AndrewD

Simon posted about being approached to make 'copy' wings etc, pretty much send us your £2700 wing and we'll pump them out for £500 a pop! Think about all the Hong Kong listed items that are 'close' to Ipods etc, I've had them and they just don't last. Now imagine your 1000 feet in the air...... Has it been independently tested?

Probably a 'copy' wing. I've just made the same choice and am going for a second hand Revo1 Best question to ask is has it been tested and accredited?

I'd love to have one, no practical use but just a cool thing to 'roll' in. Emergency stops would be fun though!

Bonkers!

Thought I'd bump this as I sit looking at the cold rain outside!

3 days of training did leave some tender places, more muscles that I never knew I had, let alone made work! Was getting a bit distracting as I realised I was holding my breath when doing the "Run like the clappers" part of the launch! Weather is a bummer, but I'm not going to get hot under the collar, even if I went I'm not going anywhere until I'm ready and that's not my call. With any luck, I'll need another day to get it all sorted on the ground and then get airborne, the thought of that first flight is a love/hate thing! Okay, I'm crapping myself!

[youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo]http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ivariometer/id329197814?mt=8 Looks quite good and aimed at Paramotoring

I saw me.........yay! Great vid, only enhanced by my handsome features!

I take it they are gong to get it sorted this time!

From my recent research I'd not have the Bailey 4 stroke as it has power & weight issues (big problem for you!). The Flat-top is probably fine apart from the frame suffering from chicken poo welding and that 'Super Dell' is a cock of the highest order. Not having a bottomless wallet I've gone for the cheapest kit that will do the job (as long as the wing is reflex), for the following reasons... How can I make an informed choice when I have not flown for a number of hours? I might hate it! I'm more likely to trash my kit as a new pilot, I'd rather damage cheaper kit than shiny new stuff! As I get proficient with a basic wing, I'll probably want a better wing why buy new a wing I might only keep 6 months? Just some food for thought.......

Well I decided that I was NOT going to keep on being fat into the new decade, so the new year saw me trotting off to weight watchers. Think of it as being a year to drop all the weight you need, so I'd plan to buy another wing. That's not a total loss so take some good advise (not mine!) and see how you go.... Good luck, I'm nursing many bruises from 3 days of GH

Been a busy week! Spent Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at Membury and looking back on the week I'm happy that I can now understand and control a wing. Plenty more to do but now I can grab lines knowing what they will do and keep control. Plenty of time needed under the wing, but I found on Friday I was getting distracted by the aches and bruises of the last few days. Getting the wing up and bouncing along running was getting counter productive, but with good weather (possibly the last of it!) I was loathed to stop. However decided to take time out on Saturday as it looked like being a busy training day and spent the time playing with my new IPhone.... New motor arrived yesterday at 5am (yes 5am!), but I was glad to see it arrive in 1 piece, so I did not mind too much. So it's 4am and the Met office have a weather station forecast for Membury services, at 100 yards it's about as close to the training site as I'm going to get a forecast for. Last night it said rain, so I'm up to see if it's still forecasting rain..........yup Damn! Was planning to look at a revo today, looks like I'll be starting again on Monday......

Talking about him last night and 'him' being the probable reason there are not many flat-tops over here (plus chicken **** welds). It would appear that us 'brits' have damn good eyesight, as we can spot an ar$e from 4000 miles!

If you think one has a dud mic, it's just they forgot to make the hole in the case, common mod on the 888's, but you don't know while you use a headset so might not affect you.

AFAIK Iridium plugs run no hotter than stock, they just have a smaller and therefore intense spark gap. Ignoring that it was a paramotor (that I know nothing about) but as an engine running at 'proper' revs for an extended period of time, I'd say that the lean issue was the problem as the engine would have had lots of power but suffer detonation at the same time. 'Det' as it's called, tends to be like a tiny oxy torch flashing inside the engine, it lifts material and slowly makes a pretty nasty mess! When racing (2T Bikes) your looking for the leanest mix with as little 'Det' as possible....but not none as there should always be some unless your drowning the mix. Lean mix also drives engine temps up, so it's not a good situation! As with all things, some are snake oil some work. I've got 0% knowledge of Paramotors, but lots of experience from bikes and am at regular 250gp meets in the pits dealing with 2T engines at a VERY high state of tune......

Well......Been a busy couple of days! Simon offered (even though he sells kit) to advise with any second hand kit I found, I love to chuck 7k at him and get sorted but I just don't have that sort of disposable income. I found a Clemente RAK135L for a reasonable price languishing on Gumtree (not the first time I've found a bargain on there) Did a deal and the seller has been particularly helpful in getting some details sorted, in particular sourcing another prop for £50 (as it has a £220 Arobat I'd rather not make a 'newbie' mistake with!). This involved http://www.PARAMOTOR PROPELLER.CO.UK checking things at 9pm on a bank holiday........ Still looking for solutions to things that probably will not affect me for ages, like buying these. Yes I ordered a box of matches from eBay & I was not drunk don't (I even drink much or smoke for that matter!) Thought they would work for checking landing sites for wind direction........I can't fly yet F.F.S....... So far EVERYONE I have dealings with has been more than helpful and decent and that's rare! Can't wait for tomorrow!

£800 bet?

Don't knock golf, hate the game but love to shoot the land! Seeing as I'm getting up early to let Simon laugh at my feeble efforts tomorrow, I think I'll get some ZZZZ's!

Probably posted before.........but these are the vids that convinced me that Paramotoring was for me! [youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo][youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo]

NGK make the commonest (cheapest) Iridium plugs http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/products/spark_plugs/iridiumix.asp The key is in the material and tip used being tiny but incredibly hard. As for recomending an plug, I know bugger al about Paramotors (yet), so I'm not going to give worthless advise!

Hmm, resurrecting an OLD thread! I'm researching....... I've used iridium plugs on my big 1150 twin and they make a big difference to easy starting and smooth tick over. I used to have a single cylinder 200cc BMW C1.... (now the motor mounted on the back.....hmmm) On single cylinder engines (these are rotax engines) the iridium plug was a quantum leap in getting a clean idle plus instant throttle response, so I'd fit one to a paramotor in a heartbeat!

The next few days have been raining, I ride a bike and run a website/forum/club very much like this one for BMW bikes, everyone I mention it to tells me I'm insane.......then sees the above vids and asks how much to start! The net result is that a friend says he wants to do this too, the loose plan is to book for lessons in Spain and ride down there and camp with the bikes, combining a bike trip with learning. Sounded like an ideal plan.........until I read some of the reports of poor weather and single flights........I know from riding bikes that it takes more than 1 ride to make you a 'biker'. So the search is on for a better option and seeing as I find this forum it is not a hard one! A phone call with Simon confirms that I'd be better allowing the weather to make the choice without being stuck in a fixed time-scale in another country! I arranged to meet him at Memebury services (seeing as it was raining like the days of Noah!), frankly I wanted to make sure I got on with someone I need to trust with my life....... All I can say it that Simon was chilled and in calling both retailers and private sellers looking for kit I've not heard a bad word yet. I paid my £800 and Simon provided a full receipt for the lessons, so I was happy. THAT sense of humour is right up my street and having seen all the Iphone4 apps I left with the decision to beat o2 up for a deal...... (I have Microsoft and apple, running Ubuntu on my PC and had planned to get an Android phone). Can't wait till the rain stops next week......

Having played with wanting to fly microlights a few years ago but was too fat (17st) for the tandem flight. I'd seen paramotors on occasion but had always dismissed them as I though there was no way I'd be light enough. So after a European bike trip a year ago where all the pictures had some fat bloke in them (me) it was time to fight the flab.... So from January I've been a 'weight watcher' and getting under 14st the limit for the tandem microlight I had another look on the BHGA(?) site and that linked to 'foot launched' paramotors. Then I find I could have flown at 17st! What follows is lots of late nights on Google and eBay looking at kit, plus finding a couple of vids on Youtube that galvanised my decision to get in the air ASAP [youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo][youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo] Now the proper searching starts.......

Well done! I popped down to see Simon today and coughed up my money so I can get stuck in next week, can't wait! Looking at the nice sunny weather you had.........not nice at the moment!

I don't really want to resurrect this thread, but as a stone cold newbie I have just read the accident reports and they are sobering.... Watching videos on places like Youtube I've seen a few crashes, but these have all been 'whoops' not something life threatening. It has also made me double sure that there is no way I'm going to self train (I had ZERO plans to) as the knowledge I need to save me just would not be there. I'm also glad I'm taking my time with it as I had thought (until I talked to Simon) that a trip to Spain was an excellent way to mix a bike road trip with learning. However I'm concerned that by the end of my trip I 'had flown', there is a massive void to 'can fly'. Certainly focused my attention, squarely on safety! On balance, can you imagine if the same reports were made for bikes or boats etc, I doubt you could read and digest each before the next arrived.