si_morts

Hi guys I have recived a very nice reply to my letter (above) from the pilot Tim. I wont post it as it was a PM on youtube but the gist was- hands up to it , should know better (he is an advanced pilot). Although some of the low stuff was done over private land he should have mentioned that in the text that went with the video and he has decided to remove it of his own accord. His letter was very genuine and Im sure he wont fall foul of the 500ft rule in the future. All's well that ends well then.... Si

Hi guys I dont know who these flyers are but I have just sent a personal message to the person who put the video on youtube. It can be found below. Dont be afraid to send people a quick PM if you can help keep our sport as fun as it is. PS hope the message isnt too preachy! Hi Tim Just a quick one to say that your pub crawl vid was excellent but please try not to fly below 500ft as it is illegal in the UK (unless taking off or landing or over private land). I love flying my paramotor free from constraints like radios, registration, flight plans and licences but those guys at the CAA wont blink at introducing new laws if we get caught flaunting the few current restrictions that we have- just like they did with microlights. Im not a moaning minnie but just want to preserve our sport regulation free for as long as possible (untill AL-Qaeda try to fly one into the houses of parliament and they are banned altogether! lol) I can tell from the video you are a skilled paraglider pilot but if your more a free flyer than a paramotorist a quick look at the extra restrictions a motor adds can be found here: pmcairlaw.php Like I say, im not a moaning old duffer and you can tell me to mind my own buisness if you like but the CAA could possibly prosecute you just from the evidence in the youtube vids so I wouldnt be much of a fellow flyer if I didnt let you know would I? Apart from that the rest of the vids are tops! Keep up the good work and fly safe. Si

Great video mate- nice dynamic flight. GoPro is a brill bit of kit, have you tried it foot mounted yet? Cant wait for my first "snow flight" but the weather is a bit too nice up here in shropshire! Fly safe and keep the vids comming Si

As I had so many nice comments about my shropshire flight video I thought I might put one of my older ones on. The footage from the ground is on a sanyo xacti 1010 but the shaky in-flight footage is shot on my mobile phone as I was still waiting for my GoPro helmet cam to arrive in the UK shops. If anyone decides to fly from here be very carefull as it is a part time demolition range with a fast jet bombing range on one side and as gas terminal on the other (restricted airspace) you would be better off flying from mablethorpe if you want a beach take off. [youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo]

I will keep an eye out for the guy getting posted and ask the next one he may say yes, you never know. hi si, thanks for that.... i presume being so close to shawbury that you were in airspace?? the vid is cool... alot better than my shaky attempt!!... where did you mount the cam?? Hi macey I was well outside shawburys airspace- I dont use a radio so I never go into controlled air, the wing commander was just being a dick! Camera came with a elastic head band and bracket and its mounted above my forehead in the middle. Picture here: http://www.goprocamera.com/index.php?area=2&productid=29# It is a lot easier to take shake free shots as the lens is wide angle but you need to remember to turn your head slowly or the image moves so fast it gives you motion sickness when you try to edit the vid later!! Cheers Si

Hi Dan, The camera is the new GoPro Hero HD about £300 but well worth it. The normal (non HD) GoPro is about £150 both are excellent cameras. Have a look on youtube for some great GoPro professional vids (unlike my ropey efforts ha ha ha!)

Sorry guys the airfield belongs to the RAF and the miserable wa*kers won’t even let me fly from it and I am in the RAF!! I had a quick "check flight" one weekend then made the decision to ask the Wing commander Ops at RAF Shawbury for permission to use it- big mistake! Apparently they will let paragliders winch launch every few weekends but not paramotors. I will keep an eye out for the guy getting posted and ask the next one he may say yes, you never know.

WOW!

Nice mellow flight over shropshire- landing looks a bit dodgy because the master kill switch fell apart and I had to land with the motor running- not nice! Good old gilo was very sympathetic and helped me fix everything gratis even though the unit is quite old, you dont get service like that anymore!! [youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo]

hi guys Know about the wait for props- parajets australian supplier has had me waiting for about a month! Still- gilo does his best, bless him. Unfortunately my props are a bit beyond repair as they just exploded It took a bit of balls to put this on youtube due to my utter embarresment but people can have a laugh / learn form my (expensive ) mistake. check it out........ http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=KENu5WAuwLM

Cool Unfortunately no engine I have ever worked on looks that shiney and lovely

Good work francis After a "near miss" with my brake handle I was reading with intrest the safety thread regarding cage netting for my volution and was intending to buy some next weekend. I think it may be worth waiting to see what parajet come up with, do you have any idea of timescale? If nothing else who would want to disrupt those beautiful curves with a bit of old fishing net ?

Thanks for that Francis I will check it out- rather worryingly I found a washer on the floor near the crash site but cant work out for the life of me where its come from as I cant find a missing bolt that would have held it in. The offending item is 35mm across with an 8mm hole in the middle- a lot more washer than hole- if you know what I mean It seems to fit in the hole of what i think is the driving pulley (the pully at the bottom with the toothed cog behind it) but the allen key bolt is tight in there so it can come from there? Do you have any close up pix of there so I can compare? Any help from anyone would be greatfully recived- I cant fly untill this washer has been identified! Thanks Si

nothing left mate, they just exploded!

Hi all I have just make a child like error and sat down too early on take-off And yep, you guessed it- goodbye all three carbon props. I am told these will be eye-wateringly expensive to replace (could you give me a quote please si?) and wondered if there are any other props out there- wood or plastic like the old dk whisper ones which would cost less? Also, will wood / plastic affect the amount of thrust and do they need balancing? And finaly are there any makes recommended or best avoided? Thanks, and when I "man-up" I will put the vid on my youtube site and give you all a laugh- might have to wait untill after the shock of paying for the new prop though!

Ha ha ha, not a life or death part then Thanks francis

Hi As a newbie to the sport im still learning names of parts- so rather than make a right t*t of myself in the shop can anyone tell me what the name of the black rubber bands are that go around where the wing lines are attatched to the mallions? I just got a new wing and they look a bit perished and could do with replacing. Oh, and where can I buy them? Thanx

Thanks guys, having never seen the wing close up I wouldn't have known about the build quality, I love those little chinese guys but I wouldn't want to buy a paraglider from them I have looked on the american website and they say the size 28 wing is AFNOR rated beginner and these are the sink rates etc- im afraid they dont mean much to me at the moment though! +7.8% glide ratio min sink 1.10 to 1.20 Min speed 22 to 24 (km/h) max speed 36 to (38km/h) top speed 46 to (48km/h) Guess I may have to look elsewhere the huh? Any suggestions for a reasonable priced wing that I could possibly free fly and a reasonable engine? Thanx

Hi everyone I want to start paramotoring but its pretty expensive. I came across this amazing deal at manchester paragliders, all the kit for £3499 and thought it must be too good to be true! Can anyone help with the following questions....... 1 Is the paratoys wing any good and can I free fly it? 2 Is the blackhawk mz 100 engine reliable ( yeah, as a biker I know 2 strokes will go pop eventualy ) i think there should be enough thrust as im 76Kg naked- ha ha thats a grim thought! I dont mind not having the best engine and wing as im just starting and will use the spare cash to buy a reserve and get a better wing when I have gained some hours in a year or two. Any help would be appreciated. Great site by the way guys!!