Phil_P

Given my proximity to lots of other heavy metal, and the fact I like my gadgets, it's a yes. Currently working on a solution within the limits of equipment available to us already. If Kinetic ever get their fingers out, then it'll hopefully be a good solution.

These days most of us are using active noise cancelling headsets at work. Even on an airliners flight deck the noise levels are significant and fatiguing over a working day. [edit] Phil [/edit], is your solution a dedicated headset or a module that you introduce to give you ANR? Given the noisy nature of our flying machines I can see the great benefits that you report and.... want one! Photos? The kit I got was from headsets.inc and consisted of two modules that you replace the standard speakers in your headset shell with, a battery pack, and I paid a few $ extra for a replacement lead for the headset that incorporated the power plug. A couple of hours saw it fitted. I'll fit them for others if they want. Only problem I had was that the set-up didn't support the PTT button in my headset shell, but I found a work around. My headset is a GA one that I've modified to fit onto my ICARO helmet. Phil

They are only notification services. I know that my England East 1/4 mil has just been updated and current version is edition 8, and that one of the half mil has just been updated too. Ammendments to the chart are available at www.caa.co.uk/charts You may find the current versions listed there too.

I've just succesfully fitted a GSC two blader to my Adventure unit. I made up an adapter plate with some 100mm billet off ebay. I've found setting to be a doddle with the supplied protractor, but still a pain in the bum having to undo and redo all the nuts and bolts. Tracking seems to fall spot on very easily. I'm surprised you are running such a coarse pitch. I'm down to 13.5 degrees on my tuned head/exhaust Solo 210, and I think it could still do with a degree less to really let the motor sing up to just over 7k RPM.

If all else fails, drop me a line. I hope to be getting some of Robin Rumbolt's RFI reduction kits from the USA soon. Expect price around the £20 mark.

At the moment, in my training phase, I just stick a map in my pocket to comply with the letter of the ANO, and forget about it. When I get to the point that I'm going any distance, I will be using my aviation GPS, a Garmin 295. It doesn't have the airmap as such on it, but it does have the Jeppesen database loaded. It has the advantage over memory map in that it will pop up warnings of approaching or entering controlled airspace, and also give frequencies of airstrips etc. I have the UK Topographic maps loaded as my base map which gives me good ground feature information (waterways are VERY visible from the air for example). I will always use a map for flight planning, nothing beats a bit of chinagraph pencil and a few arrows to help visualise what you are going to do, where the wind is etc. I also use a circular slide rule for working out wind vectors, fuel burns etc. It's a bit geeky perhaps, but I actually enjoy the mental exercise. The other thing is, that if all else fails, a magnetic compass, a map and a watch will let you navigate anywhere if you understand the basic principals and can do a little mental arithmetic.

Pretty much anywhere that sells them. You won't find much difference in the price from source to source. I get mine from Transair who deliver very quickly and will email you a reminder when a new version comes out.

Well I mentioned this before but got no response; At the risk of this being a commercial post, I'm hoping to import several of Robin Rumbolts RFI reduction kits from the USA. Hopefully will sell here for about £20 and are rumoured to be very effective. Cutting down on engine electrics produced noise is very important, if not key, to having clear comms. However outdated the airband VHF AM system is, it remains the only way you can talk to ground agencies. If you want to do so, you've got to go down that route. AM is quite susceptible to RFI, so hopefully these kits can make a real difference. Perhaps I could make this a 'club purchase' deal? any thoughts?

If you're interested Francis, I came across an A3E on Ebay; http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fully-working-ICO ... dZViewItem

On the rubber engine mount topic, I have just bought a whole load (6 off 38 diam x 25mm long, 2 off 38mm diam x 38mm long and 2 off 20mm diam x 25mm long) for the grand sum of £33.00 including VAT and postage, with next day delivery. I got these from www.fish4parts.co.uk They aren't the 'waisted' variety and are round rather than the standard hex on my 'Adventure' but would seem an ideal replacement for the fitted ones. The reason I've bought the two 38 x 38 ones is that I am going to try fitting these as the mounts on the left hand side of my engine in order to offset the thrust line to the right, to counteract the various forces that tend to turn you right. I know you can trim this out, but by reducing the cause rather than correcting the effects, I'm hoping to reduce drag.

Ground handling with a porous, blown out wing with line lengths all to pot can be very dis-heartening. I can imagine it could actually get people to give up. My G/H wing and my flying wing 'kite' so differently you just wouldn't believe it.

Well if you go to the ICOM UK web site, there is a FAQ reply that says none of the sets is type approved and they will update as and when. I wonder whether the 'E' designation is actually for 'Europe' as the US sets are slightly different in that they have the NOAH weather channels built in. I wouldn't let the lack of type approval stop you from buying what is an excellent set. Phil

Been running my Solo on Castrol TTS. Supposed to be good, not had any problems yet, but then all my running has been ground based (or no more than six inches above).

The sting has some stronger lines somewhere, but other than that, identical. I've got an Arcus with powerplay risers, so it's near as dammit a Sting. Have a look here; http://www.poweredparasports.com/Swing% ... liders.htm

It aint If you want to track him down, try EMPC on Yahoo groups. Although he may be 'ParajetSimon' on here too.

It'll be Simon Boden from the EMPC.

Well I shall have no hesitation using either my A6 or A24 airborne (as and when my feet actually leave the ground that is). To be quite honest, controllers and other services would rather be speaking to you than not, as they have at least half an idea what your next move might be, and that can only improve safety for all. I think it would take an extremely officious CAA rep to pull you up for not using a type approved set, and as long as you are using the radio in the manner intended, I can't see them coming chasing you. I think if a whole load of paramotor pilots suddenly started coming up on airband, then they might conceivably question whether or not you had you FRTL. A question for the Tip-2-Tippers is whether they showed up on radar when they were talking to LARS? This one bothers me a bit, and is the reason I'm still looking at transponders. I had wondered about dangling the sort of radar reflector that small boats use, just under the seat, lightweight enough that it'd crumple in an impact. Or maybe just some loosely scrunched up tin foil chucked into the back of a couple of wing cells. Almost zero weight, hopefully wouldn't affect wing dynamics, and I know from testing done by some of my scuba mates that it's a very good radar reflector.

Francis, can you point me at your source that tell you the IC A6 has type approval for airborne use? I spoke to the MD of ICOM UK a couple of months ago, and he gave me the impression that ICOM would not be seeking type approval for airborne use on any further handhelds until such time as the ridiculously onerous UK test procedures were modified.

Trouble is there are very few handheld airband sets, and as far as I know, NO current ones, that meet type approval for aircraft instalation. That includes current ICOM IC A4 & A24. Therefore it is technically impossible to have a fully legitimate airborne installation with a modern handheld. In order for a glider set to NOT need a FRTL, it must not be capable of transmitting on any frequency other than the specified glider ones. From my point of view, I would think that it behoves people to obtain their FRTL and not worry too much about the technicalities of the installation licence, I doubt very much whether the CAA will come chasing you over the installation ticket, but they may well do over your own personal licence. Apart from anything else, if you do your FRTL course, you will learn good radio procedure for dealing with the various agencies.

Very many congratulations Mark. I'm just at that frustrating point of not quite making it, and it's driving me mad. Your post gives me hope and inspiration.

Could you give some more info on your matching system please, as a 1/4 wave dipole. one for each, airband and vhf, sounds a very attractive proposition. I think they would fit on the top half of my netting, far enough away from the tube work, to be quite efficient. Although a half wave is better, it's just that bit long to be manageable. Francis, I reckon I can tune to within 1.5 khz of the PMR frequencies (if I've got my sums right), and I wouldn't be surprised if many cheap PMR radios, despite type approval, could be out of tune by that much. Just a thought, and as I said, not my intention to disrupt Z Victor One (that's a joke for oldies) from his essential work. If you were in fact on someone elses frequency, there would be a good chance you'd hear them first anyway, and you could make the choice not to transmit. In all my days of involvement in Ham radio and the early days of CB, with all the inherent law breaking that went on with 'burners, SSB rigs and mamoth antennas, I've never yet heard of anyone actually getting 'nicked' for naughties on the airwaves. Maybe as long as you aren't pi**ing people off, you don't get into trouble. A bit like thirteen litre fuel tanks perhaps?

Probably right, as it is interleaved between other users. The limited range makes it less of an issue I'd think, not to mention the intermitent nature of our usage. It'd be kind of fun watching the 'spooks' trying to triangulate on us though Do you know what other services the PMR frequencies are slotted between? I can't imagine that they would have used, for example, the emergency services or other life critical frequencies. If I thought I was going to fly with regular PMR users I'd just get another dedicated set and swap the VHF for the PMR and keep the airband whichever other set I was using. The trick is interfacing the various radios into one headset. I just picked up a used 'Flightcell' unit that should do all that for me, including interfacing a mobile phone and MP3 player should I so wish.

If you are using a 1/4 wave dipole on 2 meters, don't you have to use some sort of balun or loading coil, as it doesn't give 50 ohm ohm impedance? I've built a 1/2 wave dipole for airband out of aluminium tube, but being rigid, it's a bit tricky to mount, although a little easier as it's a tad shorter than a 2m antenna. I'm currently thinking of using flexible wire and just zip-tying it to the cage netting. The problem with that is that the thinner the element, the less tolerant of being off the tuned frequency. I am going to have to treat myself to an SWR meter soon, otherwise I can see my output stages going up the swanee. Another alternative is to use one rubber duck for the active element, and a second one as the ground plane element (effectively a dipole with two rubber-ducks). I'd like to use the VOR function on my ICOM, but of course voice is transmitted vertcally polarised, but VOR Nav is transmitted horizontally polarised. I have been tring to find information on crossed dipoles, but not found anything to date. Perhaps a 'V' dipole would be a good compromise. I recently saw a set up with a rubber-duck just fastened to the netting on an extension to the radio, which was reported to work very well. Francis, I'm not sure whether I can get the .05 Khz step or not on my VX 2. I can't lay my hands on the radio at this moment. I had also forgotten that I didn't test the facility with PMR radios, but actually with US FRS sets (very naughty in this country). I should think that if we were using PMR radios, it would in all likelihood be between fellow pilots, so range wouldn't be a problem if the tuning was just that small step out. I am also in negotiations with Robin Rumbolt in America to import his paramotor RFI reduction kits. I haven't tested one yet, but have read some very encouraging reports from the States. If anyone is interested, they will be retailing in this country at about £20.

I voted airband, as if I had to choose that's what it'd be, but my intention is to carry both. My 2m/VHF set will cover PMR frequencies too.

If there are no problems when running, and no signs of cracking or stiffness when you get into it, my thoughts are to leave alone. I've got a service kit for my WB 32 but I'll only swap out bits if I have a problem.