peter_6095

...works brilliantly with the iPhone. I am able to receive calls in flight and talk clearly. I didn't have any luck with the cable with my new iPhone 4S, even with my older iPhone it was not a viable solution as either the cable or connecting lead would disconnect itself unless taped together, and I had to take gloves off to touch the screen to answer calls. Now I can just touch the button on the bluetooth device to answer calls, with my gloves on and my iPhone safely tucked into an inside pocket. Thoroughly recommended.

I enjoyed these. What a great field you have got for taking off from!

I flew from a piece of common ground SE of Basingstoke (just south of Old Basing). It is a great site, though you need to factor in the large pylons running across the south of the field. Do a search on here and you will find the details and map. All the people I met there were very friendly and interested but it is the sort of place you want to set up and go to avoid complaints, I wouldn't train there. I would also cut the power at 1500ft on the way in to avoid noise, and quickly pack up and go. Be aware that there is sometimes grazing in the field. I have never seen cattle or sheep there, but every time I have been there has been evidence on the grass that they had been in there recently! It's a great place to fly. I flew from there to Andover and back. Another time I flew a big lap of Basingstoke, and another time made it most of the way to Reading.

Get well soon Steve! Great memories of the low flying we did in the snow last year at Barry's with Luke. I hope this accident doesn't put you off an you are back up in the air soon!

It was the inability of my old laptop to deal with HD footage from my helmet cam that finally drove me to buy a Mac... No problems now!

The one of the train is really good. Here is my first effort. How do you get the pictures to fill the width of the post rather than come up in an attachment box by the way?

I put my speed bar on for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I wish that I had done it before. The parajet has a good couple of elastic loops to keep it held securely when not required, surprised that not all harnesses have this.

Great idea

Thanks for the link and the advice. I will put tape on the prop I am using now, and on the other one when it is repaired. I will check with a friendly helicopter pilot first to see if I can borrow some for free though, as at £30 a roll it is quite expensive. Had a great flight today though was unnerved to find almost nil wind at ground level and such strong winds at 600 ft I was struggling to make decent progress even with trims out + speed bar. Fortunately there was no turbulence, so not too bad.

I would be grateful for people's thoughts on prop tape and whether it does effect thrust. I found that my carbon props are showing some serious wear on the leading edge. There are tiny holes all along the length of the blades and at the tip of one of them there is a split. I know i have had no dinks or collisions at all with this prop in its 40hr life so I am guessing that the split developed from one of the small holes which allowed air in, causing damage at high speed. Fortunately I have a spare prop set to use for now while I get the split repaired, but the question is whether I should put prop tape on or not? Does the effect on performance outweigh the benefit of longer prop life? Simon, do you still do carbon prop repairs? It's only a small crack that has developed!

I had never even considered that risk...! Glad all lived to tell the tale,

I ended up getting this one (in metallic grey) , as it was a little cheaper: http://www.northern-paragliding.com/onl ... e&vmcchk=1 I use a microavionics headset underneath it and it works well.

Very kind - I would give it a good go! Average flight time for the last 8 sorties is approaching 2 hrs - so I'm getting used to covering some distance! I have yet to fly a complete full tank on the Macro, I think I could do well over three hrs in the air. Not as economical as many motors but good enough for me.

Awesome vid!

Hand written in a paper log book, takes seconds!

Good point - I am making sure that I play around the small fluffy ones! I recently spoke to a helicopter pilot who flies around this area who said that he descended through the cloud a few months back near Brecon and came face to face with a paramotor pilot who was flying just below the solid cloud base.

Just read about it - thanks for the link. I remember now that I had read about it before: it is what Edward Whymper saw on his way down from the Matterhorn after the first ascent, during which 4 of his party died. He thought that it was an apparition. it was hard to take a photo because the camera autofocus couldn't cope with the thin cloud, I had to quickly switch to manual. I got one just before in which you could see the whole wing but it was badly out of focus... I will make it my mission to get a good one now. Fun playing around the clouds. Two more photos attached.

Anyone seen this effect before? This was a snap shot - just noticed it as I was leaving the cloud. I tried to go round again and get a better one but the sun had gone behind a higher cloud...

Jock, Norbertflyer - thanks for the advice and the point of contact for lessons. I did most of an EP course a few years back (1998) but didn't actually complete it and get the qualification. Since then it has all been powered flight. Given that I would free fly my current wing (Fusion 29), which I have already logged 50 hrs on, presumably it would just be a case of covering the finer points of ridge soaring, top / slope landing, and nailing my thermalling technique. Am I underestimating it? I am not too fussed about the qualifications as the idea is really to develop the techniques so that I can fly to the hill with power on, switch off and then soar and thermal until it is time to power home. Long term it would be good to have the option to foot launch / free-fly from hills though, particularly when travelling around when I can't take the engine with me - clearly from an access point of view I ought to have the qualifications for that. If it is going to be weeks of lessons - which time won't allow at the moment (with my work and job) - then I will bin the idea.

Good point - noted. I will make sure that I stay well away when I have the props turning. This time I did switch off the engine as I approached, and I came down and did a close pass of the ridge before turning out and switching the power back on. Amazing scenery, such a beautiful part of the world. Here is a shot from a little further away, with the paragliders just visible on the centre ridge.

I have left a note on their blog (and posted the photo) saying that I would be interested in some free flying ridge soaring lessons. If they don't like talking to paramotor pilots then I could save them the bother and just buzz about in a circle above the ridge for a couple of hours watching them soaring so that I can pick up the technique that way.

Had a great flight in the end - a 78km circuit around the Malverns. I saw some guys paragliding on the top and took a photo - presumably after you had packed up, Jock. I was flying a Paramania Fusion in the standard black-orange-white colours.

Stevie, Do you know any good spots to take off and land north / north east of Brecon that you could share with me? I am using a few sites at the moment north of the Golden Valley but they are all harvested fields, so only good for a few weeks at this time of the year. I am looking for somewhere that I can use year round. I have a friend who is going to show me somewhere near Glasbury but he is away at the moment. Cheers Peter

Hi guys - I'm planning to fly over to the Malverns this afternoon, coming from the west, around 5 pm or so. I see that Powick is not far away, I'll look out for you, or maybe drop in (if you give me a grid and a time).

Further to my last - some pictures of the part of Wales I fly around: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6587&p=44319#p44319