Steve

Would recommend you use a variety of sources for your weather info and not reply on any one app. Learn to read weather charts - and maybe use the RASP forecast and something like Windy which alows you to switch between the models. The Met Office balloon forecasts can also be useful.

I check mine for any hairline marks every month or two and replace them every couple of years regardless. Ensure you use carabiners specific for flying. Check the gates function properly on every preflight. If you drop them on a hard surface, or there's any visible damage, replace them. They're very unlikely to fail but you can do stuff for peace of mind. If you are concerned about your carabiners then you should be equally aware of your shackles and webbing.

After struggling to make sense of the first two of your three post rant, I've always found Parajet to have excellent customer service - and I've been using them since 2010 without issue.

YouTube hides most of the stuff you feel while flying, you often just can't tell from helmet footage. As for flying during the day, I've seen hardened pilots land looking very pale after regretting choosing to fly. Always asses the conditions on the day, learn to read the signs and, if in doubt, don't fly. Ignore any macho bollocks you may read.

Wide Open Throttle. ... or were you just hard of hearing.

Hey George, Hope you're keeping well. You might want to tweak the title of this post, sounds a bit spicy!

Totally agree. When was the last time we were all together and checked that the people we were having fun with were from the correct training tribe? Or religion? It's irrelevant.

You will get a reply, just might take a couple of days - You can imagine how busy they are. Good luck getting it sorted.

If it has the XT engine, they had an issue on some of them with belt tension. I seem to remember they had some pulley assemblies that were outsourced for manufacture and made slightly out of spec. I ended up having to replace the pulley and arm on mine, which cured it. It's an old machine now though, maybe worth emailing Parajet to see if they have any spares.

Congratulations on completing your training and welcome to PMC. Anglesey is a fabulous place to fly (you may have a couple of local pilots there - Look them up on the Members Map). Good luck finding company in Halifax (search the map for there too).

You got the snap in, well done.

There’s a rumour that most of the meteorologists working at The Met Office have a little trick up their sleeves when it comes to booking their UK holidays. Regardless of what their own forecasts are saying, when it comes to their personal free time they always check out the dates of the Paramotor Club fly-ins before making any bookings. I imagine they have all been enjoying the weather this bank holiday weekend - And so did we, thanks yet again to our very own weather god, Simon Westmore. As usual, 130 pilots spent the prior week glued to weather charts and forecasts which served up three glorious days of flying in the warm and sunny Gloucestershire countryside and surrounding areas. The PMC events are always a cosy affair and this one was no exception; enough pilots, families and doggies to keep it busy but the right numbers to keep it all manageable, easy and friendly. As previously, food was provided by Killins Kitchen mobile caterers, but sadly the bar failed to to materialise. However Simon’s crack team carried out an expedition to the local booze emporium and came back with enough supplies for the event. The rest of the facilities were up to PMC’s usual high standard. The bulk of the crowd arrived throughout Friday and by the evening the skies were filled with paramotors. The weather was good enough for flying to commence again early on Saturday morning, with some pilots flying through the majority of the day. But Saturday night was a joy to behold and the field self-managed itself with no issues or marshalling required - and it was the busiest skies at a PMC event that I can recall, bursting with colourful wings and buzzing motors right up until last light. And Sunday morning carried on where Saturday had left off, only with lighter winds, if any at all. As the field emptied, a handful stayed on until the evening which provided some lovely air for the final flights of the weekend. And then it was over. As usual, the fly-in provided a great opportunity for sharing ideas and knowledge, asking questions, hanging out with all your buddies and having a great time. It was clear that there were more kids and dogs than at previous events, but that didn’t detract at all - in fact the kids were great and were clearly loving it and the dogs were enjoying the attention and freedom. And during the weekend I only spotted one dog turd, so owners were being responsible too (well, except for one maybe!). An inevitable issue with fly-ins is congestion around the airfield and the risk of annoying the locals. This year there was one simple rule - take off and cross the river and stay on that side. This immediately cured any issue with pilots who insist on flying around the airfield constantly and getting in the way of those trying to launch or land, and also prevented any disturbance to the locals. And the difference it made to the quality of life for the campsite was noticeable. I felt sadder than usual at the end; it was as good as it could have been and, as usual, a big thank you goes out to Simon, Col and the crew who made it all happen. And to everyone who attended and contributed to the vibe and fun. Only three months until the Summer fly-in where we can do it all again - get praying to our weather god now. -------------------------------------------- For over 150 more photographs of the event, visit Facebook.

They work fine AndyB - from my understanding you haven't actually tried them yourself? There may be other alternatives to try but the lamels do not twist on my Mav and they are a good solution.

No netting problems with mine, have had them on since last July.

Have a read of this. Also, Gyles Folwer has been testing his recently and will be publishing a video on his thoughts shortly.

Sorry to hear about your damage, glad you're still managing to fly. Did you get a tracking number in case the fault lies with the courier/Post Office? I've always found PJ to be very reliable, they've never let me down in ten years.

Interesting, mine won't fit into two different types of plastic cans, one 5L bought from a petrol station and one 10 litre from Amazon. Wonder if the pump specs have changed since I bought mine? Or (more likely) petrol cans don't have a standard opening size. The pump comes with a sheath designed to mount onto jerry cans which is a nice touch and collects any fuel drips afterwards so definitely recommend the jerry can option.

I fly in the Brecon Beacons most of the time and am used to the huge amounts of military hardware that comes through. I live and mostly fly from a spot on the banks of the River Usk, which RAF pilots use for easy navigation, so I always have a NOTAM booked. In the past I've seen aircraft curve nicely around my grid ref when I've been setting up, giving me good clearance. Last night I was about to launch and a military helicopter came over at about 500 feet, in the murk of an inversion, and went directly over my launch field. It didn't inspire confidence that there wouldn't be a return trip for it (they often come back using same route). The guy at Wittering was as friendly and helpful as usual on the phone but, interestingly, while he was away getting the forms I could hear the other guys in the office talking about how run down it's all getting there and how within a year there might be nobody in their office. That followed by my NOTAM being ignored set me wondering ...

I'm not sure what the last post means regarding this - but to be clear, the Sealey pump is very good. It has a large suction end which fits into a jerry can (any capacity) and transfers fuel via its smaller diameter flexible hose. The suction end is too large to fit regular plastic petrol cans or paramotor fuel tanks so can't be used for removing fuel from them.

Doesn't fit in the tank of my paramotors or a regular fuel can, only jerry cans (which is what it's designed for).

Same here, it's a perfect solution - providing you only want to transfer fuel into the paramotor and not from the paramotor into a jerry can. I've had mine a couple of years and it has never let me down.

If the logo is the same as the front logo, it will come away without damaging the helmet. I used a small screwdriver to life a corner and it came away in two pieces, the logo itself and a plastic layer over it. There were no marks or glue left on the helmet. There should be M6 threaded holes for the Peltor fixings. However, the helmet looks like one of the old type which were a bit of a smaller fit than the latest helmets, so I don't know whether there are any other differences.

Motul 800 is red, Motul 710 is green.

An engine out in the dark - where's the benefit of balls and common sense then? Or are you suggesting only flying in small circles above a known safe landing spot ...?

Just regard it as dangerous - but with good training and lots of practise you'll mitigate that danger to a level which gives you the confidence (but not over-confidence) to fly safely and enjoy it. Your choice of wing is very important too. Like Simon said, it's the pilot which is the biggest risk factor, not the machine.