Tyrhone

Thanks George, It definitely went well, and despite the amassing aches and pains from the hike from hell I am glad to have learned a few lessons without more dire consequences. In fact I am most definitely realizing that I need to respect this sport more than I maybe did in the beginning. Practice, practice, practice right, and hopefully not too many more engine outs

Today I was training on a black beach of volcaninc sand in Guatemala, there was a good 8mph wind blowing, high but not crazy. I got the wing up, kited it for a bit and then turned around, I touched the breaks a bit much and then found myself running backwards until I landed on my back, not a major issue, a fright yes but normally no real biggy, except that one of the lines wrapped around my neck and proceeded to choke me as I pulled on the breaks for dear life. Fortunately it wasn't a full wrap and my instructor was there lickity split to untangle me, so nothing worse than some scratching and bruising. Then about 3 flights later on the same day, after practicing some spot landings, I cruised up to about 100 meters and was just thinking how awesome this was, when my brand new Blackhawk BH125 had an engine out. Looking around I decided I could not go back the way I had come as I did not have enough altituede to be sure of turning twice to land into the wind. Unfortunately the nice wide beach was behind me, and in front of me was about a 15 meter wide beach with crashing ocean waves on one side, and a lake which runs into it at high tide on the other. The wind was blowing North East and so I did not have to land directly towards the ocean, but somehow despite my limited experience I managed to calculate for drift and land on my feet directly between the two. Unfortunately then a wave washed completey over into the river and my wing got soaked. I then had to walk with the paramotor on my back and a wet wing for 2 km to get back where I came from. This was a pretty hardcore day, and not particularly fun, but I feel I learned a lot about how to control the wing in high winds and how precarious it can be, and got to learn first hand the importance of being prepared for engine outs. It could have been a lot worse. Now I have to try and find out what happened to the f#*kin engine.

Just thought I would offer a little tip to anyone wanting to take a Paramotor through Central American borders. A couple days ago the missus and I drove from Mexico to Guatemala, and in the process crossed the Belize and Guatemalan borders. Usually you would have to pay an import tax and possibly have an argument with border officials, but... I wrapped my paramotor up minus the cage in a motorbike cover so that just the straps were showing in such a way that it looked like an unwieldly backpack. when the officials asked what it was I just said paragliding equipment and hey presto! Through you go, no import taxes. It probably wont work all the time, but I saved myself a couple hundred bucks at the borders, so give it a go. Next step, getting in the air in Antigua. If you want to read about driving down to Guatemala I wrote a post about it you can check out here. http://tellthemisaidsomething.com/2014/03/22/playa-del-carmen-antigua-drive/ Peace Tyrhone

So I know it is not rocket science, installing the Agama, but this video is for the newbies like myself out there, who on initially entering this sport might have found the overload of information a bit daunting. Being completely new to flying and Paramotoring, I have found that finding out the basic stuff is not always so easy, and there is an expectation that we can figure it out because it is not that complicated. While that is true, considering the nature of this sport, and the danger in being ignorant to basic things, I have found myself very nervous about putting things together, attaching a harness, maintenance issues, what the hell a carburetor is and which way is on or off for the clutch, and so on and so on. It doesn't help that I am obviously oblivious when it comes to anything mechanical (but if computers could fly I would be a pro!), and the explanations manufacturers give me often leave me more confused than when I asked the question. So anyway, here is a video of how to install the Agama on the Blackhawk BH125 and Kestrel Pro cage, it should be similar on most machines. And if anyone wants to point me in the direction of more information, I am all ears. http://youtu.be/ZIOJw_Igj4Q Thanks Tyrhone

Gday all, So I am getting this wing (assuming it shows up after a couple weeks in the Mexican postal system), and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on it? Reviews and/or opinions outside of the manufacturers are hard to come by and I was wondering if anyone else here had oflown one. Also form the people who know, what do you think of it for a beginner like myself? Here are the specs for anyone interested in having a look http://velocityparagliders.com/velocity-elektra-paraglider/ Cheers and happy Monday to those who work! Tyrhone

Sweet, suss away mate

Thanks Simon, you got my email about the dropbox thingy right?

That is an absolute relief! Thanks guys, I wasn't sure if it was some dodgy Mexican brand made down the local. With so many advocates I am sure it will be good, and I can actually get it which is helpful! Thanks again for all your confirmations. Motul 710 (can't find the 800 here) it is.

Hello all, So I have scoured Playa del Carmen in Mexico, and the only fully synthetic 2 stroke oil I can find ANYWHERE, is Motul 710 2T (I did find semi synthetic yamalube 2-s). I was hoping you guys might know how well this would work with my Blackhawk BH125. It costs about $25 per liter. Alternatively I could order 'Maxima (22964) Formula K2 2-Stroke' from amazon.com which would work out to about $33 a liter. I believe this is what Blackhawk use in their motors. So do you think the extra money and slightly nervous anticipation of it going missing in the post is worth the potential benefit of a better oil (Maxima, and is it a better oil)? I am open to suggestions of other oils and ways to get them to Mexico, but in particular is Motul 710 going to be good to my engine? Cheers Tyrhone

Thanks Simon and Alan, Wow Simon, and I thought I was being ambitious, would love to see how those fellas went. Just found out my wing is on its way, so lots and lots of kiting for me. It has been awhile since I have been the new guy at something, I am looking forward to getting some experience under my belt and developing technique, and where better than with people who have been there done that!

Hey everyone, Tyrhone here. I just finished my training at Blackhawk Ranch in California, unfortunately only 3 days because of unexpected rain in the middle of a drought. I get my wing in a week or so (I hope, we are in Mexico and the postal service is notoriously bad), the velocity Elektra and BH125 with kestrel pro weight shift cage. So with only 3 days training, although I flew about 5 times, I am still nervous as hell but looking forward to some seriously cool sh!t. The girlfriend and I are long term travelers and about to drive across Central and South America, now I get to take a paramotor along, which should be pretty damn cool. Of course I know very little about flying but am working on that, and I am looking forward to becoming more competent in my skills, so any help from the people here will be greatly appreciated. I have a travel blog by the way at http://www.tellthemisaidsomething.com where our adventures are written down and video'd, have a look. A couple hurdles I am already facing. How the hell to put the harness and agama onto the frame (lots of buckles and what not), finding 2 stroke oil in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. finding a flat open space that isn't covered in jungle, info on how to break the engine in properly (lots of mixed views on this). Fumes which I didn't even think of, we are travelling and generally staying in places without seperate storage. Fear, this is a big one, although excited I am nervous as hell about doing it on my own, especially since I can't figure out the above, and my take off and landing zone options are poopifyingly small. Anyways hello everyone, and I look forward to getting to know the community. Peace Tyrhone