tomarnold

Quick report after my first flight with the Golden 2. Very easy inflation, very short takeoff run, and fast climb. However, it was pretty thermic this morning, so the climbout could have been down to a thermal passing through. It was easier to maintain level flight, and I used less fuel, but then again there was a lot of lift about. I'll have to try it again on a still calm evening.

The other problem was that it was all set up for freeflying, so my arms got tired very quickly (holding them up above my head) and I had to land after 15 minutes. So I must remember to re-tie the brakes with some more slack in them before I try it again!

Sounds like you did well not to do too much damage given the circumstances.

The photo you posted shows some big powerful clouds, so definitely lots of very active air there, giving large gusts and sudden changes of wind direction. Fun conditions to fly in, but far more challenging than smooth calm conditions.

If you're flying over Beaminster we'll have to meet up when my kit arrives.

I'm in Dorchester and working on permission to fly from the field next to Maiden Castle..

That would be great, I'm always up for meeting up with others for a fly. Get in touch when you're ready...

Yep, that was me over Misterton. 600ft on the way out, and a gradual climb up to 1500ft over Beaminster. I returned at 1300ft above Misterton on my way back home. Where are you based? Misterton I'm guessing If you're that close by, it would be great to get together for a fly.

Flew for 50 minutes last night with the trims mostly on the slowest setting. My max engine revs is 9600rpm, and I was cruising level at about 8700rpm. I used 3.5l in 50 minutes. So next time it looks nice a evening for flying, I'll go out on the Golden2 and see what the difference is...

I'll go for a fly this evening on my Revo and see how much fuel I use, and then I'll fly with the Golden next time I go out and compare the figures...

I think the motor is fine (as it flew well with my DHV2 paragliding wing), but perhaps it is simply not well-matched to a first-generation reflex wing like the Revolution. They weren't around when my motor was built, so it is mis-matched technology.

When I have saved up a little money I will take the motor to a 2-stroke expert and see what they can do with it. There isn't enough cage clearance to fit a bigger prop.

A friend of mine has offered me to try a Gradient Golden, so I'll give it a go and compare the two.

Sadly more power is not an option for the moment - my next motor needs at least another 2 years of saving up!

So perhaps reverting back to a PG wing is the best option with my current motor. Although I can fly faster with the Revo, I don't like flying at full throttle all the time - I'd rather fly a bit slower and use 1/2 to 3/4 throttle.

Yes, that's exactly right, I have to fly on full throttle all the time to maintain level flight with the trims on the Neutral setting. And if there's sinky air about (as there was last night) sometimes I can't maintain level flight even on full throttle!

Last week I flew at midday in some pretty boisterous air and flew mostly on full trims-out and it did feel nice and stable and I didn't use much fuel but that's because I used the thermals carefully (I have been freeflying for around 8 years so have a fair bit of XC experience) but that's not really what I went into PPG for.

I guess that a lot of this is down to my motor which is an old Rad Arrow. So perhaps I would be better off trading in my extra speed and reverting back to a PG wing (a DHV1 or 1-2 to retain some of the passive safety).

I bought my first PPG wing last month and have now flown about 6 hours on it. Before this one, I flew a DHV2 / ENC paragliding wing (a Freex Vaxin), and I usually found I used around 2.5l of fuel per hour (with a Rad Arrow). Since getting my Paramania Revo I have so far burned an average of 3.5l of fuel per hour. This is when flying trims in usually around the 'takeoff' setting on the trimmers.

I am enjoying flying the Revo because it is nice to be able to let the trimmers out and feel nice and stable in the rough stuff (my previous wing was very twitchy, unsurprisingly), but it seems a shame to have to fly everywhere on full throttle and to use so much more fuel. But perhaps that's the price you pay for a bit more speed and stability.

Plus a little pic from this morning's flight

I have just bought a 2007 Revolution 26. I have flown it a couple of times (including an amazing flight above the clouds this morning, lovely) and I am very pleased with it. However, the previous owner has set up the trimmers in a weird way, so when I pull them in to the takeoff setting, the excess webbing flaps about dangerously close to my cage and netting, so I have to tuck them in amongst my risers.

I have attached a couple of photos of how they look at the moment. Any ideas on how to sort them out?

On my Rad Arrow, the starter cord is routed through a plastic insert in the frame. Of course it has rounded edges to reduce wear, but I'd like to replace it with a little pulley or roller. Any ideas where I could start looking for one?

Sounds like I'll just have to be happy that I can get in the air and put up with a slow climb rate. Fair enough.

I like the sound of a newer machine but I saved up for years to pay the £700 for my motor, so there's no way I'll be getting a new one for many years to come!

Thanks for the replies guys.

I'll check the belt tension and give the carb a good cleanout.

The 1000ft in 5 mins was on the Rad paramotors website, so perhaps it's a bit of an optimistic claim!

Perhaps I'm simply affected by the fact that in my years of paragliding I've been used to climbing at 1000ft/min in thermals, so to take 15 minutes to get up to 1000ft feels pretty slow!

I have recently started flying paramotors after freeflying for 7-8 years. I have flown 5 hours in the last month and am loving it! However, I have started noticing a slight climb-rate problem. I fly a fairly elderly Rad Arrow (with the Radne Raket 120 engine) and a Revolution 26. I weigh 73kg so am at the bottom-middle of the wing's weight range.

I have started to notice that I can't climb very quickly (didn't notice that much early on as I was getting used to flying under power). I know that the Raket engine is pretty low-power, but they claim 50kg thrust and a climb rate of 1000ft in 5 minutes under ideal conditions. I have found that it is taking me more like 15 minutes to climb to 1000ft, and even slightly longer if there is sinky air about.

When I am warming up the engine it will reach the 9600rpm that is quoted in the manual, but then when in the air it won't rise above 9100rpm. Is that normal, or should I expect to see the 9600rpm max while flying the same is I do on the ground?

I'm not really sure where to start with regards to sorting this out. I guess I could start with stripping down the carburettor (never done that before, but everybody's gotta start somewhere) and cleaning it up and replace the gaskets. Any other ideas?

Is that en electric bike?

Yep, it's my transport to work. I cycle 20 miles a day on it and it means I still get some exercise (it's like cycling on the flat all the time even though there are huge hills all the way to work) while not having to shower and get changed at the end of each commute. Brilliant. Plus of course it means not spending any money on petrol as a bonus.

And as an extra bonus it makes it much easier cycling with a paramotor on my back!

I am picking up my new wing from Warmley (near Dorchester) on Wednesday evening. If it's flyable I'd like to take it out for a spin. Does anybody have a takeoff site in the Dorchester/Weymouth vicinity that I might be able to use?

Have considered trying it with the motor running, but probably best to rely on my legs for the propulsion on the ground!

And yes, a sack truck was the other option. Nice one.

I have found it much easier to cycle to my takeoff sites, all of which are within a 3-minute ride from my house - a bit too far to walk with all my kit, but a bit too close to drive.

It saves me dismantling the cage to fit it in the car, and I easily carry my glider and bits and pieces in my bike trailer. Works a treat, but certainly gets some funny looks

Here's a little video I put together from my first ever paramotor flight last month. I have been freeflying for around 6 or 7 years, but now I'm getting much more flying in since buying a Rad Arrow at the beginning of May. Great fun!

[youtubevideo]

I'm in between Yeovil and Crewkerne and I've got 6 great sites. You'd be very welcome to come and join me.

Tom.

Sounds like I shouldn't worry about it too much then. I do fly pretty regularly, so it won't be hanging around too long!

Would you put it in the car even though it's a 33% two-stroke mix? Would that not clog up the car's injectors?

I put some petrol/oil mix into my fuel tank for a flight a couple of weeks ago. I put in 5 litres and I use around 2 litres per hour. I have flown for 2 hour since putting the fuel in, so I now have about a litre left in there.

I know a lot of people say that you shouldn't keep petrol/oil mix for very long as it can separate and you risk engine damage. So what should I do with the last 1 litre of fuel in the tank? Throw it away? Seems a bit of a waste. But then again I probably shouldn't add new fuel to it should I? Or is that just being over-fussy?

Do you run your tank dry on each flight? I would've thought that would be a bit of a pain unless you end each flight by climbing high above your landing field in order to run out of fuel.

Right, it looks like I'm going to need a torque wrench. I've just started out with my first motor (a fairly old Rad Arrow), and I was going through my pre-flight check before I went flying on Saturday (great first flight by the way ) and realised that it is pretty tricky to check prop bolts etc. with any accuracy without a torque wrench. However, my prop has four M6 bolts which torque up to 6Nm, and one M10 which torques up to 50Nm. Most torque wrenches within my price range don't cover this wide a range. Does anybody have any recommendations or ideas?

I was wondering about getting a small 6Nm torque wrench (like the ones you use on bikes) just for the prop bolts (like this one http://www.bicyclehero.com/gb/superb-tb ... tAoddRsARA) and then a 'normal' torque wrench for the rest of them. What do you reckon?