wildboy

Thanks for that morgy. Looks pretty unrestricted for the puposes of flying about. Im surprised that thorney does not have an exclusion zone with all the helicopter activity above. Shame the Goodwood ATZ extends over the whole of Chichester. I was hoping to get some nice pics of the city eventually I am also interested to fly from Southbourne to East wittering and back once passed and I notice that the journey is a pretty short one compared to driving. Has anyone made this trip and can vouch for how long it takes? looks like a nice trip too.

Hi guys. Im training at the moment (still) and was interested to know if there are any online flight charts for W Sussex. I will eventually buy a paper copy for navigation but while i am grounded, it would be nice to see online the ATZ area and Thorny Barracks as I am between the two.

So it may or may not be OK to use. If I was to use it in still conditions, practicing take off and landing, what would be the potential dangers/risks involved? I am planning to get a reflex but I would like to know if I can make do with practice on the current wing without dying in the process..

I am currently undergoing training and have recently purchased a package which includes a paraglider wing. Its very stable with kiting and launching compared to the synth reflex wing I am training on but I am told that I should only use a paramotor wing for the extra speed against the wing I currently have. I realise that using the paraglider wing would be very slow and I intend to purchase a reflex wing in good time but for the sake of getting up in the air and practicing take off and landings, is a paraglider wing an acceptable wing to practice on or am I going to be dead in the water? The wing I have is an Advance alpha 2 if anyone is familier with it. The guys at the loft said it was a good quality wing but I realise they deal with both gliding and motoring wings.

Thanks for the responses. I decided to take it apart and have a look today to see what was up. I undid the reduction bit and had a poke around. The clutch area looked and felt ok with no visible wearing like I thought may be the case. I used my fingure to spin around the clutch and the bearings span around without making a noise. Next I checked the smaller cog and that also span around without any sound and finally I span the large cog that spins the prop, again without any noise or problem. When I put the thing back together again and gave it a spin it made the noise again so I can only assume that the noise is coming from contact between the large and small cog. I cannot however see any signs of wear. The whole thing was full to the brim of oil which had a sickening smell to it that made me want to throw up but as the pics show, it looks relatively fresh and clean. I imagine perhaps the sound it makes may just be normal now but now that I have spilt all the oil over my driveway I am unsure what oil to put back in there and also how much to fill it up? http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/684/sdc10937m.jpg/ http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/13/sdc10939ba.jpg/ http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/703/sdc10940z.jpg/

maybe grinding is a bit harsh. It sounds more like chaffing. As in friction. It may just be that the prop is not spinning fast enough by hand to completely release the clutch, I dont know.

I have recently bought an old RDM 100 but it makes a metal on metal grinding sound when turning the prop. I think its coming from the clutch area. I wonder what oil I should get and where to put it as checking it over does not reveal an obvious 'top up' point. Also if anyone has a copy of an RDM 100 manual, I would be greatful.

well thanks for the RS link. I got just the right size for 3 quid and it arrived within 24 hrs! my next question while i am here is about the exhaust. Its splattering black oil stuff onto the prop and its coming out the join that mounts the exhaust to the engine.

i bought a cheap old second hand vittorazi easy 100 in prep of starting training but i need a replacement rubber bung as below. vittorazi ont supply anymore but im told i can get them from a hardware store but yet to find one. the diameter is 30mm and highet 20mm Also looking at the belt its a little flappy as it goes round. is this normal for a motor like this or should it be completely tight with no vibration at all?

A training harness came with the ebay purchase so im OK in that respect but thank you. Im literally waiting for the wind to go so I can get on with training. It seems though that the best flying conditions are either early morning or evening which makes the trek to Swindon a real mission for the sake of a couple of hrs training. In terms of ground handling, is it permissable to practice on council owned parkland do you think or would I get told to sod off?

Had a play today after consulting the manual. Seems to fire up ok even with electric start. Feeling confident about using the motor now after having a good fiddle and strapping it to my back etc. Just need to find out how to practice with a wing.

Thanks for the invite. This weekend I am working but keen to meet up to get another pair of eyes over it and to finally have a go with the training harness. The main problem I have found so far is that one of the rubbers is missing between the exhaust and frame. Will have to find a replacement. Also Not sure how it fires up as I am yet to find out what to put in the fuel tank! The ebay listing was [/url] http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/160586218985?ru=h ... 3D1&_rdc=1

Hi guys, Im Alex from Southbourne. I am about a mile away from the Hambrook site and waiting impatiently for the weather to clear so I can begin my training with Simon Westmore. Unfortunatly the few occasions that the weather has been trainable, I have either been working or the window is so small, its not been worth the drive up to Swindon. To get the ball rolling however, I have purchased my paramotor, wing and accessories which arrived yesterday. I bought them second hand on ebay and although it probably wasnt an amazing deal it was cheap which was the only way I was going to get into the sport. Today I plan to put the blade on and put together the frame in a step towards starting the motor up but Im aware that without any training or being mechanically minded, I dont know really what I am doing. I wonder if there is anyone local to Hambrook that could introduce me to my equipment and tell me if I have bought a death machine or not? I also have a training harness to accompany the wing which will come in useful I am sure. I wonder if there is anything I can do to practice in advance of my first training day so that I feel I am making some sort of progress? Its been really tough having confirmed my training almost two months ago and the only experience of paramotoring I have at this stage is seeing how ridiculous I look wearing a flying helmet and suit.

Im based in Southbourne West Sussex. Im lucky in that I happen to have a club field within minutes. I didnt even realise there was one so nearby. Would still be useful to easily find destination fields though. Good responses so far. I didnt have much else to do last night so I sent an email to my local primary school. I didnt think I would have any luck in a million years but it was fun typing it. "Hi. I have a strange request that I am hoping you can help with. I am looking for field locations to land my parachute at the weekends and being an ex pupil I know EWCPS well. I need an open space to land so I can visit my parents for lunch. I am fully trained and can land accuratly within a 1 metre radius and would plan to land in the centre of the field. After landing I would fold my parachute and leave out the west exit into the village. I realise this sounds like an obsurd query but it is a genuine one and would save me having to land on the beach. I would be grateful if you could put me into contact with someone who can make a decision on this. It really would only be a matter of walking across the field to the exit having landed. look forward to hearing from you. Alex" Response: Dear Alex, Thank you for your surprise email today. I have discussed your request with the Head Teacher Mrs Parker here at East Wittering Community Primary School. She appreciates you seeking permission from the school to land your parachute on the school playing field but reluctantly will have to decline permission. The implications of your actions would cause concerns on the ground of health and safety. The school and West Sussex County council would be liable for any injury sustained by yourself as would any damage to the grounds or property if we did not carry out the appropriate safety checks, risk assessment and ensure that there was a ground crew to ensure your safe landing. It was lovely to hear from an ex pupil and we wish you a very safe future. Regards xxxxxxx .....Think I will have to change my approach

I wonder what peoples experiences are of obtaining new take off/landing sites. I am yet to start training (sodding wind!) but I am interested to know how easy it is to arrange a flight from A to B. Im lucky that I have a field less than a mile away from me but If I wanted to go and visit my parents say 20 miles away or land at a destination, Im stumped at how one gets permission. I scouted out suitable landing fields but how does one find out who owns the land? I imagine nobody has had any luck ever with council owned land like school fields at the weekend etc. Is there a registry that would reveal a contact address perhaps? or it a case of scouting out the location and knocking on doors for each occasion?

Wow that seems scary. I think I will just concentrate on getting my training and practice done for now. maybe one day though..

I am a complete newbie about to start training and I wondered what the logistical possabilities are of flying from hampshire across the solent to the Isle of White. At this stage its just an idea for the distant future but I wondered if it was an easy and safe thing to do or something thats an absolute no no from the outset. I have always been able to see the Isle of White from my bedroom window ever since I was a kid and always dreampt about taking a boat across but with this new sport interest it would be even more satisfying to conqour the island by flying in.

Hi. Thanks Simon and Barry. I am based in Southbourne nr Chichester. I will definatly take a look at the W Sussex forum for you guys

Hi I am Alex 75kg from West Sussex and I thought I would introduce myself to the Paramotoring community as a paramotor wannabe. I have always been interested in flying and started a course in Helicopters as a teenager before moving to the less expensive fixed wing aeroplane but as my age increased so too did my financial reponsibility.. but my disposable income did not. After blowing up my car engine twice I resigned to Flight Simulators but it just wasnt the same so I enlisted to be trained as a civilian with the RAF at Lynham but the discounted training price prooved to be still too expensive and the prospect of having to keep a licence current each year was daunting. It was only a couple of weeks ago when I heard a paramotor pootle overhead in the garden that I realised the guy above had the perfect solution. To be able to jump up into the air and fly around the south coast for the cost of a pint prooved too tempting not to investigate further. So here I am doing research into high/low hang points, local schools and working out the cost and finances to get me off the ground safely. I am tempted by getting a new PXP Polini as these seem to be a good starting point along with a windtech zephyr pw and trying to balance the reliability of these against the cheaper G6 100c and a cheap wing (jojo)? for about £1500 less. There is so many stats and specs and other factors to weigh up, I am completly torn every time I browse something new. The one thing that remains constant though is the fact that anything I get will have to be on credit with only a £1000 headstart. Perhaps I should just buy the cheapest thing I see on ebay and be glad I have a motor? (not a rhetorical question) The one thing I am sure of though is that, this is totally something I want to do. The sense of freedom in this sport must be profound and exhilerating. Looking at some youtube videos of people videoing and snapping completely unique photos from a new perspective would be my main motivation along with enjoying the landscape for myself. So any help in this would be greatfully appreciated. Unfortunatly every time I crunch the numbers on various combinations of new/second hand and home built equipment I have a compromise whether its price, reliability or safety. Im sure 'ease' and 'enjoyment' are further factors to consider but not ones I am yet qualified to balance...