SimonP

agreed, sad news, great character and always happy to have a chat on the couple of occasions I met him. Another one out of the same mould I have had the fortune to meet for those interested in these inspirational flyers, is Eric "winkle" Brown, he's 94 and has an amazing book out called wings on my sleeve, its must read to fully understand what it used to be like for test pilots in the post war era

Personally, I'd do the hang test in full flying gear, instruments, reserve everything fitted,harness tight and normal (average take off fuel) fuel load. The thrust of the machine in relation to the pivots on the swing arms machine effects the thrust line, but normally at cruising rpm I'd be aiming to have the thrust line roughly parallel with the ground and the prop (not the cage) angle 90deg to the ground. Either side of that your either pushing your weight up or down in level flight. You need someone to eyeball it for you of course. No good using a kiddies swing to do this unless you fancy going places with it. But there's loads of frames around the place you could use if you spoke to the owners if you cant locate one yourself. Most Paramotor sellers have them, Nigel at UKPPG got one, Parajet have one etc etc.

Anyone got a tandem wing they are looking to sell? Not looking for anything to pricey, secondhand but in good nick, spreader bars, passenger harness etc. Also be interested in swapping for my spare motor - H&E120 Ali comp version which is busy gathering dust.

though I'd post this as I thought it was amusing, paraglider with some speed on nearly nailed a downwind landing. he had a good slide going for a while then it all went pete tong http://www.hiking-trail.net/video_youtu ... YUMUWwaRC0

Link below showing Raul Rodriguez spiralling and more on the same swing arm system I have on my PXP Moster, having said that I also have a H&E R120 with a different design swing arms which Im not so comfortable putting through higher g loads. http://youtu.be/04ZILn1GLGg

Personally... all, from neutral to full fast, i.e full out. The induction is relative to the trim settings in terms of brake pressure to induce, as is the wing position, i,e on full fast the leading edge drops lower. All gliders are different so take advice from your manufacturer and and then practice on the range of trim settings they advise by inducing just 2 rotations initially and recovering each time with weight shift and outside brake until your comfortable, keeping it comfortable is the key and not allowing the g/rotation speed to build up. Spirals are fun and useful but an extreme manoeuvre if in doubt about them seek some training or do a SIV.

Its comes down to your kit, if your flying with high hang points then there is no real additional issue, the higher weight wont make your wing more unstable, you don't need to kill the engine either in fact I never do, I'd rather have it running when I come out of the spiral particularly if thats low, just keep hand contact off the throttle lever and let it tick over and enter the spiral as normal, an accidental blast on the throttle whilst in the spiral will likely increase the speed of rotation, same applies if you have low hang points, but then the design and quality of the swing arms is a major factor, check with the manufacturer they may have some comments on spirals, personally I still think its the best form of rapid descent and the g can be controlled and kept to a minimal level by keeping the spiral under control and I always check my harness, swing arms and mallions thoroughly after spiralling. I sometimes use a bit of throttle coming out of a spiral but this depends on the trim settings i have at the time. Personally I think spirals can be exercised safely with a paramotor but like anything it comes down to the kit, your skill and the conditions you are doing it in.

Whatever the cause, I for one would be interested to know a little more about the flight dynamics from the point of arm failure onwards, but to start with what direction was the 360 in, how and how easily did the Pilot recover the situation to enable him to get his arse level enough to walk away from it, i,e what inputs did he put in after the arm failed (weight shift opposite brake etc), also how much secondary slack had he got in his harness? I can pinch an inch and a half of slack on my PXP but on my old H&E I had at least 2.5ins of webbing slack before it would take up the riser strain, there must be some correlation as to how the wing behaviour may in the event vary depending on the amount of travel in the harness before it takes up the strain. Perhaps worth us all just thinking about the immediate action in the event of dynamic failure on either side be it arm, shackle or arm mount, several possibilities that I've never considered until now!!

true about the inevitable reduction in fast jets but as compensation looks like the MOD is committed to its Drone program, not sure how I feel about flying around having to be spotted by a Xbox player miles away in RAF Waddington getting to grips with his new Reaper drone!

Just wanted to echo Nigel's post. Bought my Moster from Jose at PXP eighteen months ago and its just coming up to 100hrs now with no faults at all, in fact its running perfect on Motul, "he says quickly reaching for something wood" like Nigel says I've never fiddled with the carb, but then it hasn't been asking me to. The only thing I've done is replaced the pull start which I broke being to heavy handed one day and fitted a better NGK plug cap. Im still trying to decide if to implement the upgrades Vittorazi are suggesting. Flew on Sunday in virtually no wind and it pushed my lardy arse off the ground with the same omph it did the day I bought it. I wonder if the cooling issues Vittorazi encountered are exacerbated by the higher ambient temps they are operating in?

yep, it closed in 2006, think there turning it into a waste re-cycling plant or something like that, not sure the legality of it, but its uncanny doing a low fly past down the runway looking at all the disused jaguar hangars. Norwich Airport is trying to get its airspace extended which will nearly touch the coast if it goes ahead, but to us PPG's, who cares stay out of the atz at the right height and no one gives a sheet. Si

Hi Stu My names Simon. Yes Dave, any time you want to land or take off from here your welcome, as is anyone. One word of caution though, the field suits an experienced flyer, your take offs and landings need to be accurate or you could find yourself the source of amusement to several boaters. I always do a dummy approach to check the glide descent rate and check no yacht masts have suddenly appeared since I took off. If your visiting and the wind is easterly or south easterly forget it, poss wind sheer from my house plus you would be taking off over yachts and water etc, which is not a good idea. If your starting from here its fine from 180deg thru to 050deg. Theres normally a windsock out if your passing by. Coltishall isn't a problem, its not active anymore. theres a microlight airfield at Ludham 2 miles north, but not very active, the main thing to watch out for is the Norwich approach is overhead, inbound and outbound traffic is generally above 2000ft by the time it passes over. But its worth looking out for. Sometimes get an Apache low over our place and theres a neighbour with an autogyro who likes it low and fast. But other than that not much to worry about.

Your more than welcome to fly from my place at Thurne just north west of Caister, its actually my back garden but its big enough approx 1acre, and ok with a little positive wind, plenty of of other alternatives nearby if the wind isn't quiet right as the local farmers all know me and are good eggs. Tend to get an audience from the boats moored up next to the field when you take off and land, so its a bit like flying at the nats but theres nothing like a round of applause when you land back to complete your flight. If you google earth Thurne, my field is the triangular one 300m due east of the windmill at the end of the dyke. Some great beach flying from Winterton up to Happisburgh and over the Broads themselves the Lat&Long is 52°41'15.54"N 1°33'9.93"E, call or text on 07775 717231 if the weathers good I'll join you, same applies to anyone else venturing into Norfolk for a break.

cheers mate, much appreciated. Si

Hi Guys Saw this thread and thought I'd give you some feedback on the PXP 185 Moster which I've had now for about 3 months and completed around 20hrs on it. I progressed to this from a Volution to Macro to H&E120 over about 6 years and I have to say Im really impressed with the build quality and attention to detail PXP have achieved with this machine, apart from the fantastic power to weight ration the 185 Moster has, the engineering and build quality so far appears to be faultless. The only slight issue I have with it is that it takes longer to assemble than any of the other machines I've flown and it has a strengthening bar fitted to the cage to cope with the power the Moster kicks out. Its lighter than the H&E 120 and has as much power as the Macro or so it feels, but this could be to do with the fact its probably 10+kgs lighter. Incidently there's virtually no torque twist on the low hang point version even when you boot it, however I'd still caution anyone to be aware of the power if your not used to it. Fuel economy, I haven't measured it precisely but Im averaging around 4lt/hr on a Reaction31 (AUW125kg approx dry) but I reckon I can improve that average by flying it more economically. The Harness is comfortable and easy to get in. You need to add pulley extensions to the harness to get a more direct extension of the speed bar, but I had to do that with the H&E as well. It has a deeper and easier on the ear noise level as well. Its yet to come with a manual, but i haven't found I've needed one yet. You run it in as you would any engine of this size and type. The hang points are self explanatory. And finally I found Jose Navarro the MD at PXP extremely helpful, responsive and all round good egg. He will deal direct with you, or he did with me because I wanted a vat invoice for the machine and the UK agent isn't vat registered. If anyone wants any more info or to even take a look at it let me know you can get me on 07775 717231 or email simon@sae-ltd.com Simon Peck