DavidG4

A new sport??

Fair enough. Here in wiltshire we use the amateur portions of 2m...lets face it, there is no one else there. Whether the beofungs are are approved or not they are extremely popular and sold by mainstream dealers, so i am sure they are approved. Absolutely certain. I guess you just use the freqs that you know don't cause trouble and get on with it! The range is minimal, even in the air it's not going to be much. Id like to try it One day, proper 2m qso I mean. Just sign /M and no one will be any the wiser. Maybe even try HF via a trailing wire antenna...oh, hang on.....

AM is used for aircraft because of the lack.of capture effect. As for selecting a freq outside the amateur bands, hmmm. Unlicensed use of an amateur band is one thing, using an unlicensed, unauthorised radio on some band you just make up could open yourself to a can of worms. The uhf band for example is shared military...start messing about there and ofcom might start looking. I really would stay within the amateur 2m band and annoy no one. On the other hand, you could just take your amateur licence...its not so hard and is a lot of fun. I've been licenced now for forty years and still get immense pleasure from using morse code alMost daily. But that's another story...and its still not an FRTOL. I had to do full.training for amateur, FRTO and my marine radio. Learnt something everytime.

Alan, Thanks. Yes, I knew that but to me the use of a frequency display on the head which is different from the actual Tx freq whilst we still call the channel number by the freq, IS anomalous in that it differs from what one might expect. But I appreciate your clear and concise reply. David

Because the frequency your radio displays is not always the frequency of transmission. The 8.33 is not 100pc accurate and some anomalies do exist. As an interesting aside, it is correct that use of the 2m band is illegal by both non licenced users at all, and all users in the air, but in fact ofcom dont really care, so feel free. It is a circular argument between the CAA and ofcom which causes /AM to remain illegal as there is no real technical reason for it. Furthermore, and i have seen letters to prove it, whilst for Amateurs aeronautical mobile is illegal in the UK, when In or over foreign countries who do permit it, it is legal. So, since i am a radio amateur, i sometimes use my aircraft HF set on the amateur bands when over certain CEPT states who permit /AM Meanwhile, carry on using 2m...its very underused by Amateurs. Just be cautious that below 145 MHz you're in the sideband area and if youre unlucky you'll cause temporary interference to other stations. But if you had a quid for every time you did it I doubt you'd buy the fuel home and anyway, my 400w of ssb will get you more than your 2.5w of FM gets me . There is no doubt that a FRTO licence is the way to go but ofcom put all sorts of barriers in the way when you actually want a radio, as many have discovered. Again, we have to be pragmatic. Ofcom really only care when serious interference is caused which endangers aircraft. Unless they are forced or paid ofcom dont move. The FRTO courses are good and worth it if you feel the need to talk to airtraffic and maybe you want to. Maybe you want a transponder and TCAS too... Xc gurus might well need to. Personally I prefer being nonradio when I can be and when I was flying pg I carried my thirty quid Beofung. David

Yes,I appreciate that, but surely they dont need to be slots. Are they dont cosmetic? Do engine cage designers Have to sell cages so make them look flashy? And why, if they are necessary, don't the nets go all the way over to stop throttle cables being pulled in. ?

AndyB...thats what I'm.referring to. Why do cages still have slots? What are they for??

Just watching Paranoobs heavy-weight take off video (v good) and noticed that his cage and net have big slots in them...the slots through which hands have been pulled and then chopped to bone and flesh. Why? Why are these slots still there? Im not criticising Paranoob, I am genuinely asking. Why aren't the props fully caged and netted to save hands? David

Thanks Simon What does a "course" consist of?? What do I get for my1200?

Don't want to hijack the thread, but why not reflex? From what i read they are better all-round than non reflex. What am i missing?

I read the bmj research into pm deaths and by far (30 PC of total) the worst injuries are not fatal but to upper limbs (hands in prop). Better cages and nets are needed badly (as of 2012) but accidents resulting in death are both Very low and usually pilot induced. And the incidences of pilots falling out of harnesses are zero. David

Andy...true, it's the fear of falling not of heights per se. I think I have this irrational fear of toppling head over tail and fallling OUT of the harness. Like i said, whilst slope soaring I didnt get it. Simon W must have been this before.

This.might seem odd so I'll give the background. I've got thousands of hours as pilot, lots in small aeroplanes but the vast.majority, about 9 -10,000 hrs in heavy metal. I've owned small planes and a flexing in my time. I also have a CP slope and winch paragliding which I enjoyed and I still own but dont fly my wing (too popular, too many idiots on the slopes). What I found scared the hell out of my was my imagination. Coming off the winch was great till i sat in my seat, then every time the same thing...as the straps went loose and I settles to say I thought...oh dear...what if i FALL OUT???!!? I know this is irrational, or at least rational but misplaced, fear, but how possible is falling out? My brain says its quite impossible, but after a life time of being under tight straps, the paraglider felt very insecure. Strangely I dont remember this sensation bumbling around Rhossili...so maybe i had the seat rigged badly? Or maybe sloping was occupying my mind more? I wish i could just tell myself to get over it, but it might be something I either work through or have to surrender to. And unless youve been scared of heights like this you have no idea... So...how secure are those flying machines I do very much want to fly? David

Does this suggest that the surrounding area is full.of.sink???

What the Max seat weight of that trike?

Hmmm...so if pigs COULD fly...

Two Sconds....thats all we get? That's mean... Thanks for sharing David

Well pragmatism wins every time in my book kiwi. Well done...it looks a nice job D

And that's the beauty of paramotor...always landing or taking off so rule 5 is flexible. It comes down to annoyance and scaring folks.

Correct. But do remember that (a) you cannot easily see people and (b) some people have agendas which mean they cant tell the difference between a nice fat 1000ft and a dangerous- enough- to- lock -you -up -and- crush- the -aeroplane 100ft. I've also heard of a deaf old general (literally) complain about the noisy dangerous aerobatics performed by...a glider. Caveat Aeronaut

Kiwi, nice posts. Thanks. The way you talk about your engine makes it almost sound home built...a motorcycle piston here, a mallet to the ring there... I'm totally new to PM, so forgive me...but it isn't home built is it? David

Actually the law doesn't say you can fly below 500ft with the owners permission. Rule5 says you may fly.no closer than 500ft to any vessel, vehicle person or structure unless for the purposes of taking off and landing. Formation flying is a different rule and does require prior consent. Common land, or parks, which are different, will have by-laws applicable which may or may not preclude taking of and landing. Most laws tend to be there to avoid nuisance -so taking off and flying away should not cause a problem. There's a piece.of land riund here where hot air balloons often launch in summer. Technically i'm sure its not permitted but thankfully we live in GB not Europe where if it's not permitted it is banned. What I find odd is that although Salisbury is green as a pool table, I never ever ever see paramotors operating.

That's not a fair accusation. I fly commercially and the sheer number and format of Notams is impossible to assimilate. I'm always amazed that even now, maybe, especially now, when information transmission is cheap, the Notams are truncated and abbreviated to the point of obfuscation. We all read them, they just dont sink In. David

Some nice videos. Thanks for posting them.

Sharing an aeroplane is always a tricky one. Been there, done that...ownership is always better.