Dominicppg

If you love the Synth, you should definitely try the Synth 2 or the Nucleon WRC for easy launch and great performance. Pilots often find their old wing becoming harder to launch when the lines stretch and the wing becomes more porous. However, you'll find all of the new style wings to be very easy to launch. Unfortunately the manufacturers, dealers and friends of dealers will try to convince you that their particular brand of wing is easier to launch than everyone else's wing. Don't believe it, it's all marketing hype. The original Synth was a fantastic wing and the new one is even better, as is the WRC, so you can't go wrong with either. Dom

Looks like a quality control issue at the Apco factory. Not the first time we've seen issues with Apco wings.

Any speed figures on the Buzz Power? Any more reviews from people who have tried this wing?

Hi, I'm told that there a few PPG pilots that fly in the Harrogate area. Does anyone here fly from Harrogate? Dom

Great video. Recommended viewing for all PPG and PG pilots.

I wonder what fuel they used in the paramotor? Dom

Ah, but did he win the World Championship for Wanging? Dom

Thanks for the offer of a test flight Morgy. I appreciate it. And thanks for the great advice. To answer your question, I'm not really interested in going long distances, I'm more interested in having fun - turning, flying low and generally wanging around. If I was at a high enough level the ideal wing would be the GTR, but since I'm a few years away from being able to make full use of the GTR, I'm pretty looking for a wing that does as much of it all as possible - i.e. is fun, turns well, is stable in flight, will keep up with friends. The Fusion sounds ideal, but I understand that Paramania have stopped making them and I suspect that the GTX is more a different animal than a genuine replacement. High on my list of great wings are Speedster, Nucleon and GTX, although they're often pitched as XC wings. Perhaps the Speedster is the great all rounder. What do people think? Dom

It looks like Quinoxyfen should be thanking Simon for his great discount and not the other guy. Dom

Simon, You should take over as main distributer for Apco. You put a lot of effort into the world of PPG and could probably sell a lot more wings than the current distributer. Dom

Can you say what discount you got, so others can benefit from the same? Is it a discount that is only open to those sent by Simon?

Great to gear you got a good discount on your wing. I know that the (wing) dealer was made aware of the complaints that I posted on this thread and was concerned about the negative publicity the post was generating. How better to turn it around than give a generous discount and get a big online thank you? Given the idea of minimising poor publicity, I wonder what the chance are of me finally getting a refund for my faulty AXB paramotor. Dom

Fantastic machine the Miniplane Top 80. If this had been advertised when I was looking for one I'd have bought it. Dom

They're usually very good indeed about replying. Dom

Basket Rak: up to 65kg: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Basket-rak-towb ... ds=bak-rak Thule Easy-base unit: up to 45kg: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thule-TH9490-Ea ... m_sbs_sg_2 Fold-up Base Rak: up to 100kg: http://www.bak-rak.com/base-rak.htm Dom

Very nice bit of kit. Someone's going to get a bargain. Dom

Hi Daniel, Welcome to paramotoring. I hope you find what you're looking for. On training. Given the weather we're having at the moment, it may not be a bad idea to do your training in Spain. Flyspain is quite a good school in Algodonales, between Malaga and Seville. Ironically it's easy to get to from your part of the UK since there are cheap flights to Malaga and the school picks you up at the airport. It's probably a 6 hour drive for you if you're already in the Javea region, but with these type of courses you pretty much treat it as a holiday anyway. Skyschool is definitely another one you should consider. Flyspain: http://www.flyspain.co.uk/paragliding-h ... -training/ Skyschool: http://www.skyschooluk.com/paramotor-tr ... n/lessons/ Whatever you do, don't skip on the training. Good, rigorous, syllabus-based courses are expensive, but this is aviation and has too many risks to mess around with. You get what you pay for, so "cheap" courses, I've found, can turn out to be very expensive in the long run. On kit, the general consensus is that you shouldn't buy any kit until you've completed you're training. I would add that you shouldn't buy any kit at all until you've got independent advice from some good, friendly, helpful pilots who have nothing to sell you. The kit you mention is a good start. I've personally been very impressed with PAP, Bulldog, Miniplane, Parajet (the lighter models) and have an Air Conception Ultra 130 myself (apologies to those very good paramotor brands I haven't listed). On wings, I've found that you really can't go wrong with Paramania or Dudek. I have an Apco myself and have been very disappointed with it. Having said all that, on kit, make sure you meet up with some pilots and have some good one-to-one discussions. Feel free to send me a PM is you have any questions. Hope this helps. Dom

Shane, I would strongly recommend you get some input from local pilots (people who don't have any financial incentive) before doing any training. I made the mistake of going to a local instructor (I live not far from Doncaster) before getting any independent advice. I ended up unhappy with the quality and completeness of my training and with the inappropriateness of the kit which I was advised to buy from my instructor. I have regretted it ever since. The best thing for me was when I joined the Yorkshire Owls paramotor club and met good, friendly pilots from all over Yorkshire and Humberside. They opened my eyes to how things are in the world of PPG, which turned out to be very different from the view presented by my instructor. I have since been re-trained and have bought equipment better suited to my needs. The second thing I would suggest is that you consider speaking to the guys at Hull Aero (Alan and Mark). I wasn't trained by them but I have only ever heard good things about them. http://www.parafly.co.uk/index.php?pageid=training They are a little bit further from you but I suspect a few extra miles may end up being very much worthwhile for you. I hope this helps. Dom

Interesting point. Paul Mahoney uses the Miniplane as a school motor - which might seem unusual, given its very light frame and cage. However, my understanding is that Paul believes the Miniplane is ideal as a school motor since the lightness of the unit means the student is not landing with a lot of weight on his/her back (and therefore is less prone to crashing). I come from a PG background and personally wanted a paramotor that was as close to a PG harness in weight as possible. I have the Ultra 130, which is so light I will happily ground-handle it for 30+ minute sessions (I'm light at 70kg). I'm certainly a lot more confident of my landings (and back, knees, joints, etc) knowing I have a light paramotor on my back. Hope this perspective helps. Dom

Nice job. Looks good. Dom

Good point Outkast. I was a Marshall at the British Open and was very impressed with the performace of the Nucleon across all the tasks (speed, handling, economy, etc.). Importantly we saw this not just in the hands of the seasoned pros like Michel Carnet, but also in the hands of some normal, have a go, pilots. Andrew McMahon did a fantastic job demonstrating how good the Speedster was by beating a lot of seasoned pros and coming third overall. Interestingly, the Paramania GTX beat the GTRs, although this could possibly be explained by the fact that the GTX pilot was Dean Eldridge. Dom

Very helpful advice guys. I33sno on Paramania: Best secondhand wing - Fusion Best new wing - GTX bholleran on Nucleon versus Speedster: Speedster - excellent launch & ground-handling, speed, stability, wing-tip steering, glide ratio; needs more active steering in rough conditions Nucleon - as the Speedster but slightly faster, more stable Simon: Just loves the Fusion - consistent with what I hear from everyone I know who has a Fusion Dom

In my own experience, the easiest wings by far for low wind launches and smooth ground handling have been the Synthesis and the Fusion. Pretty much any wing will fly itself when it's new, once you know the particular technique for each wing (e.g. pulling both A-risers versus one; lifting versus pulling, how you move backwards, etc.). I have an Apco and people have always found it hit and miss - some can't live with it all all and some have no problem. All wings will misbehave when thermals roll in, when there is rotor or turbulence, and when the wing is past its sell-buy date. It's easy to get sucked into all the hype of a new wing being "brilliant at low wind launches" or "easy to ground-handle", when often it's the new versus old, one technique versus another and smooth conditions versus thermic that makes the difference. Hope this helps. Dom

I'm looking for a really good intermediate wing. Choices are: Paramania Fusion or GTX Dudek Synthesis or Nucleon Ozone Speedster Awesome wings, very easy to launch, loads of fun and plenty of speed to keep up with friends. Anyone tried any of the above combinations can advise? Dom

The same thing happened to me when ground handling with a new (slightly oversized) harness. As the wing came up, the harness slid round, making one riser effectively shorter than the other, causing the wing to cartwheel to one side. I adjusted the harness to stop this happening and the cartwheeling stopped. You may have a different issue but if you've checked the lines and they're ok, then it may be worth checking movement in the harness. Hope this helps. Dom