Farmer_Dave

Craigs I do have a 15 year old dhv 2 here if you want a difficult wing to cut your teeth on. Drop me a line if you want to try it. 50 quid plus postage or I'll turn it into windsocks Dave

Hi David Didn't realize you lived so close. My last unit had fuel tank and reserve pushed to the left to counter torque. I also had a slight left turn when coming in to land. Straighten it out by using weightshift if you can, then you'll have all your braking left for the flare Re. engine running / or not for landing.....Once you know for sure that you are on target to hit your desired landing spot, I believe most pilots killl their motor. You would only really need to leave it running if you intended performing a power landing Dave

Lightest unit I had on my back was the top 80 miniplane. 18 kgs with good thrust 130 cm prop. Have to land on yer feet Second lightest I had on my back is my Moster Flat Top. 24.5 kgs. Forget that though. Too expensive ! Third lightest was the Walkerjet Spider with solo 210 engine. 25 kgs. Would withstand learner knocks really well without breaking props. £ 1200 if my mate still has it. Hardly flown 3 hours. Good for up to 14 stone but no more.

Strikes me that the person searching for these chaps, must be a flyer too. Quoting their approx height above sea level rather than AGL. Google earth gives Burghfield village @ 60 metres ASL.

Quite agree Simon. Training can overcome some hurdles. But an easier wing to launch is still an easier wing to launch, which has potential for more airtime for learners. One might also be right to give difficult wings for training, in the hope that they develop better skills, with a potential disadvantage of more failed launches / stumbles / broken props etc. No, I didn't mention reflex, Mark. Just easy launching wings, compared with anything else. No commercial interest in any wing/motor. But willing to share some of my experiences good/ bad over the last 5 years. Now which one of you is right about the Synth ? I launched one once and thought it was a relatively easy forward launch. Never owned or sold one. Dave

And sometimes, you can launch an easy wing, go flying out and back for 10 slowish miles at 23 mph. And returning to the T O field, you find your mate, with his superfast wing, wringing wet, and so is he, because he's sweating like a rapist, and never got off the ground

@ PETE B love it. "when you get back to your car, give yourself a good telling off and don't do it again" Did that alot years ago. It's called a steep learning curve! Dave

On the other hand, if you can pick up a smallish, old pants wing for next to nothing, rob, and make sure it's a twitchy, sporty type, by the time you've saved enough for good flying gear, you'll be a groundhandling king. Which is a large part of the battle IMO

rob999 You buy my Flat Top Ninja please. You can have it for reasonable money I want the Zenith !

Sorry Si. That's the trouble with text. BTW, I was as chilled as a chilly thing when I delivered that reply Dave x

Simon I would hope it's not like that across the country. It's certainly not like that here in Devon now. Most of us PPGers belong to the local BHPA club to gain knowledge and share good times. Some of them have even bought motors after letting us entertain them at our barbeque after they've been towing and winching. Any apartide (sp) melted away long ago. The tree huggers have now accepted that they probably use just as much petrol, looking for the right hill to fly from, as we do actually flying. And we accept that the flyable hills are sacred and do as much as possible to make sure we get to keep them. eg. Don't go near with motors, atleast when free flyable. I like free flying too but motor mainly. If there is still the odd remark, or a little jealousy, it's only because we get more available airtime with a motor. But we remain united by flying. More wings and motors sold and more conversion courses bought. Good all round really. So whilst I see what you're saying, I can honestly say, It doesn't have to be that way

Malin. My apologies. I didn't know you had an instructor amongst you. Let me know if that's right because I have been asked more than once, where to get instruction in Devon. As for the club atmosphere, I totally agree. I belong to the Devon and Somerset Condors. Primarily freeflyers but about 6 PPG pilots mixed in. Great for the annual photo comp. They know when it's a PPG photo ) We make sure it's a shot they couldn't get without a motor. Just to keep that small amount of jealousy running ! Be great to meet up soon and fly. Thanks for the invite. Dave

Did he remove your comment Gordon ? Couldn't find it. His utube name suggests he's goding the authorities. And Dell perhaps ? LOL Someone know who it is ?

Not sure there is much going on in Devon. We're mostly free flyers that converted ourselves. I personally took a trip to Spain and paid about £600 . That gave me 3 short flights totalling less than 10 mins airtime. My free flying training holiday in the Alps yielded 45 mins on my second ever flight. Based on that, I would recommend Graham Phypps in Cornwall. Very talented chap they tell me. ps. I've left my number in your inbox if you need it

I cant tell you wether a broken ankle hurts, Si. Never broken one, but will give you odds of 10 to 1 that it does. And I'd describe a person with a broken ankle as being injured. On the second point. I can only tell you what I have learnt about procedure. Your students should be up on this stuff too. I wouldn't know (or like to predict) wether the police (or other authorities) will follow it to the letter though

In our BHPA pilot exam lectures, I think we were told that the police are called first, if there is a flying accident. The police then contact the CAA and/or the AAIB.

Wow.....that's what I call a deterent !

Very true Alan. The Germans make them. We English gold plate them. Spanish break them and the Italians don't even read them. (rules) But the minority have felt this would happen sooner or later. Easy to say "it wont happen, the CAA have got bigger fish to fry. They won't bother with us." Now let me think. Who said that ? Any takers ?

Mate of mine gets sickness occasionally. Spirals make me queezy but I'm a Wuss )

What do you consider to be "light enough" for a top 80 Gordon ? I flew one at 16 stone with a small apco thrust. A surprising motor with a 130 prop I do say. Flat Top ? You probably wont need that much power but the slightly tamer Moster Ninja is lighter by 4 kilos under the 200 Simonini model@24.5 kilos. I've had both since 2008 and never broke a prop. They do keep you guarded from the prop very well !!!! Try one first. UKPPG (Nigel) has a demo I think. If you like it, you probably wont worry about where it comes from or who makes it. Couple I've liked the look of lately are the Nirvana Instinct and the Parajet Zenith 200 Thor. So if you buy my Flat Top Ninja those are the 2 I'd spend your money on ! Good luck Dave

The main thing doing this is to know where the stall point on your glider is. Is this something you have found during experience or have you researched it? Lee Spot on as usual Pete ! I found my stall point whilst a foot off the ground, rapidly followed by the kill switch and a few steps back til the lines went slack. (5-6 mph headwind) Lee. I felt the need to learn this technique after a few "dumpy" landings, whilst pretty thermic. An hour with a good instructor well spent. Even with 100 hours logged. And it really is fun when you get it right. You can get some very gentle touchdowns. But as Pete said, it is crucial to find your stall point, safely. NOT when you're 40 feet high.

Ditto the comments from Steve above re free flying techniques but with a motor. But as we now have a motor, why not learn power landings ? It was one move that revolutionized my flying. You must first learn where the kill switch is and/or be able to keep the wing above your head. And have a good instructor for a few hours. Once mastered it can make more of your landings predictable. Not forgetting the equally important engine out practice landings of course.

Dan Not a bigger wing needed. A really efficient wing is what you want for high climb rates. I was surprised when you said the revo 2 sink rate was 500 ft/min. Your poor little motor must've worked hard. My Atis 2 sink rate was only 260 ft/min and with a 200 Simmo and me @16 stone I climbed at 575ft/min in still air. Trimmer settings made little difference. Half throttle was still getting me up at about 350ft/min. Will pm you a youtube link At your weight try a medium or small Atis or a Nova Mentor . Think the Mentor is about 9/1glide and ENB Dave

Tim A good indicator of how flying conditions will be, is to watch the windsock. If it's moving through 90 degrees or more, it would indicate stronger thermals. Ground handle the wing for 10 minutes if you have a breeze. If it's difficult to keep above your head, that would be another pointer. Damp ground plus brilliant sunshine = arse kicking. Could get lively about 9.30 am in my experience. (June) Fly in the evening to be sure of gentle conditions. A good paragliding instructor will teach you how to thermal. Dave

Not only fast Richard. Almost 10 to one glide aswell. And even a couple of ENB wings with well over 50 kmh, 10/1 glide AND safety !!! Fit trimmers for 60 kph and chuck some of the safety if you want to. We're spoilt compared to some of the dogs of yesteryear. I sat infront of my mate on his revo for miles and miles with atis 2 with trimmers. Used less fuel , sporty handling, better glide, inspite of the extra 3 stone etc. No one believed it