Spinal

Hi M,

I can give you loads of advice regarding flying a paramotor over the Sahara to Timbuktu as I have done it

Call any time.

SW

Given that I work/study weird hours... 'anytime' puts you at risk of getting a call at 3am in the morning

I may give you a call tomorrow though; at a reasonable time...

Looks like training is going to cost me £800... Assuming the kit is portable enough to lug it down and then back up in a suitcase, I'll also need to save up for the kit before the desert... tough times ahead!

New kit I should be looking at £5K; but I can't seem to get an idea as to what second hand kit will cost... I think 2k may do it on a budget (I'm hoping)... Flying suit, helmet, shoes, and clothing I don't need to worry about as I can use my bike gear (bike as in motorbike), and for warmer weather I have some pretty heavy duty overalls which should do the trick....

Big bills ahead... oh well, at least this looks like it'll be a new and fun way to almost get killed!

M.

Hello! I'm Michele, 24 and study in Oxford (but work full time in London to pay the bills... not easy). I joined the AA...

Oh wait, wrong intro...

Anyhow, I'm Michele (Italian for Michael, not Michelle... hence, I am a guy not a dame).

While browsing the net on a particularly busy day of procrastination, I found pictures of what looked like a guy with a large fan on his back, and since then I've been reading everything I could about it!

I still need to complete my profile, but I live in Uxbridge and am looking for somewhere to learn... budget & time being my biggest constraints (like most people I assume)...

I'm driving from Lands End to Timbuktu (yes, on the other side of the Sahara) in December as part of a charity event, and was considering dragging a paramotor with me... but need some advice;

* how "feasible" is it to take pictures while flying? Are your hands engaged all the time?

* how fast (relative ground speed) would be considered average? Would I be able to keep up with a car (well, my car...)

* how heavy is a setup? Would I be able to disasemble it and put it in a suitcase (flying back from Bamako, our car goes to charity after the event)

None of these are deal-breakers, I would still be interested in learning - but if I can't bring it to the desert it means that I have more time to save up for the kit!

Anyhow, that's the end of my overly long and chatty hello.

M.