AndyJ6

I would strongly recommend you have a chat with Clive Bunce, he has a vast wealth of knowledge and experience flying, is a very nice chap and will put you right on any questions you may have about Paramotors, he'll almost certainly be flying on Sunday, probably at Challow , just east of the railway line on th A417, next to the farm, it's not far from Redlands. You'll get to see all the kit, meet some very nice people and some very experienced pilots too. Or you could pop into his workshop at Standford in the Vale, on the A417, not far from the field, give him a call. Enjoy your flight. Andy

For anyone who is interested, new info from Parajet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwISODTdUQU

The ready to fly weight of a Volution 2 Macro as confirmed by Parajet today is 27.2 kg. That includes the harness.

Thanks for all your replies on these two subjects, but I'm still rather confused about the comments about sink rate, the stated sink rate at 130 kg is 3.8, so surely that's far better than 5.5 and having watched a few YouTube vids, The landings don't appear too hard, although we have no way of knowing their weight. Obviously, if there's a 10 mph wind, you probably won't be flying forwards into it, but surely it's far better to be facing into wind rather than being blown down wind? Why do the acro pilots have two reserves? I can't imagine it's because of the type of reserve they would throw first, I would have thought it was purely due to the high risk of entanglement through extreme flying. The main point and why I am interested in the Beamer is the fact that it's steerable, you have some input into where you might land, even if it's only limited choice. It wouldn't be that great if you were going to land on a road, reasonably safely, only to get run over by a car or a truck, just as your feet touch the ground or power lines, when you could possibly turn away from them. But sadly, my choice may have, well, looks to have been already decided because I now find I'm over the max weight if the volution 2 weighs more than the advertised 27.2 kg. I have just noticed on the Parajet web site that the volution Thor has 2 weights quoted, one without a harness 26.1 kg and complete, 27.6 kg, so the harness weighs 1.5 kg. I'll have to try and call Parajet to get a definitive answer. Thanks everyone, I'm more enlightened in my knowledge, but not sure/convinced wether, if weight permitting, it's good or bad to go with the Beamer II. The importer is a very experienced paraglider and paramotor pilot/instructor, paragliding champion and was a BHPA safety officer, or whatever the title is.

http://www.flyaboveall.com/beamer2/reserve.htm Here's a site with the details of the Beamer II, spoke to the UK importer and he said that normally you wouldn't load a reserve above 3/4 of max, but with the Beamer II, because it is steerable and flies forward with sink rate of 3.8 at 130 kg, as long as you were no more than max weight it would be fine. The difficulty is in finding anyone with experience and advice, as I haven't been able to find anyone who has a Beamer, deployed one with a motor and there don't appear to be any paramotor vids on YouTube, deploying a reserve. Plenty of paraglider , and Beamer deployments, but not with a motor. Concerning the weight of a paramotor, I see the Bulldog is quoted at 25 ready to fly, the Baileys Thor at 27.2 paramotor dry weight, Parajet volution 2 Macro at weight 27.2, etc, etc. Why doesn't every manufacturer state the ready to fly weight, with say, 4 litres of fuel, then we, the customer can base our decisions on facts rather than (possible) fiction, as it is important that you can calculate your AUW. If the harness isn't included in the stated weight, isn't that rather misleading, as it's an integral part of the Motor.

Can anyone enlighten me as to the actual weight of the Parajet Volution 2 Macro, as the Parajet spec says 27.2kg and is reduced by 3kg from the previous version. But I have read several articles from owners that the old model weighed 35.5kg, which would make the new one 32.5kg. If this is right, I'm kind of a bit miffed to be honest, as I'm seriously considering a Beamer II reserve which is rated to 130kg and with my all up weight at 128kg with the Parajet stated 27.2kg and 10.8kg of fuel, etc, etc, that increase upto 32.5 would overload the reserve. Just a note on the Beamer II reserve and why I'm considering it, I am thinking that a reserve is like having insurance, you hope you'll never need it, but if you do, what cover do you have? TPFT as in a round reserve that gets you back on the ground hopefully in one piece, or Fully Comp as in a reserve that flies forward and is steerable, with a choice of landing. I've spoken to a few people concerning this and it's difficult to get an unbiased (commercial interests in a particular brand) comment/advice. I know that many of you would not have the choice due to your AUW, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks pete, but don't want to gailbreak my iPad. (Or even jailbreak)

Only have an iPad, so no flash etc.

Can't open above link, any other links or websites available please. Thanks.

My brother and I ordered two Volution 2 Macro's and find ourselves in the same position. I feel very sad for the Japanese people, they have suffered greatly. Question I have for Parajet, can you not build our motors and then have them ready to fit the carbs as soon as you have one (whichever make they decide to use? Simon, maybe we could purchase these carbs ASAP, where did you see them?

I wouldn't like to suggest a particular make, I'm sure they'll be a few old hands with experience that could help you with that.

As I understand it, add 50kg to naked weight, so your 116kg and you want to be no more than 75% of max load of reserve. So you'd be nice and safe on a 160kg reserve. Apparently, size matters

Hi Luke, I'm just starting out myself, done a bit of paragliding 23 years ago, but I'm quite a bit older and things have changed, I wouldn't recommend you skimp on the training, starting the right way is the only way to learn, it's yours and possibly others lives at risk if things go tits up. Use the cash you have to get training and either join the 100 club as per Simons suggestion or wait until you can afford the kit. I wish you well which ever road you take.

40 minutes and I don't think I can wait a anymore, I'm sat in my truck waiting to get on a bay to unload, I need some entertainment Simon how did Darren get on, it's been a long wait, bet he's well chuffed, or scared s€$¥less with that beast, might try and pop over on the way to work, if I don't finish too late tonight/morning Sorry to here Mia is suffering after the attack on Monday

Nice one Helimed01, I think it might need a little vibration isolation, but looks good. Is the Gopro on R3 or R4 mode? Would be nice if you could position it, so it can see you as well as the canopy. Being able to mount it and move it around freely is nice. I'm looking forward to using my Gopro hd sometime soon, having had it for sometime now, it would be great to use it during my training, or on my first flight (helmet mounted and with Simons approval).

Dan, I think your a little wrong on your prices ........ I'm pretty sure you could get all that for not much more than £999 BFN Andy

Nice one Danny, good luck on the sweet talking, romantic, night out with Mrs B if successful, what's on the shopping list?

Hi to you all, just thought I'd introduce myself, having registered today. I'm Andy, Pauls brother. Nice to meet you Simon, Looking forward to getting a good days training, as our first couple of hours was a little frustrating with the crappy wind I've booked perfect conditions for Sunday and monday (weathers looking good for Sunday at the mo). Congratulations to you both on the first flights, Darren and Danny, maybe we'll see you both flying on Sunday. I think it's safe to assume you both thought it was, Awesome BFN, Andy