paul2289

Lancashire coast line and fly from the beach tide allowing.

Apple have stuck a sensitive barometer in the new iphone. http://9to5mac.com/2014/09/09/apple-announces-next-generation-m8-barometer-in-iphone-6/ It will be interesting to see if Flyskyhy or similar will be able to tap into it and get a free Vario

I fly from Heysham and Pilling down the coast line. Its been too wet on Pilling the last few days as any tide over 8m got up to the shore and does not dry out. Also Heysham is in the Power station no fly zone so you need permission of them to take off. There are a bunch of guys called the Lancashire Hot Props who fly from Heysham quite often.

My coach is sponsored by them and has a pre release kougar2. It is a bit too early to say how good it is but the design is certainly different with the tiny openings on the leading edge. I would love to see a review of it.

I have a 26m mirage which is my first wing. I was a little put off by its intermediate rating but my instructor who I trust convinced me it would be right for me. Thus far I am very happy, my only comparison is EN A free flying wings so I am not the best to review it. The construction is very good, it's very easy to launch and feels very stable in flight. I have no explored it's full speed range yet but managed 60kph with the trimmers in neutral so trimmers out should be nice and fast. As a beginner it can come in to land quite fast on low wind days but that's just something I need to get used to. I would recommend it.

Thanks for your help, i had an hours flight on sunday which has restored my confidence in it. The V5 is such a sweet engine, on tickover it is almost silent and after landing the 2 stroke boys could not believe how little fuel i had used No i just need the weather to improve so i can get some hours in.

I thought i would post an update about this. After getting my garage broken into resulting in my door being broken for over a month (and thus unable to get my motor out) I got a fresh pair of eyes to look at the engine. He noticed that the vacuum pipe from the air intake to fuel pump was slightly kinked. The theory is when on tick over the obstruction on the pipe was not enough to stop the vacuum. On full throttle it essentially sucks the pipe shut thus starving the fuel supply. The float bowl in the carb has enough fuel in it to last 30 seconds or more then it starts t cut out. I rerouted the pipe to take the kink out and have since had and hour and a half in the air with no problems. Another thing i discovered when trying to test it on my back is because i could not stand upright against the force of the engine on full throttle i ended up bending over (seems standard for a full power test) however as this is a 4 stroke i put the sump above the level of the cylinder thus forcing oil into the cylinder. This then chucked white smoke out of the back and then cut out. This additional user introduced problem masked what was a very simple pipe routing issue. I love my V5 its smooth, quiet and as economical as a hybrid! I am only 72kg and can climb at 330 ft / min on full throttle. Big thanks to Morgy and Barry for helping me out with the problems.

I ended up buying a 26m Gin Mirage which i am very happy with. I could not wait for the Revo2 as the lead times got silly and i wanted to start flying ASAP.

I have a Flymaster GPS and am struggling to find a good way of mounting it on my Zenith. So far i have tried a velcro L shaped thing that goes on your waist trap but that just flops forward when in the air and i have also strapped it to my leg but it fell around my ankle on take off with me nearly losing it. Ideally i don't want a flight deck. I saw a paraglider who had his clamped to the karabiner on a stalk but i cannot find it on the web. Any advice would be appreciated.

If i could code i would! I recon you could create an amazing fighter jet style HUD if you had the ability.

Google have started selling Google Glass in the UK. Still a prototype. I could see these being married up with an android phone and a bluetooth Vario to project your key info like alt, climb rate etc right in your field of view without having to look at any instruments. You could even overlay restricted airspace or visualise where you have got lift into 3D in front of you. Does anyone know if such an app is in development or any other ideas for them?

Thanks, i have it now and its about 53cm at its widest point if you keep the arms as low as possible. I have settled on a cheap Berlingo for transport. I have to take the top two spars off for transport but that's not too much of a problem. Thanks.

Thats right its Barry's i picked it up on the Sunday and he did a very comprehensive handover for me. Its a small world we live in and there are not many green zeniths about! I am confident the motor is solid so you will be right it will be something simple. Next fine day i will give that a go. I still also wonder if there was air in the line as i did not run it on the ground for very long after the second restart. Thanks Paul

Its had 44 hours on it and was very recently serviced by Sussex Paramotors (i think it was sussex) before i bought it. I will check the fuel pipes as i have not removed the tank before. I have been warned the older design clips on the zenith can cause problems.

I had my first (and very short) flight last Sunday. I had waited in the field for several hours ground handling until the conditions calmed down enough to fly. The engine started first time on my back. Unfortunately my wing started to tuck on my forward launch so i killed then engine and aborted. I killed the engine when it was on almost full throttle as i was a few steps into my launch. After cutting it I could not start it myself and my friend had to start it for me (which took a good few pulls), it ran and i very shortly took off again. I got airborne and not much more than a minute in my climb rate started to slow then the engine began to splutter and i started pitching forward and back so i let off the throttle at which point it cut out resulting in me landing in the wrong field The behavior of the engine felt like fuel starvation. Once on the ground i had to prime it at which point it started first time. Could this be air in the line or related to the fact i had to kill it at high revs on the ground prior to launch? The engine was flown by the previous owner not long before i bought it with no problems. Not an ideal first flight and i would ideally like to stop it happening again! I am going to take it to a field and run it for 10 or so minutes before i fly again but any other advice / things to look for would be appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks for the clarification.

Hi, Does anyone know if it is possible to convert the Bailey V5 to electric start? I know Bailey sell a version with it fitted so I would assume it could be retrofitted? I can start it on the ground okay but would be nervous doing it in the air. Also has anyone used a different throttle to the stock one? My V5 is in a zenith frame. The school motor I trained on had the parajet zenith throttle which had a knob to lock the throttle off and I would like a similar feature on mine. Thanks. Paul

I hope someone can help me. I am hopefully collecting a second hand Zenith shortly and i am looking at transport options. I am currently leaning towards getting a campervan and also using it to transport the motor as just getting a van for the sole use of transporting my paramotor seems like a waste! Anyway i have seen a few and need to size up if i can fit the motor in. I know the cage diameter is 140cm but i cannot find any information on the depth of the unit. This would be with the arms down and prop off. One camper i looked at can easily take the diameter of the cage but as it would be stored down the corridor between the cabinets the depth cannot be over 50cm. Does anyone have a Zenith they could measure for me and post the size?

Thanks, I did not get anything with the helmet. I have since been sent some instructions. How have you found the fit of it? Mine is very tight but I am worried if I go up a size it will be too lose. I expected a knob I could turn to tighten it like other helmets I have used.

Also when looking at a wings rating download and read the full report. The rating is the worse behaviour across all the tests not an average i.e. All tests could be an A but only one returning as a C will make it a EN-C wing. What you most need to be concerned with as a beginner is its ability to self recover with no input from the pilot. http://www.para-test.com As mentioned these tests are conducted with the trimmers in. Technically as soon as you let the trimmers out you become uncertified. You will probably crave a full reflex if you start flying with other pilots otherwise you will be left for dust!

Hi Ben, I had a great time in Spain. I managed to get my CP completed in the two weeks. It was touch and go as we had a couple of days of rain (yes it rains in Spain!) and my last day was crazy with 5 flights and 10 hours in a hot field. I even managed a 40 minute flight touching 2,500ft which was amazing. Now back home i am waiting for my kit to arrive. I am buying a new Gin Mirage and a secondhand Parajet Zenith which is what i trained on. In terms of flying in the local area i have been in touch with Pennine Soaring and a although they mainly cater for free flyers one of their coaches is a Paramotor pilot and is really keen to get more Paramotors in the club. He lives in Preston and has a nice big field near Clitheroe to train in. I have also made contact with a guy who flys locally however he is very experienced and it would be a while before i am keeping up with them . There is also Manchester Paragliders and Lancashire Hotpots with at least one of those clubs flying from Heysham. I will send you a PM if you want a chat one evening? Ta, Paul

Hi, I have just bought a Plusmax PlusAir UL with the Plusmax earmuffs and it is not clear how to fit them to the helmet. The earmuffs have a nut and bolt on them and the helmet has a sticker on the side. Do I remove the sticker and fit it under? I cannot see how it bolts on. Thanks, Paul

Hi, Thanks for the replys i have not logged in for a while. I start my training in Spain in a weeks time so depending on how it goes i will be looking to buy some kit and start ASAP. I tried to join the Lancashire hotprops Yahoo group but it just times out so i am not sure if it is used anymore. I was away on the 9th otherwise i would have gone down to Heysham for a chat as i am only 15 minutes drive away. I will get in touch with Paul when i am back. I have also been told a guy called Mark Diggle fly around Lancaster (i think he has been over my house a few times thus getting me interested in the sport) does anyone know him? Ben, good luck with your training, i will get in touch when i start flying and maybe look to go from Pilling beach some time?

Ops, I had not noticed! It appeared in my active topics list which is a bit strange.

No problem! I did not mention training as I assumed that was a given. I cannot imagine what would posses someone to "have a go" with no training, I guess Darwin sorts them out but damages the spor in the process. I am worried my reflexes will kick in and I will deep flare 5ft from the ground and regret it! The whole reason I want to learn to paramotor is I always enjoyed the canopy handling far more than jumping out of the plane (I only got to 10 seconds free fall before giving it up. Thanks.