or more but once run it's ok for in air re starts and all. Not quite as much power as the mighty Simmo 200 and a bit thirstier but 5 kgs less is nice

A lot of people have had trouble with those engines running hot and not been able to get pistons for ages. Coating on the barrel / bore has worn badly on some eg. 25 hours run time. My frame was a walkerjet one model before the one pictured. The guy who bought it from me said it cracked badly by the engine mounting plate. It was fairly powerfull and noisy. Exhaust port studs needed tightening every flight so I guess they were stretching. That figured as I heard another Flt 200 owner was drilling out broken studs. My next engine was a lot better. Simonini 200 spinning a 130 prop. More power and economy and longevity if a tad heavier. IMHO

Too windy here chummer. Just right for picking veggies for those hungry Londoners. But if you are rushing to be the first to fly......just be safe too

A guy near me brought his new v3 round to do a hang test. Very impressive it was. Looked very strong. Easy to assemble. 2 minutes. And sounded good with the Polini 200 motor. I hope he lets me fly it next time

Quite right about the take off weight Pete. Very often over looked. I love the Bailey 4 stroke motor. If I wasn't 98 kilos I would be tempted. The extra 15 kilos of thrust gives me options

I needed a unit to re-instate my confidence after my last one snapped in to 2 pieces. I didn't want anything that could crack and potentially send me into a spiral dive.

The Bulldog has answered this very well. Easy to prime and start on your back. Stability in strong thermals whilst there is still enough weight shift to make gentle turns on XC. Comfy adjustable harness. Only one niggle for me was the frame could've been a tad bigger so I could spin a 130 prop but I still get about 450 ft/min climb and approx 4-5 ltrs/hour burn. I've a hunch that customer service would be good but haven't had to ring him yet

Alas. I've let my career stop me for the last 5 years. But the time has arrived. We're a long time dead