Patrick1

Good post Neilzy.  A good example to all. I suspect a lot of paramotor pilots assume that the rest of the aviation world hates them and are therefore best avoided but actually, when you do make contact with a local airfield or ATC, it seems that they are generally really happy to hear from you and they are more interested in helping you to fly safely and giving useful advice than getting in your way.  That's their job after all. There are a few grumpy old men who hate these 'unregulated cowboys' but I think they are a minority.  Actions like Neilzy's actually do a lot to help the reputation (the owning up, not the infringement!).  

I recently crossed to the dark side and have been doing some fixed wing training.  I initially kept quiet about my PPG experience thinking it would go down badly but actually, everyone is really interested in it.  What I've learned from my experience of crossing over is that there's far more support than you realise and if in doubt, get on the phone and you may be surprised at the positive and welcoming response you get.

However, that said, maybe I'm just lucky!

Of course, if I was a real man, I'd simply have one of these https://www.wynnchester.com/product/adventurer-canvas-bedroll/

I love sleeping rough and I'm a sucker for anything that saves weight. I'm always surprised by how much kit some people take camping. I went for a 36 hour hike out with some friends a couple of years ago on the Isle of Skye and I took a small pack with a sleeping bag, spare pair of socks, jumper and rations. The other guys rocked up with enough kit for a week. I admit I rarely camp in much below freezing but I've never understood the need for a tent, I've got an old snow peak tarp like this one, https://snowpeak.com/collections/shelters/products/penta-air-tarp?variant=22530095428 which is similar concept to the Rhino wolf thing.  Can't recommend it enough.

Im keen to do a fly camp trip though, that's one thing I'm yet to do.

Great to hear, we all have set backs in life, though they are rarely as ledgendary as yours, what defines us is how we recover - I hope your story inspires others.

You can say you looked death in the face and laughed ?

Height is always good but I was talking to an RAF heli pilot from Benson over a beer and he reckoned around 750 is a good place to be in a paramotor on the basis tactical raf choppers will be below 500 and light aircraft bimble around above a thousand.  

See link, read absorb. I guess if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. Jeff Goin is a respected authority and I'd be inclined to listen to his advice on his site.  

http://www.footflyer.com/Safety/Training/Free_Paramotor_Training.htm

Just don't whatever you do train with that weird guy from Utah who is all over youtube and sells his own brand of 'super' gear - that's the only certain advice I can give you.

Ive seen Kurt on YouTube - looks like a bit of a character.  I have no experience of the gear he sells or his training but I'm sure he's a genuine guy, if a little eccentric, and a competent teacher but you should talk to some people who have been through his package and get their view and ask him how long he would expect to spend training you.

Ultimately, he makes his money on the sale of gear so you are still paying - no such thing as a free lunch. How much time can he afford to really invest in training a student? Flying these things isn't too hard but I wouldn't want to be rushed through the training and I'd be happy to part with a few hundred dollars more to do it right.

Having said that, paying someone called "capt fister" to come to your house and suspend you in a harness while he "teaches you a lesson" in most cases would cost a lot more than a paramotor so maybe go with it.. 

Top post, great to see positivity and sense of humour appllied well and I know that will massively speed recovery! We all owe a thank you for sharing the details and the wisdom, it's appreciated. 

At least you did it properly, a very manly crash involving electricity, speed, concrete and a helicopter. Evel Knievel himself would have been happy with performance.

Good work Steve!

Not me sadly. Looked good today though.

thanks guys, weather looks good over the next few days, I will send her off once the wind picks up

My take off runs seem to be getting longer and longer. My first thoughts are my mini plane probably needs some attention, maybe the carb settings are out or it needs a compression test. However, I just worked out how old my wing is, I've been flying my hook 2 wing for 7 years.. I don't fly that much so it only gets light use but how quickly do they degrade? Are my ever lengthening runs more likely down to my old wing than my motor?

Also, I've done an annual service on my mini plane as best I could but I suspect it needs a compression test and possibly a new membrane - that's beyond me, is there anyone around the south who services them?

Cracking post! Makes me want to go flying as soon as I read it. 

Okay, so hate is probably laying it on a bit thick but I have noticed a definite negative vibe towards ppg from some people in the population at large that I can't totally understand.   Negativity from other aviators I sort of understand (a combination of jealously, control freakery and to be fair, occasional genuine concern at our relative 'outlaw' status). I can also understand people who dislike noisy aircraft in general.  However, I've found a few occasions when the subject of paramotors comes up that some people really dislike them whilst tolerating everything else. 

Is is just me being overly sensitive or has anyone else picked up on this?  I'll give an example from today that prompted this post; I live between a military helicopter base and an airfield with lots of micro lights and not too far from a gliding centre.. All in all, we have a hell of a lot of air traffic over the village, quite a lot of it at 500 feet. We also get the very occasional ppg. I was chatting to some neighbours over a beer who were whinging about 3 paramotors flying over the village a couple of weeks ago.. Apparently it spoilt the peace. Ok, it might just have been a friendly wind up as they know I fly but it's not the first time I've noticed ppg singled out as being an irritation.

I should add in the interest of balance that most people I come across love the novelty of it and I get far more waves, smiles and nice comments than neg but keen to get anyone else's insight - are we really that much more noisy than a helicopter or a Pitt special?

He can't do it - he's currently in Southampton and will burn too much fuel to move the boat around to Dover for the crossing for a respectable budget. Keep us posted on what happens - sounds like an adventure.

You will need something relatively quick to keep pace with you - I've got a friend with a fast boat on the south coast, I just did a coastal trip with him from the Thames around to Dorset, he might be up for a channel run. I'll fwd this to him. 

Nice, thanks for posting. Enjoying watching that from the comfort of an armchair with a cup of tea!

I think I've flown on that beach, I seem to remember running out of fuel and having to walk back to my car! I checked notams but was a bit worried about raf fast jets in the area so I stayed pretty low and out the way. If you are thinking on a trip to the mountains maybe check raf activity, I think there is an ops number you can call to let them know your route.. But not sure on that, can anyone else advise on that? Goes without saying that mountains come with weather, wind and rotor, I've not been brave enough to take my motor into the mountains but would love to do on a calm wind day, let us know how you get on if you venture out there!

Hi Simon,

Can I take you up on this?

I was looking at the Parafest website and only insured pilot's can fly at that event, another good reason to get signed off.

After a few failed attempts (weather and mechanical issues) I finally managed to fly to work today. Big field next to the office, big field next to my house. I will try and make 'fly to work friday' a regular event over the summer. Not may jobs where you can do that, living the dream!

Yep, two piece carbon.

I admit to a certain amount of pride alongside my shame.

Sharing my idiocy so someone else doesn't repeat. I flew my new miniplane for the first time with one half of the prop incorrectly fitted, the curved leading edge at the back and sharp trailing edge forward - obvious now but something it was pretty much impossible to do on my previous machine so I overlooked it.

Symptoms were massive lack of thrust and violent vibration in flight. Because I had never flown a miniplane before, I didn't suspect the lack of thrust was due to set up so I persevered and I managed, after a fast run, to take off and get to 100 feet agl into wind, but sank when down wind.

Thankfully, no harm done and second flight was sublime.

First flight with the miniplane today was 'interesting' - i have to confess to being a bit of a tool and I will share my idiocy so others can learn and you are all very welcome to take the piss - I will post a separate thread in the safety room.

I went to my local take off spot, really took my time making sure I was happy. I did a great forward launch into a light breeze, checked wing was nicely level and as it should be then applied gas, ran like a gazelle. After 100 meters and a tiny bit of lift, I had to kill the engine before running out of field. I'm close to max weight for a miniplane so I was expecting to run but was a bit surprised and disappointed with the lack of thrust. This happened. Three times and I was beginning to think I bought the wrong machine but I decided I just need a longer field (and lose some weight) so moved to another spot. After setting up, I got a good shape in the wing, went to full throttle and ran.. And ran and ran. I finally lifted off after 100m or so and very very slowly got about 100 feet agl, the machine was vibrating like hell. I turned down wind to avoid trees and began losing altitude immediately a, only gaining again when I turned into wind. Massive lack of thrust and the violent vibration led to a quick landing. The issue was immediately obvious. One of the prop blades was facing the wrong way! The curved edge was following and the sharp edge leading.

I'm surprised I managed to fly at all.

After a full check (the vibration had loosened exhaust screws and damaged the air filter box) I flew again, this time taking off easily in about 25 metres, climbing gracefully on a smooth, quiet, vibration free ride around my village before touching back down beautifully to the delight of neighbours and a couple of dog walkers.

Conclusion, miniplane is really really lovely to fly, but ffs check the prop is on correctly!

Thankfully no harm done and I'm now a wiser pilot.

Thanks for your help with the set up - and the pic often he prop was v helpful.

First impressions on the ground are v positive - started easily, really smooth and quiet engine, can't believe the difference. Haven't flown yet but I am beginning to see why these are popular.