Lee Jackson

Yes it comes with the various mounts and a case that lets you film in water. I took mine on the family holiday last year and the underwater stuff is really cool. I think the Gopro one is equally well appointed though. Something I forgot to mention above is that 4K filming also requires a jazzy super fast memory card... i.e. more money! The editing isn't an issue for me - I just use iMovie which you must have with your mac book (I use an iMac). I find iMovie a doddle to use, but then I started with 'movie maker' on a shitty old pc laptop. iMovie is a walk in the park after that. Whilst I'm being so dull I'll mention that I'm tempted to upgrade to finalcut, but that's yet more expense... and I'm not sure if its worth it yet. If anyone can advise me I'd really appreciate it. I've never tried using the manufacturers editing software so can't comment on what that's like to use. For all I know it could be amazing or a royal pain. I don't spend too long editing either as I'm not after BBC quality output, just a fun succinct vid of the flight. It usually takes me about 30 mins to an hour. Some of the really cool videos out there, beautifully timed to music with alternate angles and voice must have taken a shed load of hours. If you do need help I'd be happy to do what I can, but I'm really no expert. I've just found a way that works for me. There are some pitfalls too... and lessons can be painful. I've lost whole videos before. You need to convert the vid before uploading or it'll take the whole night to upload... that one took me a while to learn!!! Blue Hat Productions!

Eyup Neilzy, I'm not an aficionado on cameras or vids but I do record my flights for my own consumption (some do make it to YouTube, but I do not aspire to be a Tucker Gott). I figure one day I won't be able to fly any more and then the videos of me bumbling and playing in the sky will be invaluable. As such, I record my videos on a Sony 4K camera. Its is brilliant, but I understand that the gopro may be marginally better in some areas. The Sony forces a fisheye look when recording in 4K which is a unpalatable to some... I'm cool with it myself. From what I understand if you want to record in 4K then there are only the Sony or Gopro as viable solutions - anyone please correct me if I'm wrong here. 4K footage is absolutely amazing but it is memory hungry. As such you'll either need to edit your vids and delete the source files or buy an external drive that is capable of streaming 4K fast enough for your mac book (like a LaCie drive using firewire... and they ain't cheap - this is what I have and its brilliant plus I can keep all source files now). Filming in 4K eats battery faster too! That's easily solved by plugging in an external battery backup whilst flying - but once again more cost. If you're happy with 1050 resolution then the field is far, far wider - but, from what I understand, its probably still Gopro as the best solution. Now from my personal nosing about I think the 360 cameras don't quite seem up to speed yet. Don't get me wrong, they are good - and results can be amazing, but gimbals are really required and God knows what file size you end up with before editing. So I'd say it really depends what results you are after... but you can't go wrong with a GoPro (note I have never owned one). On a separate matter I bought a second Sony 4K camera recently for a steal. It was a return to Amazon and literally less than half the purchase price, I now have it and it is 100% perfect. Blue Hat out.

Jeez... comments like that should be a violation of forum code of conduct. Just imagine if one of our wives saw it!

Exactly what's wrong with spending an Anniversary on a cold Spanish beach being sandblasted by passing paramotors! I'm sure Cath would love it.

Yep, real shame you're not Neilzy!

I guess we need to see what Simon wants... I'm good with 2m, airband and/or bluetooth. BTW it's already become confusing for me... the Mrs asked if Gary Smith is going! Obviously I explained no, but yes.

Thanks for the kind offer Dickie, I'm flying from Stanstead. So I'm over the barrel for the parking charges... ho hum! Arriving in Barcelona T2 @ 11:30 on the 24th... I guess you'll be waiting in the bar slightly ahead of me! I just sorted out paramotor travel insurance for the week too... £25! I thought that was a bargain.

You have a non-steerable reserve and so all the lines 'focus' into one. I believe it's standard and certainly the same as mine. Its why the routing of the bridle is so important... i.e. so you don't get caught in a snap deployment. They do say to replace after 10 years! That said, I bet plenty out there have many more years than this. There is a great write about reserves up on Flybubble: https://flybubble.com/blog/choose-the-right-reserve-parachute/

Its pretty much as has been said above... its probably more likely to be your commitments that could restrict what flying you can/can't do. The weather in the UK isn't actually that bad. For example, there has recently been a lovely spate of flyable winter conditions - 4-5 days in my area (good all day long). But I've not been able to take advantage during the week, due to work, but I've still had a couple of good cross countries at the weekends. Last year I only had about 30 flights, approaching about 40 hours. On paper that doesn't sound a lot, but I'm not complaining! I have a young family and time with them is also important. Most of these flights were weekend flights or at weekend fly ins. I took a couple of afternoons off work too. There is a Belgian chap who flies near me and he's literally flying 3-5 days a week without fail. Mind you he's very experienced and will fly in any old shitty weather.

Yes, Simon is 100% right the Bulldog mentioned is a high hang point machine (I fly the same unit). The Bulldog is pretty much bullet proof and a very comfortable setup for XC's but almost certainly no use with your present wing. If you're used to time in the saddle as a free flier you'd probably want a tad more weight shift than the Bulldog offers too. TBH I'm surprised more Parajets aren't up for sale with the new Maverick and Air Conception out there. Maybe as spring comes around some will pop up for sale. Best of luck with it.

That's nuts! Lovely bike too.

Crikey well done Richie! I read Will's message and thought to myself... nope, that's just not possible! Where the hell does Richie stow the wing, helmet and reserve? That's going to be a very busy bike. Very cool mind. At times I struggle to fit all my flying shite in my camper!!!

A couple of years back I flew my first handful of flights without one... no issue what so ever. That said as soon as I flew with one I was much more relaxed and definitely happier. I'll never fly without one now. Exactly as its been said by aljken... they're easy to fit and check so why wouldn't you? If you get one and can get yourself to a 'zip line reserve day' I would. In a pinch a reserve can be harder to detach and throw than you think (i.e. potentially spinning, G's and lines everywhere). You need to know how to use one as second nature, as well as how to look after one. Enjoy your training.

I am using the sena 20s with the sr10. I am happy with it... but when I first started using the sena I was a tad disappointed with the range (i.e. vertically more than horizontally). The more I've used it the more happier I've become with it. More recently, I added the sr10 (with a Kenwood 2m radio) so I could still communicate when beyond Bluetooth range. I have to say that it works well, but it ain't been cheap! I have no doubt there are much cheaper solutions out there, but whether they can cross communicate, or if they are any good, is well beyond me! At a Wingland flyin I spoke to people using a Bluetooth radio solution (i.e. not permanently an open channel) and it seemed to work well enough - and was significantly cheaper than the sena setup. No idea what make the kit was though. Remember you'll need a radio connection wire to connect your radio to the sr10 . They may, or may not, have such a wire connector for the Baofeng.

Yes it is, but its apparently normal for a Moster. I'm weighing in at about 135-140Kg's all up on a Nucleonwrc 29 More significant height changes and I will use 6 litres and a consistent height cross country will peg me nearer 4-5 litres. I have done better, but not often.

I obviously use burn rate as Simon has said above, i.e. I always fill 6 litres per hour of flight expected + 2 (spare). I'm on a moster burning 5-6 litres per hour. That said, I sometimes find myself having a bit more fun than expected and losing track of time! When that happens the mirror finds itself working overtime. I'd be keen to see if a warning light could be used. Lee.

Yes, I'd be very interested in learning about this 2 stroke sorcery, and perfectly willing to pay for it (in beer and/or pennies). As ever, good advance warning would help avoid a date conflict.

Hi Kausik, I'd start with a perfectly clear open field. Hopefully someone is giving you good instruction and they can help with a good location. Personally I've got a bit of experience of flying into rugby posts and I wouldn't advise trying it to anyone! Even if you're just kiting, get a space free of rotor and surrounding obstacles... especially power lines - its just not worth the risk (to you or your kit). Basically expect things to go a bit wonky occasionally!

My previous wing was an ITV Boxer, sporting a 'semi-reflex' profile. TBH I think 'semi-reflex' is effectively a regular profile until you open the trimmers and use a speedbar - and then it only slacks off the D's - slightly altering the profile. Essentially it was still an active wing (hands on)... and definitely didn't have the speed range of a true reflex wing. For me, as a beginner wing it was a good wing, albeit a tad slow. I honestly enjoyed flying it. I now fly a true reflex wing (Nucleon WRC) and the difference is stark. It is much, much faster - more suited for cross country trips. It is also more stable/solid in lumpy air... seeming to cut through the thermals rather than taking the washing machine route. My 2p = 'semi reflex' is not true reflex in that it doesn't offer the speed, collapse resistance and hands off dependability that a true reflex wing will.

Gary Smith and I once got caught in a 'light drizzle' whilst on a cross country (unforecasted)... I'd imagine a fair few others on here have too. It was not a full on code brown moment but obviously not the wisest either - due to all the reasons given above. I was flying an old ITV Boxer at the time (an active non-reflex wing) - the rain only lasted about 20 mins. In that instance I trimmed it right out, kept plenty of height and avoided any heavy brake inputs. The rain stopped before we came to land but, if it hadn't, I would have come in trimmed for a nice fast landing... just to be sure. Likewise, had it got much heavier I would have just landed asap. The surprising thing is that its actually quite tricky to gauge exactly how heavy the rain is when flying along. i.e. you can't easily tell if its getting worse or not. Keeping an eye on how wet your knees are seemed to give the best indication of what was going on. I won't ever plan to do it again but, if I did I'd also smear rainex on my mask!

Yes, definitely... ... early notice of dates would really help avoiding a conflict too.

Yes thanks for this Alan. TBH I wasn't expecting miracles, but I understand other people using Sena Bluetooth systems are definitely getting better ranges than we did. Just watch Tucker Gott chatting away merrily in his youtube ppg vids. On the ground and close up they are brilliant. As the distance increased it was much like a bad mobile phone line (i.e. sounding a bit like you're underwater). We both had the little aerials flipped up to help, but I'm not sure if they improved the situation. I think I was hearing a bit of RFI and it definitely seemed to be marginally better when the engine revs were lower. I guess I need to see what other users have found before I risk flogging a dead horse.

I have recently bought and now tried using the Sena 20s instead of a 2m radio. Whilst it has worked perfectly as described, I was a tad disappointed at how the range wasn’t quite as good as expected. My wingman and I seemed to be out of contact for significant blocks of our last flight… as soon as we exceeded a distance of about 400ft. It also seemed to ‘stutter’ when I was using high revs (i.e. climbing). Now it’s meant to be good for 1.2 miles so I wonder if my bulldog moster plug lead is causing a problem (RFI). I believe my plug is the resistor type. If so I wonder if shielding it could help, using something like this: https://www.techflex.com/prod_spb.asp Is it possible to shield the stator? Has anyone else experience of using the Sena 20s and any advice? Does anyone else shield their plug lead for their radios? Many thanks Lee

Cheers Neil, yes I've managed to bag a handful of smoothies recently, but also some of those earlier in the day 'bump and wallow' flights. Sorry to hear you're not getting airborne enough. I know what you mean about work though... get that balance right! Luckily for me I can pop up the road after work - if the conditions are right. I leave the van loaded ready to grab the moment. Not too sure if I'll make the next Bore. I did the April one but this next one clashes with the Wingland flyin, which I've never done before. I don't see why Simon can't just change the tidal bore dates to suit me! Ho hum... I'll decide a bit nearer the time. Hopefully I'll catch you and Cath somewhere or other soon. Mr Blue Hat

Nice to meet you after we landed Roger. Here's what you witnessed from the ground...