Steve

Don't deal with any of these kinds of places unless you have tons of cash to lose.

Hi Chris, Welcome to a new world of staring at skies and the misery of hanging out with paramotor pilots. You'll learn a lot being at Bore Chasers, hope you enjoy it.

Welcome to PMC. Ground handling is a good idea but ideally get some idea of what it involves or hang out with pilots a few times too. Also, wear gloves and a helmet. And don't do it high winds or near power lines. Don't misjudge the winter either, we get superb conditions sometimes in the winter, often better than summer. It's colder but the air can be amazingly co-operative.

All the numbers info is here:

Pete doesn't teach at the moment but if you can get to Membury (behind the M4 service station) you can do your training there with Simon and his crew.

In nil wind it's easy (and awesome fun) to surf the field, so just bleed off enough to keep you from fully touching down and slide as the energy goes and then end with a couple of steps.

All seems intelligently thought out - good luck with your training and maybe see you at the fly-in in a few weeks?

Hi Bev, If you look on the members map there are three or four pilots in the Hereford area. I'm further away to the west in the Brecon Beacons. Maybe put yourself on the map too.

Don't give up Bill. Where are you based?

Have just checked their About Us page and it looks like a bunch of that is copied from a Fly Products web page.

Hopefully nobody ever has. There are several scam sites, if the prices look amazing then you shouldn't even think about it. Also look to see if they are selling obsolete paramotors and wings as that is indicative that they don't know what anything is and are just copying stuff from the internet.

FLYKANDY RIDGE DE PRO PILOT JACKET - £300 Each winter I try to avoid using my flying suit for as long as I can - It’s not because I don’t like it or that it isn’t any good - in fact it’s superb - I just don’t like to admit that it’s winter and the days of flying in lighter clothing have gone for another year. Several years ago, I bought a Montane Prism jacket and its first proper use was when I got to fly from Lake Bochin in the Slovenian Alps, over the peaks, and land near to the border with Italy.The other guys were all in flying suits and I liked the fact that I wasn't. It was a superb flight and I was so impressed with the performance of the Prism, and the fact it was lightweight, that it became my flying jacket of choice for the next few years. Three years later, I saw all the pre-launch marketing for a new jacket from a start-up called Flykandy. I liked the sound of it but I was happy with the Prism and I'd also missed the first round of jackets which were released. The jacket was well received and feedback from those that got their hands on one led to several improvements in the second version of the jacket. I was still happily using my Prism jacket when I noticed the offer some of you may remember from a few months ago, where the Ridge DE Pro jacket was available for a limited time for £250. That was it for me, a stupid amount of money for a jacket, even with the discount, but everyone I’d spoken to that owned one had only sung its praises. I also realised that I’d spend that much on my mountain jacket without a second thought, so came to the conclusion that when buying flying clothing I simply slip into tight-fisted PPG pilot mode. So I placed my order. As the price had been reduced, Flykandy had been inundated with orders but in a reasonable time the jacket was delivered. My first impressions was of a nicely-made jacket and when I put it on it felt very cosseting without being bulky or heavy. However, I found the compulsory thumb loops/wrist seals slightly clingy and I didn’t feel that the jacket was a very good fit, it seemed to pull back at the neck if I crouched down. I also struggled to open a couple of the arm pockets without holding the jacket with one hand and the zip with another. However, once I began to use the jacket when flying, it all came together. Background and details The Ridge DE Pro was designed for free-flight pilots, you can’t just pop into any outdoors shop and pick one up. It was designed by British pilots who wanted to make the jacket they wanted to use themselves. First off, its shoulders and forearms are reinforced with Cordura; the shoulder reinforcement protects the jacket from wear caused by harness shoulder straps and the forearms are protected from riser wear. It has to be said that the reinforcing doesn’t compromise movement or add any real stiffness to the jacket, it remains very easy to wear. My previous experience with Cordura was in a heavy-duty diving drysuit which is nothing like the Cordura used by Flykandy, which is soft and supple. Pockets are everywhere - but not just for the sake of having pockets; they seem well placed and functional. And they have very usable pull loops on them, each with a reinforcing plastic semi-circlular puller, which are easy to use with gloved hands. There are two pockets on each arm, one on the forearm and one on the upper arm. Both upper arm pockets zip up to open, whereas the lower arm pockets zip down to open and all have a D-ring attachment point sewn into them. They are a good size for stashing stuff you might want access to during flight, like a munchie bar. There is also a nicely made access point for comms in each pocket. There are two chest pockets which are of a generous size, big enough for a gloved hand to fit through. Both chest pockets zip down to open and have nice quality Aquaguard zips from YKK. Along with a D-ring attachment point in each pocket, there is, again, an access point for comms. One thing I had experienced when using a regular jacket, like my Prism, is that in flight the hood could get sucked out of its restraint and into the netting. This happened to me several times, but the Ridge DE Pro has no hood and is all the better for this omission. What it does have is a very high collar which feels luxurious. This, combined with a drawstring, means you can seal yourself from the cold and drafts very effectively without it feeling claustrophobic. I really like this aspect of the jacket, previously I have always had a draft down my neck no matter what I tried, especially once I had raised my arms. The Ridge DE Pro has another few design features to help here, as it is long in the body so nothing changes when you raise your arms; it also has a ‘wind skirt’ which helps keep heat in the jacket and, as I mentioned at the beginning, thumb-loops. As well as preventing the sleeve from pulling your jacket's wrist away from your gloves when raising your arms, it also helps seal the cuff - and very effective it is. A few other details about the jacket include the two underarm zips; these are about ten inches long and are useful for ventilation when working up a sweat. The jacket does not use down as an insulation material, which appeals to me a lot. It is also cut closer to the body, so is easy to wear in flight and does not add any unnecessary drag. Not having worn the Ridge DE Pro in winter yet, I have flown in it at great height over the mountains, cold enough to numb my fingers in flying gloves. And I was toasty - amazingly so. Considering that I had just a t-shirt and a thin old fleece on underneath, I was impressed that the cold never bothered me - no drafts, no cold spots and complete comfort. I’ve made about a dozen flights in the jacket and have fallen in love with its ability to keep me warm and comfortable in the air. My initial concerns, including not liking the colour combination of grey, black and yellow, have all vanished quickly and I find nothing I can really fault in the Ridge DE Pro … other than a couple of pieces of thread in the stitching that weren’t trimmed … and that the long-awaited Flykandy trousers haven’t materialised yet. If these turn out to be as good as the jacket then it will be an excellent combination. At £300 it is an expensive buy, but there's nothing like it, especially when you consider that it has been designed specifically for our type of flying - and I like that it’s a UK company. If the Ridge DE Pro stands the test of time, and looking at the quality I see no reason why it shouldn’t, then for something that you know will keep you warm and comfortable throughout the year, it’s a very good buy. Put it on your Christmas list. http://www.flykandy.com

"... arrogant know-it-all paramotor pilots ..."

Wasn't replying to your Nitro comment. Obviously. ?

Much as I value the opinion of someone who has never used lamels despite 'much discussion' with people who mysteriously use them despite the fact that they don't notice the difference - and calls them 'little plastic flappy things' - I refer you to the first paragraph of the article.

If you take a deep breath and read it as fast as you can, you'll find the hidden message, which is "My keyboard's Return key is broken".

With a time machine. I think all the places went in the first nano-second after it was announced.

As I arrived at this summer’s fly-in, I was greeted by Simon and one of the first things we did was to scoff at the nearby Zenith which had lamels fitted to the netting. Both of us sneered in the only way two arrogant know-it-all paramotor pilots can, asking the obvious question “How could that possibly work?”. Fast forward forty eight hours and as I drive away from the fly-in I cast a glance over my shoulder into the back of my van to admire the Maverick with its collection of lamels strung about its netting. Hypocrite? It seems so. Having settled into the fly-in, and being camped next to Barry Rood (Baz), I took the opportunity to take a closer look at the lamels he had installed on his Zenith (the very same machine I had been pouring scorn over earlier with Simon). It turned out that Baz had researched lamels and decided to make his own version. I had been struggling slightly with the torque from my Maverick - it’s an awesome machine but, with me being only 73 kg, when doing a macho take off the torque literally tips me sideways meaning a straight ahead launch was not an option - and as I fly from several sites which require navigating out of, this had become a problem. It was also an issue in the air, where when going to full power I would be put into a turn. But I love my Mav and was very happy to live with that … but when Baz started explaining to me that he’d found the lamels had made a big difference to his machine, I decided that there really was nothing to lose to give them a try - apart from showing myself to be the butt of my own earlier sneering. So Baz very generously started fitting his lamels to my netting. My first reaction was that they were going to fall off and go through my prop, they just hung there looking loose and vulnerable. But each one connects on two axes, so they were more secure than they looked - or at least I hoped so. So, what is the principle on which the lamels work? Each lamel has an aerodynamic surface over which air is drawn by the prop and which produces a force in the opposite direction of the torque. The idea is to attach sufficient lamels to ensure that this force is close, or ideally identical, with that of the torque. The trick is to use the correct amount to cancel out the torque steer. I had assumed that you’d have had to fly the machine to gauge how close you’d got it, regarding the amount of lamels needed, although I was pleasantly surprised to find that the difference was immediately noticeable when running the machine under power on your back. However, the real test is by flying. So I went flying. The previous day I’d flown and gone into my usual lift off and bank right without trying, so I wasn’t sure what to expect now. I launched and as I applied a good handful of power I found that I continued to fly straight. No right bank. I went for a trip down to the nearby motorway - by flying in a straight line with no corrections. I went to full power for thirty seconds and was still heading in my chosen direction, with just a little right drift at WOT. I was seriously impressed. I looked over my shoulder to check that the lamels weren’t hanging off and waiting to do an impression of the the old kid’s game of pegging a piece of card into the spokes of your bike. But they were fine, happily sitting there and it was clear that they were secure under the pressure of the air being drawn over them. I was smiling and very happy to be a convert and a hypocrite. These things are amazing. I was keen to test the lamels in one of my tighter launch fields back home in the Brecon Beacons. It’s only flyable if you can actually properly control the machine, as it has power lines on two side and trees on another. If you get torque steer on launch, then it’s too iffy to use as a site. And I was amazed and delighted to find that in a light wind the Mav took off in what must be the most direct and straight launch I’ve even known, it was flying to my launch visual target without deviating. I was left with one or two questions - firstly, I cannot understand how enough force to counter the torque of the paramotor can be delivered through something attached to flimsy netting. I’ve wracked my brains but it’s beyond me. All I know is that it works, and, as far as I can see so far, there is no stress or damage to the netting. The second question is whether the lamels make a noticeable increase in drag. I think they do, it’s not massive but I can feel a very slight reduction in power when climbing. Or can I? The Moster delivers so much oomph that it could all be fantasy and I’m just looking for something to balance the amazingly positive results. Finally, I’d like to thank Baz for taking the time to show me the lamels and to show me how to fit them on the netting (It’s not complicated). I’d also like to thank him for letting me take them away and use them whilst refusing to take payment. He put a lot of time into making these, so he is my hero of the month. Obviously, the lamels are commercially available but, to my knowledge, they are only available from the USA where you can buy them from Aviator PPG for about $200 for a set of 20 lamels (you use as many as you need with it being unlikely that you’ll need more than 20 - I used 12). All paramotors develop torque and all modern motors have designs to cancel this out to some degree. However, for lighter pilots with powerful motors more can be needed, and these lamels appear to be the answer. They have taken my already awesome Maverick and moved it even higher in terms of being the ultimate lightweight paramotor, in my opinion.

On flights with lots of level cruise I regularly get 3.5 lph on my Mav. Not a scientific test, just looking at the usage on the tank markers. Still getting 4 lph on normal flying. I was expecting much worse tbh (with a GTX 22).

Glad you're okay Gary. Hope you're back in the air soon.

A few weeks ago a farmer stole my windsock and pole while I was away flying. As I landed he was shouting and swearing from the other side of a hedge, then ran away, coming back five minutes later to fire his shotgun over our heads, then scarpered again. Total nutter. I'd got permission to fly from the landowner but in the 'confusion' he just seemed to want to prove what a maniac he is. Never had a farmer problem in all of my flying until then - people can be very odd.

Should be a Bore Chasers fly-in next. Dates to be confirmed but I imagine it will be around late September.

Could have been an emergency landing. Nobody on the beach looks very bothered. Plus it's the Daily Mail - since when have they ever written anything accurate, non-sensational or truly newsworthy?

Hi and welcome to PMC. Yes, the Maverick harness has an integral reserve container. It's held on with a zip and two velcro tabs at either end of the zip. It's swappable with the opposite pocket to either side. It's too small for the older reserves like the Gin one G, but is perfect for the newer lightweight reserves like the Sky reserves.

Welcome to PMC Steve. Have you checked the members map? The link is in the page header.