alan_k

Having gained a little height, as you said, I would have retrieved the throttle. The question is how much height did you go to? Given the circumstance I think I would have gone to 1000 feet to give a 500 foot buffer before wanting the brakes in my hands again, preferably with the throttle also.

Mr Mildew (?) wasn't paying attention. The machines were weighed without their respective cages, then re-weighed complete, with Giles for ballast . Who's stupid now?

Excellent Andy. It's so nice when we can just slot in to the CTR in a safe and controller friendly manner. Enjoy, there are a few that are possibly jealous of your new found 'private airstrip'

Very honest report Rich, respect for that. Treat every flight as a learning opportunity and you have had a full learning experience with this one. I think I would have landed out as I do consider myself a cautious flyer but given the pressure I'm not sure.

Thanks to Geoff keeping an eagle eye on the weather in Cornwall, he spied a great couple of days on Saturday and Sunday. So a plan was hatched for a weekend away, a bit of a trek from the West Midlands. Was it worth it? Hell yes! Many thanks for the hospitality of Davidstow Flying Club, details here for visiting pilots: https://davidstowflyingclub.org/visiting-pilots2/ We traveled down on Friday morning, setting off just after 6:00 and had a good run for 1/3 of the way until 5th gear failed in the motorhome. It decided it just didn't want to play so we continued the journey in 4th gear at a slower pace . We arrived at Davidstow at about 11:30 and set up camp after checking in with John (the Chairman of the club) in the clubhouse. It turned out that we shouldn't really have camped where we did but we will know for next time. The crew: Friday afternoon and evening were blown out but the forecast for Saturday and Sunday was superb. The airfield is at 1000 feet above sea level with so much space around it with the coast within easy reach to the west and Bodmin moor to the east. Geoff and I had two flights on the Saturday morning, one at about 8:00 and the second at about 10:00. It was my first ever time coastal flying, plus cloud hopping, it was superb. We both had a third flight later but Geoff was so keen when he saw Tony in the air that he went before dinner whereas I waited until afterwards. We were joking on the radio that everything would have been eaten before Geoff got back. Once I had flown Saturday evening turned into a long one with much mirth and merriment, just like the best fly-ins. We all got up a bit later on the Sunday but the weather was even better, so this time we both flew inland over Bodmin moor. The views from 1800 feet were epic with both coastlines in view, plus it was really smooth above 800 feet. Unfortunately we had to land eventually for a brunch fry up. Here is a contented pilot in his element post flight: Geoff had to be back at work on Monday so we packed up and returned on Sunday afternoon, myself at a slower pace in 4th gear. Fantastic weekend.

Well done Andy.

There'a always one You use a zero G cup, using surface tension. (Had to look it up )

Interesting stuff Mark, not sure I would have waited until 60% load test. I do have a ReAction that has 318 hours on it and came back from the factory with a 'Very Good' report, however it is now in the slow category so will probably never be flown again.

I believe it was originally a sealed lead acid battery that fitted in there. I think it was 12V at about 4Ah from memory.

Motors and wings particularly have come on in leaps and bounds. For a newbie wing they are easier to launch and more forgiving than a few years ago. I have bough both my serious wings 2nd hand, the last one with 20 hours for £2K. Anything with 20-30 hours should still be virtually as good as new and by the time you have put 100 hours on it you will be looking to upgrade probably. Wings should last 400-500 hours or more if looked after however I don't know of anyone flying one continuously for that period. There is lots and lots to learn so make sure you get on with your instructor. Have you got any of the PPG books to start with?

Class, made me chuckle.

You can just make one up Andy., as long as it is understood and isn't duplicated in your area. Giles Fowler uses Golf Foxtrot 22, that's his initials followed by the size of his wing. I use my lapsed French registration, only because I can remember it.

That's an excellent price for an almost new condition motor. If I didn't already have one I would be all over this.

Somewhere between 143.7 and 144 is usual.

Dudek Solo. Not flown one but impressed by the reports by pilots that have. I fly a Report'Air and notice the Solo has a slower min speed. See if you can try one out.

You are ideally based for CMParamotors, Clive Mason Paramotors. http://www.cmparamotors.com/index.php/training Clive is one of the best, go for it!

It's the Microlight and Gyrocopter FRTOL course. Andy is an excellent tutor, this was the course I took. If you do book up tell him you are a PPG pilot.

I use the upper loop on the left hand riser, works well enough.

Same for me within Halfpenny Green ATZ. As long as they can contact you and you can hear what is happening with the other traffic they are happy. I rarely enter the ATZ nowadays but always contact ATC because I am close to the airport and awareness on both sides is increased safety.

Pedant mode fully accepted Useful information Chris, thanks.

Here is a portable transponder https://www.flightstore.co.uk/pilot-supplies-c1/skyecho-2-portable-ads-b-transceiver-p12386/s21382?cid=GBP&gclid=Cj0KCQjwz4z3BRCgARIsAES_OVc1Rs8yh9exVFfugh8jaBnam1WsxggXvpOyKD8seCzCAAlsQ-DyXc4aAqw6EALw_wcB

'apart from that it was lovely', that made me grin. Unfortunately we all have off days, was at the field on Monday, wind was twitching around then dropped to almost nothing. OK I thought go for a nil wind launch, a gust caught me and took the wing sideways. Hit the kill switch but was rolled sideways and ended up with a distorted cage quarter. Oh well.

Just make yourself a 'sculpture' to remind yourself not to screw up again.

I have my phone fitted with a lanyard on its aftermarket case. I wouldn't fly with anything without a lanyard. I also have a battery bank to extend run time, cold conditions really shorten battery life. Try EasyVFR basic on your phone. It is free and updates airspace regularly and provides notam coverage.

Very nice Andy. That's a good wide wheelbase!