rsquared

Thanks for the replies....the carb I have is a Walbro 8, I received the carb rebuild kit and I thought I was meticulously careful with everything I did, even photographed evert step so as to be sure I put it back together as it came apart. Not that easy for me to find someone with experience as I live out in the sticks in Thailand, and after seeing some of the way Thais approach things mechanical (not that I'm an expert...but I can tell the difference between competency and outright guessing), I don't feel I would trust a motorbike mechanic with something as important as my paramotor. Anyway thanks again for the replies...Cheers

I apologise in advance for this being a long thread...but I really need help. A brief history, my Polini 130 has 36 hours on it.....there was a downtime period of 6 months due waiting for new frame etc. When I started it after 6 months, to my surprise all seemed well. After 4 flights I had a semi engine failure after an hour flight...no response above cruise speed, landed, tried to restart...no joy. Now I must warn you that I am one of the rare breeds that has never, I repeat...never been involved with engines of any type...I changed my first spark plug a few weeks ago in my 58 years of age. I astounded myself in taking apart the carb, and replacing the rubber things and needle thing with the spring thingy and filter which had a fair bit of gunk in it, plus renewed the fuel filter. Next flight, engine started easy, but during warm up....it was "coughing" and "revving" without me moving the throttle. After a good 10 minutes of gently warming it up to full revs...it kept on decreasing revs when I held the throttle steady, but revved up again. Basically, imagine you revving the engine, but keeping the throttle in the same position...this is what was happening until I persisted and eventually it settled down and I flew....but only for 15 minutes. In my limited brain, I know something is not right. After much research, I found that a lot of carbon build-up on the piston and the head usually results in "hard to start"...but mine starts easy. So I was thinking I still need to take the head off and check for carbon build-up. This scares the crap out of me...I only have basic tools, no torque wrench or other fancy gear...if I go down this road, what do I need to have?...spare gasket, O-ring...what surprises are install for me?....and then what about putting it back together again, do I need special sticky stuff to put on the gasket and threads? Or is there some other simple reason that my motor is behaving this way? Any advice is greatly appreciated, as I really need to get back in the air again....6 months was way too long. Cheers Rsquared.

Casper, thanks for the heads up on the free magazine......I was subscribed to Paramotor, then they combined it with Cross Country.....I come from a free flying background, so that was ok with me......until the articles about paramotors became noticeably fewer and far between, so reluctantly I let my subscription lapse. Have not had a solid look at Aero.com yet, but hey it's free! Many Thanks, cheers

One thing people have not mentioned, is that it is surprising how little force it takes to sustain a head injury, granted our craniums are designed pretty tough, but even if you fall backwards from a standing position and the back of you skull hits a solid object, you will not get up in a hurry. Now add the momentum of a failed launch or tripping and falling while doing what we do into the equation Broken legs, arms, feet, hands will mend a broken brain normally does not, that is our "engine room" or "hard drive", you break that and your life will change forever, a helmet may be that difference between being a vegetable, to being able to fly another day

Same here in Thailand cannot see

Tom, I came from 10 years free flying paragliders, and trust me, once you strap that motor on your back....it's a whole new ball game There have been successful people self training, but we do not recommend it.....do yourself a favour, get proper training, and during this time, all your questions will be answered. You can get the "feel" for different kits and after training you will have a better idea as to what kit will suit you. Because you have previous experience, the 11 days quoted will be reduced accordingly to your instructors' assessment of your ground handling skills.....have fun, Cheers.

My initial thoughts were..."gasp"....they have an aluminium tube on the leading edge of a paraglider....goes against all my natural instincts. Still makes me nervous thinking about it, but it flies.....interested to see thoughts from others....Cheers.

Wow! just went back and re-read your original post Rik, amazing how you have recovered so quickly......great stuff, blue skies

Thank you Gilmour......that does help....Cheers.

Thank you Gilmour for your reply, glad to see one member willing to offer sensible advice. One question if you don't mind, what is the measurement of your foot from heel to big toe in cm's or inches.....reason being, after looking at all the different charts for shoe sizes, I am curious as to how the 8.5 size compares to your actual foot measurement. Cheers

No such shops here in Thailand.....hence the need for wanting to order on line..

I've always been keen on the Hanwag brand since I first saw them many years ago in my free-flying days. My concern about ordering boots online......is hoping you get the right size, what with the different types of measurements etc. Is there some fool-proof method of getting the right size? Because all the shoes I've ever bought, I've tried them on first, and sometimes I am one size and then another depending on what brand. I really want to order a pair through Amazon (I live out in the sticks in Thailand)|, but am unsure as to be confident of getting the right size, Any help greatly appreciated.....Cheers

Rik....I am so sorry to hear of your dilemma, yet so grateful that you have shared it with the rest of us. I truly admire your optimism and level headedness, which will no doubt guide through to a quicker and fuller recovery. I take your lessons in hindsight as written in granite, for I am just learning after coming to the darkside from free flight.....and I have found that PG and PPG require two totally different mindsets....I thought the transition would be easy, but I have had to learn a whole new set of skills that are totally unrelated to free flying. Getting off topic....Rik, stay strong and remember all the good flights you have had during your recovery. Cheers....Rob

Ok....you have a similar problem Jon, have you had any advice to help solve the problem? It is a brand new motor......what am I missing?

Thanks for that.....seems almost like doing brain surgery. Seriously....does anyone actually do what is mentioned in this article....blowing in the ventilation pipe, tilting the machine etc....? So that mainly concentrates on having the carb correctly primed if I am understanding that correctly.....and nothing to do with technique of pulling the rope apart from "smooth and gently". Cheers.

Please bare with me as I really need someone out there to explain the secrets of the Flash Starter to me in terms I can understand and use. For the life of me I cannot seem to find any consistency in starting my engine (Polini 130 with clutch.....10 hours old). I have the priming down pat, as I was chastised many times for squeezing the bulb too hard..... So, my understanding is that as you pull on the cord, you wind up a spring to it's maximum tension, which then releases its potential energy to turn the crank and in turn start the engine. But this only happens for me about 5-10% of the time. I am sure that even slowly, I pull on the cord, I am making the piston move up and down....I didn't think this was meant to happen. Consequently it will not start. The times I managed to get it started, I only did a small pull and it happened really easy (which I am sure how it is meant to happen)....but I don't know exactly what I did. This applies mainly cold.....when the engine is warm, it is a long gentle pull (like on an old lawn mower) and it kicks into life. What I am trying to get at is....why when I pull on the cord to its full length, nothing happens except that I am making the piston move up and down, yet other times it is the short pull that gets things happening....and it is totally unexpected and I need to know how I can do this secret short pull every time. What is really happening???? Do I need to do a series of short pulls until I feel a certain pressure, then release and pull again, or what.....? I try to recall what was different when it works right, but it is like a lottery for me. I need help so that I don't continue to do the wrong thing and damage something. When I was training...all too easy, had someone else do it for me. Now on my Pat Malone....it is even worse trying to self start when on my back (that is another topic)...so I need to start it on the ground before I get it on and then during connecting to my wing it dies.....unhook...you get the picture, I'm sure everyone else has been there. So please if anyone can help me out, I will be so grateful. Cheers.

Hey Shaggy....congrats on taking the leap of faith and pursuing your dreams. Simple thing to think about with your ground handling....go with it, don't fight it....less is more, and most important...just "feel" what is going on and let your natural balance tell you what is right and what is not. Practice, practice and more practice, until you start having dreams about it, then more practice. Have Fun.

That is the pure definition of "Dedication".....it is one impressive stowage arrangement!

Love it Pete....please share the cats and buttered toast. If nobody else appreciates it....that's their problem, I know I will. Cheers.

My understanding....to try and simplify it (because there are so many variables)...if you pull the brake line straight down towards your hip, that deflects the trailing edge more towards the centre....if you push your brake line out and down at say 45 degrees....that will act like tip steering and give you a tighter rate of turn, but reducing the amount of deflection on the the inner part of the trailing edge. Obviously there are countless combinations in between which will come with experience and affect the performance of the wing. Yes it works all the time, but depending on the manufacturers advice, if you have trims all the way out....tip steering only. More experienced pilots will be able to expand or ridicule my explanation....Cheers.

Great stuff Manny. Big congrats on getting airborne and nailing the landings. Cheers.

Manny.....thoroughly enjoying your posts...I feel as excited as you, working your way up to the "holy grail". Cheers.

The only school in Phuket....Sky Club Asia..unfortunately has closed. If you really want to fly, there are a couple of schools in the Pattaya region.....a long way from Phuket I know....or you could try Chang Mai.....even further away. Unfortunately that is all I can suggest. Cheers.

aljken......Thank you so much for your time in answering my query. I am not that mechanically apt, but you have put my mind at ease. I am 85kg body weight and will be getting the Dudek Nucleon XX 24.....so hopefully should be plenty of power for me. Cheers.

Great work.....that is stunning! Cheers.