Dominicppg

Pete and Pianoman have pretty much said all you need to know about the topic. For some people it's like talking about religion and you will be blaspheming if you say anything negative about their choice of hangpoint. I fly paragliders which are low hangpoint and I've had two completely different paramotors - one high hangpoint and one mid-hangpoint, and to be honest I barely notice the difference. If you're happy with what you've trained on, then there's probably nothing wrong with staying with that set-up. Hope this helps. Dom

Apco state that their wings are not certified at all if you use the trimmers. Which seems to imply that if I take off (or fly) with the trimmers on, then my Apco wing is not certified as safe. Having said that, good practice appears to suggest that in higher winds it is better to use some trim when taking off and landing so that the wing doesn't hang back too much (on take-off) and reduces your chance of being blown back (on landing). Two contradictory pieces of advice. Dom

Same here Alan. I'm about 2 hours west of you (near Saintes) and found the same thing - very little wind on the ground but once I'm in the air I'm going nowhere at 500ft. It changed today to gusting (5-15mph) on the ground and not worth taking off. Dom

Have you considered getting a PPG wing that can also be used for PG? Are you likely to do more PPG than PG? If so, you could look at the novice/intermediate wings from Paramania (Revo 2, EN B) and Ozone (Roadster EN C). Dom

I would definitely recommend you do the PG CP as well. I did it and it has opened up loads of flying possibilities at home and abroad; and helped with very useful active flying skills I wasn't taught in PPG. Dom

Make sure you try the Revo 2 before opting for the Lift. I have an Apco and really wish I'd bought the Revo 2 as a first wing instead (or the Dudek or Ozone equivalent). I believe that Apco are big on hype and poor on actually delivering performance. I do know people who bought the Lift and are happy with it - but since they came from other Apco wings the bar was set pretty low to start with. You want a first wing that will give you stability and confidence as you learn, and will give you great performance as you progress, so you can fly happily for years if you need to. My advice is to look around and the various options - ideally try a few wings - and avoid getting caught up in the hype. Dom

I can't believe they're so expensive - £210 Compare it to a similar (non-"aviation") self-inflating jacket for under £50: http://www.seapro.co.uk/acatalog/Seapro ... ckets.html

Carl, If you approach the airfield they may very well tell you that you need proof of competence, insurance, proper radios, etc, before you can fly there. But if you're a friendly guy and can ease their mind about your competence (e.g. show some UK qualification, or practice/demonstrate good ground handling and knowledge), then all the "restrictions" may magically disappear. This is what happened to me. If, on the other hand, they are adamant that you can't fly from there then it will be easier to find a decent field and get permission to fly from it. Hope this helps. Dom

The great thing about the high top is that you don't have to stoop all the time when you move around - which is fantastic. Of course the great thing about the low top is that you can get your campervan into those car parks with the 2m high barriers. Dom

Carl, I'm in France at the moment and am happily flying my paramotor at a friend's field and at a local airfield used by Paramotors, Microlights and light aircraft. I've been told that as a visiter you are officially allowed to fly for up to 90 days without needing a French licence. I'm also told that, unofficially, as long as you don't fly into restricted airspace or p*ss anyone off, you can fly all you want and no-one will care. I just flew this evening and the locals came out to watch. They really enjoy seeing the wing and paramotor in the air. Which part of France are you going to? Dom

Very cool. Looks like a lot of fun. Dom

Thanks for posting Peter. This is very useful to anyone considering the BHPA route. FuSTICS is also a good one. Dom

Doesn't sound right that you have to fork out another £168 after just 6 months, especially when you consider that the netting is essential for the safe operation of the paramotor. Is it not covered under warranty? Let us know how you get this resolved. Dom

Thanks Ian. This is very helpful. Dom

Thanks for posting. It is important that we hear about how companies behave when things don't go "smoothly". We're very keen to praise on forums but often afraid to write when things go badly wrong. I think this is partly because of legal fears and partly because when you expose how a dealer has been at fault, their mates often come on the forums and give a dozen "examples" of how they have been great. I've been in a similar position with Paul Haxby (AXB Sports) for over 18 months now and it has cost me the price of a new paramotor. It turns out that I'm not the first to get into this position - but if the previous case/s had posted their experience on the forums I might not have been stung myself. In my case I don't expect to ever see my money or paramotor again. In your case I do think you need to keep pushing and keep posting until you get the money back. Hope this helps. Dom

My antivirus software is screaming at me when I try to access the airportweb link. Dom

What carb did you have on before? Dom

I agree that if you're in the North and interested in learning PPG, I would certainly recommend people to look at the following highly regarded (and perhaps less controversial) instructors and schools: Paul Kilburn - Manchester Paragliders http://www.manchesterparagliders.com/ Airways Airsports - Derbyshire http://www.airways-airsports.com/ Yorkshire Paramotors - York & Selby http://www.yorkshire-paramotors.co.uk/ Dean Crosby - Active Edge - Harrogate http://www.activeedge.co.uk/ Hope this helps. Dom

I should probably add that I have an Apco dual paragliding/paramotor wing, and it's rubbish at both.

I met a guy at the Chabre Open paragliding competition in the South of France last year. He was an experienced PPG pilot and was flying his Ozone Speedster in the PG competition for the first time. He mentioned that the Speedster was extremely stable and that it appeared to thermal just as well as the dedicated PG wings around him. He also mentioned that he had flown the Speedster for several years (PPG) and was very happy with it. During one practice XC (PG) flight from le Chabre it became very turbulent and two of the guys he was flying with had collapses in their PG wings and had to chuck their reserves. On the Speedster he experienced no collapses. Hope this helps. Dom

S1buell, The Ultra 130 is great. I originally wanted a Miniplane because it's so light - I wanted to get as close to paragliding as possible and was impressed with how light the Miniplane felt. Like you I found the only other option for me was the Ultra 130. I have the clutch and electric-start version, which on my own scales weighed in at just over 22kg (ready to fly but without fuel). On your back it feels very light (although not as light as the Miniplane) and I was amazed that I could happily ground-handle for half an hour with it on. With my previous motor I was exhausted and sweating just launcing it. For someone as light as me (70kg) the power is phenomenal and take-offs are ridiculously easy. With my previous motor I had to run like crazy and had difficulty getting off the ground in nil wind. With this one, once the wing is up and power is on, I'm skipping across the surface. I haven't got to full power yet. Until I'm fully used to it I just add power in steps until I'm pinged into the air. I had an initial problem with a faulty carb, but Vince from Custom-Air really bent over backwards to get it sorted. In terms of torque, I've felt none at all. Partly because I don't use full power and partly because the ABM bars and attachment points are set to compensate for torque. Brazil sounds great. As does the beach. Thanks for the invite. Dom

Welcome Patrick. Great to hear you're training with Simon W. He comes very highly rated. You'll have a lot of fun. Dom

The world is getting windier: http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/ne ... vironment/ According to research conducted by Universities in Melbourne and Canberra, where they measured global wind speeds across the oceans, using data from satellites, they found the speeds of the fastest winds have increased by around 5% in the last 20 years. Although it feels like more. They don't know if it's the result of climate change or a natural long-term cycle Dom

I have electric start on my new Titanium Ultra 130 paramotor and have found it very easy to turn off and re-start in flight. Having had a (faulty) paramotor that used to die on me in flight and wouldn't re-start, it was important for me to know that the new one would re-start every time. Dom

Excellent video Clive. Are you planning to compete at the British Open in July? Dom