thijs

Me 90 kilogram Glider 7 kilogram Trike + reserve 90 kilogram All up weight : 187 kilogram Glider : Revolution 28 wingloading 6.7 Fusion 29 wingloading 6.5 Notification: I fly with trike.

Here are two videos of the Paramania fusion and taxi http://www.myvideo.de/watch/6021920/Trio_in_der_Luft http://www.myvideo.de/watch/6026972/Ers ... tandemflug

We are looking for an old (cheap) reflexwing for a study projected. Don't be afraid... the wing won't be used for flying again. To reach our goal we specially need an used reflex type of wing. It doesn't matter which size and company it comes from. Also slightly damaged wings are welcome. Reply can be send to thijsversloot@hotmail.com or below. Thanks!! Best regards, Thijs

Two weeks ago we had a paramotor safety day. During this day we practiced first aid and techniques how to help pilots in trouble. At the end of the day we organised a paramotor water landing simulation. During this simulation we used a Fresh breeze motor and a hot swimming pool. We wanted to test some important issues: -If I hit the water, what will the position of the pilot be in the water. -Does the paramotor comes up after going into the water. -Is it possible to go head first into the water and turn underneath the water. -Will different crash impacts have effect of the pilot position in the water. -Is it possible to escape if your being dragged. ( landing with 5 bft winds ) -How much does a full or empty fuel tank effect the floating force. We replaced the engine block with the same weight amount of lead. For the safety we attached a rope to the cage in case the pilot was drowning. The were about 6 pilots who jumped into the water. Some had good swimming skills, other less (poor). Our first test was jumping into the water in a normal landing position with a full fuel tank. After hitting the water the pilot will come up by itself. The pilot comes up in standing position face forward. Our nature is to swim forward, belly down and the back up. The is very difficult because of the cage is pushing down the helmet and the head of the pilot. There for everybody who came up from the water and turned on their back. If your swimming with belly up the paramotor doesn’t drags you under. In this position (on the back) it’s was no problem to swim long distances (100 meter). To compared this kind of swimming with in a normal position the swimming speed would be a little less. Also when the pilot swims on the back the risers can easily be disconnected. In a emergency it’s takes about 30 seconds till one minute to disconnect the belts. Now we jumped with almost an empty fuel tank. The floating force of the paramotor is so strong it’s almost impossible to sink. In the water the pilot is pushed up in the back by the paramotor. This makes it’s very easy to swim ashore on the back. We tried all crash positions (shown on the video) to see if we could get the motor above us in the water. We couldn’t create any position were the paramotor prevented the pilot to come above the water. The motor has so much buoyancy the pilot can keep his hands and feet out of the water. We simulated a strong wind landing in the water. Two men pulled the pilot with a rope in the water. This test was done to see if it’s still possible to stay with your head above the water and if the belts could be disconnected. I was pulled into the water and was dragged with a speed of 1 meter per seconde. I came above the water floating on my belly. When I hollowed my back I didn’t had to do anything to keep my head clear of the water. With my hands I could manage to disconnect the chest belts and leg belts. We noticed it’s no problem at all to get in the water with just a paramotor. It’s very dependable how the paraglider will land. We experienced that the safety rope went around our feet a couple of times. This gives a lot of trouble. You need your legs to stay on your back. Now it’s one rope, but in case of a paraglider their will be more ropes which can strangling your legs. Also when the paraglider comes above you in the water the pilot can easily strangled up by the lines. This problem can drown the pilot very quickly. Our conclusion. -Stay calm. You won’t sink to the bottom and the motor gives you the first 2 minutes extra buoyancy. When the fuel tank is almost empty you can't even sink -Try to stay clear from the glider. The best way is to keep the glider and the lines behind you. Try to disconnect the glider as soon as possible. -The little extra pressure on the belt connections doesn’t make it more difficult to open them. You can’t see them so you have to find them by feeling around. -For people who don’t want to lose their precious paramotor. When you are disconnected from the motor you can keep it in on hand and swim it ashore. This doesn’t takes much effort. Here is a short video from jumping into the water: http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=1OhmlgeQKCQ

No joke, this really works!!! Everybody has a small piece of (white) glider left. Just put some oil on it and some sheep/cow mud. Let it dry for a couple of days and then try to clean it with water and soap and then try with the paintbrush cleaner. Don't use terpentine or thinner, just the stuff to clean paintbrushes. You can buy it in every shop for a couple of euro. I shall have a look if i can find something the same for you as what we use here. If nescessary I can make small youtube video to show how it works. Here is an example (in the Netherlands) : http://www.kwantum.be/1407_Verdunningmi ... ____500_ML

Hello, I did a lot of research about cleaning gliders. In Holland we have the same cow and sheep residu problem as in England. We use (Dreft) soap, which you need one drop of it for a complete dishwash. This will clean 95% of all the dirt. The other 5% is mostly oil and sheep/cow residu. This can easily removed with paintbrush cleaner. I don't know the exact product name in England. This is the only oilbased product which doesn't leave marks or attacks the coating of the glider. It also can be used to remove sticky stuff from stickers. This paintbrush cleaning stuff makes the glider also a little bit more shiny. Gasoline,diesel,aceton and other agressive stuff will dissolve the coating in seconds. I recommend to use a small piece for testing first.

Hi, Although some manufacturers claim the silex is a good paramotorglider, it's not. I tested different sizes of the silex glider. The Silex has a Dulv certification but no original paraglider certification. If it would be certified, the Silex would be a rated as a DHV 2-3 class or glider only for very experienced people. Take off is normal/similair like any other glider. The speed is standard like most common paragliders. During wingovers the glider easy collapses with 1/3. In thermals the glider moving to every side. When the motor is brougth to idle, the glider sinks very fast. The glide is poor. It's also known the glider has design errors. This can be seen from above the glider. At 2/3 at the back of the wing there is a big wrinckle going from left to right. There are many other (reflex) paramotorgliders which flies so much safer and have better performance. Just talk with a lot of paramotorpilots the get information.

Maybe nice to know..... Last couple of weeks it was very windy at my place. A friend of mine bought the ski'm 15 for soaring and paramotoring. I have a revolution 28 for soaring and paramotoring. Last week and today we were soaring at the beach with 10 m/s wind conditions. I noticed the revolution has with 3/4 trims open the same speed as the ski'm. Even with a heavy pilot on the ski'm it's no problem keep up. The reflex wing is much more stable in turbulence and has more altitude. The reflex wings are also perfect to fly in soft wind conditions. It's nice to see how a friendly soft flying machine can turn into a real racing monster. So for even strong wind I don't need a ski'm to reach high safe speeds.

Hi all, I had a friend wich had an Swing Arcus. He always had a lot of difficulties with no wind start. In air the glider has a low flying speed. Last year he bought another glider (powerplay) and now he doesn't have any launching and wind problems anymore. Above the 4 beaufort wind I always perform a cobra start. It's more difficult then a reversed start, but the glider doesn't drag you away. It takes some time to know how to perform the cobra start. Normally I watch my groundspeed to determ the maximum windspeed. If my goundspeed isn't faster than ±3m/s or ±10 feet/s I think about stop flying. Strong winds also create a lot of turbulence = no fun. The maximum wind to start depends of the glider and especially the pilot. Experienced pilots can control the glider much better in strong winds then novice pilots. As long as the pilot doesn't have full control on his glider, flying in stronger winds (>3 bft) is pointless.

Hi Simon, Sorry, I mentioned the reflex wings with trimmers neutral or opened. I tried ears with the synthesis the and revolution (both 28m2). I pulled the outer A-lines but the tip didn't collapsed inwards. With trimmers closed the gliders behave like normal gliders. Then it's no problem pulling ears. Maybe you got some other experiences? greets, Thijs

How would you practise rapid descent techniques with reflex wings. With the synthesis and revelution it's very difficult to pull big ears. I'm not a supporter of a B-line stall, because of the lack of control. So that leaves only a spiral left. If you open the trimmers completely and steer the glider in a soft spiral, it's already possible to create a rapid descent. With the action gt it's hard to pull a lot of G-forces when the trimmers are opened. This is also an big advantage compared to normal wings. It's strange people don't have any spiral experience. With a paramotor it's possible to climb to save heights and stay there for hours. Something you won't always get with paragliding. So there is never an excuse for not trying it. It's like parking a car in the reverse. If you never take the time to try it, you never will be able to manage it when it's necessary.

Hi Simon, What a coincidence. I also took a photo from a inversion. This photo was made above Holland at 3000m altitude. http://www.paramotorclub.org/forum/albu ... pic_id=328 Lets hope 2008 will just as beautiful.

How can people work with a view like that. I would be staring to the earth all day.

Here is some explaination about how two stroke motors work. Also the differences with a fourstroke is explained.

We tested a water landing in a swimmingpool. Because everybody wants to know what happens when you hit the water. We took an (old) Fresh Breeze motor and replaced the motor with the same weight amound of bricks. Because there wasn't enough room to use a paraglider the pilot jumped only with an harnas and the paramotor into the water. Once in the water he was floating halve straight up at his belly. The feultank (50% filled with water), exhaust and frame gave enough buoyancy to let the motor float. The pilot was able to swim with the harnas strapped on and the motor on the back. After a couple of minutes he disconnected the harnas and the motor. This went much easier then ussumed. After the motor was disconnected the motor sank slowly to the bottom of the swimmingpool. Conclusion: With a Fresh Breeze motor and harnas it's easy to handle a waterlanding. This was without a paraglider and normal stationary water with normal temperatures. ( I've got photos ) It's nice to test it once. All you need is a old paramotor (without the motor) and a harness. Most swimmingpool owners don't make trouble about it.

Hi all, Holland is a very very flat country. We have dunes at the beach and it's even possible to make free flight trips of 30 km to the other side and 30 km back. All the ather free flight are done by winching. There are about 100 registrated paramotor pilots in Holland. Maybe 6 people ( 6% ) flies reflex wings. The rest flies standard glider like powerplay and other DHV 1-2 gliders. We always got windy conditions. I think it's 100% the same as in England, because we always get the weather blown from England. In the summertime we have times of beautiful weather. Then it's perfect to fly around Holland. It's not so populair as in other countries because not only we need to pay for the equipement, we also need to register our paramotor at the authorities. This cost around 500,- euro. After registering it costs around the 100,- euro each year. To get a legal airstrip for take off it cost 500,- each year. So it's very expensive to start paramotoring. But still it's the cheapest way to fly motorised. The bad thing of Holland is our tiny country. The international and military airports are close to eachother, same like in Belgium. So for long distance trips we always need to look out for the Control zones. We are also limited to a height of 1500 ft or 450 mtr. Luckely our slow flying speeds make our country look big . greets Thijs

Hello people, In Holland we have a big discussion about reflex wings. I think it's not only in Holland but also in the rest of europe. Some people claim the reflex wings are dangerous, because of their reactions. Collapses for example. I flew the Action Gt and the Synthesis and soon I have a new reflex wing for myself, but I can't find any bad behaviour stories about it ( if you fly normal ). I searched for some accidents due to the wing an not made by the pilot, but I can't find anything. So it's strangle some people say the reflex wings are very dangerous, but I can't find any bad data about it. How are the opions in England. I see there are lots of good comments about the reflex wings. Maybe can share some good or bad stories? Is there a estimated percentage of the ppg pilots flying with reflex paragliders? Greets from the other side of the canal, Thijs

Hi Simon, You maybe also can tell ,when the trimmers are closed the synthesis doesn't have any reflex profile anymore and doesn't react like a reflex wing. Only when the trimmers are set on neutral or higher the wing changes the profile into a reflex wing. With reflex wings it's impossible to pull frontstall during the flight. Greets