Steve

Welcome to the fabulous world of Parajet!  

On 6/11/2017 at 12:03, AndyB said:

And 2 of these taped either side of the base of the pole, with half in the ground.....in hard ground I bang these in with a hammer first and then tape them to the pole. 

Am I missing something? Why not just slide the pole over the ground stake? 

For a ground stake I use a stair rod and a mallet. Others use a length of copper pipe. Or a bit of wood ... 

Mine's the original Thor 100, the engine Polini got right. It's getting a little old now but still purrs along.

It does seem that the Flash starter is made from cheese, I've heard people say theirs failed after gentle or even no use after a couple of years. Although yesterday Tom at PJ said he's not had a problem with his, ever.  I do think they are of poor design and although the blame is sometimes put on heavy use and abuse, I don't really go with that. It's a starter which fails for most people. 

Not sure whether my B&S starter would fit on yours but have a read through the discussion linked in my post above and see if you get any pointers from there. 

Having had previous issues with the Flash starter on my Polini, I decided to buy a lawnmower Briggs and Stratton starter. I've since carried it with me in the truck, waiting for the inevitable failure of the Flash starter. This failure happened on Monday evening, leaving me on the ground while my mates went flying. At least this time I hadn't taken off - last time it failed in mid-air and the line uncoiled sending it and the handle through the prop.

On my machine the Briggs and Stratton starter bolted straight in with no issues whatsoever. Better still, it cost me £14 from Amazon (slightly reduced for the usual £23 because it had a battered box - these turn up now and again on Amazon). Other machines may require slight modification or maybe a different model of starter. The Briggs and Stratton feels a lot sturdier than the Polini and I expect it will last for a long time.

Whilst I like how the Flash starter works, I've never liked having to restart in mid-air as it seems to be better suited to starting on the ground (whatever your opinions on this method). Not sorry to see the back of wondering when the starter will next fail.

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Other relevant thread: Here. 

Had the same thing myself twice last night on my Polini with a PWK. Not had it happen for several years but obviously the ingredients were right last night. 

18 hours ago, cas_whitmore said:

Agree with Andy on zero wind landings . Last few times in the evening, trims pulled  to the stops still came in faster than I was used to of late, wasn't ready for the run off the first time . 

Cas. 

Great opportunity for some field surfing, it's my favourite method of landing in nil wind.  

Or just become a full member. We'd love to have you.  

The first thing that I see is a big line snagger. Like the idea though. Would have their work cut out against the din a paramotor makes, maybe?

Mine has always been on an elasticated cord but when the cord starts spooling out of the starter, because it has failed, then everything gets shredded in the prop. The first time it happened to me was on a landing approach.

They just fail eventually, no matter how carefully you use them. I bought a Briggs and Stratton lawnmower pull starter replacement - fifteen quid from Amazon. Much more robust. 

Was it a Flash starter? If so, loads of reports of this (has happened to me) on this site and others.  

I've had a pair of these for years for mountain biking, they are really easy to wear and comfortable. 

Listen to what Alan says!     

Sounds like that old gem of a pilot enjoying himself being mistaken for someone in trouble. If there is no sign of a paraglider then it sounds like a PPG pilot who flew off to do it all again somewhere else. I hope. 

I'm amazed that all bar one of the paramotor manufacturers still don't include the SafeStart system, or at least offer it as an option. Pilots are still left with marketing where frame dynamics and weight are prioritised over easily solving one of the biggest risks of the sport. I've been banging on about this years, almost no one in the industry seems interested. I love our manufacturers and appreciate the massive progress in designs which has taken place in recent times but not addressing this fundamental safety concern is irresponsible. 

Have a great time, see you at the next one.  

This is for Dickie. 

An awesome flight ... but he ended it by running out of fuel and making an impressive bulldozer landing on the beach.  

Yet ANOTHER holiday Dave? 

It's important to learn meteorology and observation as part of being a pilot - what's happening on your bit of the ground can have very little in common with what's happening elsewhere and higher up. 

Standard advice is don't buy your wing and motor until you're well into or have completed training. It's sound advice.  

How can they prove it was him without a reg on the wing? Which brings us on to why we don't want the CAA involved ...  

Hi Doug, welcome to PMC.  

There are at least a couple of other members in the forest near you - take a look at the member's map (you can turn off all the overlays once they load). 

Cheers - I think that's the footage Lee was referring to. 

It's always bothered me how it takes only one tosser to show off in front of a big audience and get all the attention the rest of us expend so much effort trying to avoid. Of course, getting attention was undoubtedly the intention of this escapade.  

I guessed you'd be buying a Maverick. You ignored all my rantings about shark nose though ...