Phil_P

Any new paramotor pilots, or folks who fancy starting the game, would do well to check out the thread on the general discussion area, regarding the German company 'Paramotor-Store'. DO NOT BE TEMPTED TO BUY GEAR FROM THEM! I wonder if this might be considered as a 'sticky', until such time as the company go out of business?[/u]

The company have been selling rip-offs of the Frank Loeschler (? spelling) headsets. I understand that they are subject to a restraining order in Germany, ordering them to cease selling them (I believe that they were responsible for having the headsets copied). My credit card company have sent out the paper-work to enable a refund. I have also advised Click&Buy of the circumstances, with the distinct possibility that if they knowingly continue to support the company, then they may be guilty of aiding and abetting obtaining money by deception, or perhaps even conspiracy to defraud. Hopefully that might put the wind up them enough to close the payment system down. Phil

For Sale; One pair of Salomon paragliding/paramotoring boots. Size 10.5 UK but on the small side and I doubt they'd fit bigger than most folks size 10. The uppers are in pretty good shape, with laces and a zip over flap. Just a little grubby and faded. Very strong pivoting ankle support system that secures with a velcro strap round the front, just undo the strap if you want to walk in them. There is a little bit of rubber round the heel that looks as though it has perished a little, but it doesn't affect the functionality of these boots I bought them from someone in the US, forgetting about the sizing differences (they are US size 11), so looking to just recoup some of my loss, priced at £25.00 plus postage or collect from me in Newark, Notts.

I'd just like to post a bad experience I've had with the German mail order company 'Paramotor-Store', to be found at www.paramotor-store.com I ordered a headset to fit on my helmet from them over two months ago, and paid using the provided check-out through 'Click & Buy'. Despite numerous emails sent to them, and a huge number of attempts to phone them, I have neither received the item, nor had a single communication from the company. In the emails, I have suggested that whatever problems might exist, I would much rather resolve them through contact than to make this issue public in the various fora that I frequent. I feel I have persisted long enough with this approach, and am now bringing the problem to the notice of fellow flyers who might consider using them. Attempts to obtain a refund through 'click & buy' have been fruitless, as they just wash their hands of the transaction. I have had much greater success obtaining refunds from Paypal, and they are reputed to be far from ideal. I do not know yet whether I will be able to obtain a refund from the credit card that funded the purchase, due to the third party nature of the transaction. I leave you all to draw your own conclusions about this company given their behaviour in this instance, but I am hopeful that this message will make enough people cautious of using the company to at least encourage then to review their customer relations policy.

Well you're not the only one who has been let down by Paddy's!

On a serious note however, reading this thread prompted me to have a look at the netting on my 'Adventure'. This motor uses thick 'nylon' line, threaded through eyelets in the frame perimeter and woven backwards and forwards forming square mesh. It was the first time that I had made an objective study of the setup, and I realised that the line had stretched over time and I would be lucky if the mesh, which even in standard format is about 60mm square, would prevent a limb from going through if even a moderate amount of force was applied. So I've just spent a happy half hour in this un-kiteable weather, drawing the whole lot tight and tying it off. Each quadrant of the cage yielded between three and six inches of slack. My next plan is to take some slightly thinner fishing line than the line fitted, and weave it through the existing mesh at 45 degrees to the original. Tying it at every corner would help resist foreign object penetration even more effectively.

Variation on a 'Flymo'

Bak-Rak also available on Ebay here; http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BAK-RAK-TOW-BALL- ... 18Q2el1247 Don't mean to do 'Slim' out of any business, but it'll save a couple of quid, or more if you are local.

The one I've seen was a simple perimeter metal tube frame with a ply platform on top of it, probably about two foot square. This was fastened to the tow hitch. One of the bike racks that uses a back plate on the tow hitch, with two vertical tubes to accept the rack would probably make a reasonable basis for a DIY solution, although some extra triangulation from the rearmost part of the platform to below the tow ball might be required. A really good sturdy bike rack might just do the job without any tweaks.

Well at this point in time, I would be content with one who would at least get back to me when I send text messages or send email. I've had promises that I would be the first person he'd contact when the weather was good. Have there been NO trainable days since Easter? No names YET!

How about the padded seat belt covers that the boy racers fit to their cars?

Ok, small 'pop' bottle and fit a schraeder car valve to the lid as well as the output pipe. Presurise it with a foot pump before use. I have experimented in the past doing this with a 2 litre bottle and they pump up well. In this application I'm thinking of something about 250ml. Alternatively, have a look here; http://www.airsoftscotland.com/acatalog/Smokes.html

How about just squirting some disco smoke machine oil into your exhaust manifold? With gravity feed you'd only need a solenoid valve. Only problem I foresee with anything that uses the exhaust, is that the prop-blast will diffuse the smoke rather than giving you the concentrated stream that you probably want.

SRA in my context can also mean Surveillance Radar Approach and PAR, precision approach radar.

It's all getting quite interesting now. As our aircraft aren't registered or certified in any shape or form, it would be impossible for them to be certified to fly IFR, but then they aren't certified for VFR flight either, are they. As far as instrumentation goes, we don't need the artificial horizon (or alternative instrumentation) as you do with an aircraft to prevent loss of control. Let go of everything including the throttle, and unless you are in lift then you are going to descend safely. With a compass and an altimeter, you could probably fly safely from A to B just flying constant heading and altitude. Maybe Ill try it with blackout goggles and a mate flying along for safety. In an aircraft, if you try to fly by body feedback, then you will likely experience loss of control within about 10 seconds UNLESS you believe your instruments. Please note, I don't think that flying one of our wings through nice soggy clouds is a good idea, but am intrigued as to legality which seems debatable.

Well I understand the practical aspects, ie waterlogged or frozen wing, but from a 'bumping into others' point of view, you are no more likely to collide than you are in a light aircraft, which can legitimately fly in cloud (I've done it). If you have a RAS from a participating controller, that part shouldn't be a problem, as they'll steer you round any other echo they've got. Wings like ours are inherently more stable than a light aircraft, so basic altitude and heading instruments should stop you from flying upside down, resulting in controlled flight into terrain. Must admit, the thought of taking a SRA or PAR approach to a field would be quite fun, slow, but fun "Ermm Waddington zone Flexwing One requests SAR to your location as now IMC and temporarily unsure of my position" PS, look up the abreviations if you want to know

The section on air-law in this forum states that you can fly in cloud (notwithstanding a lack of advisability). However, this site; http://www.bmaa.org/forums/attach.aspx/ ... Flying.pdf states unequivocally that you may not. Which is right, and can you quote references to support? Cheers.

I plan on using my bullet cam setup, with hard drive recorder Check out the vid I did on my bike at

Also of course there is the issue of licensing. I suspect many people are put off by the idea of having to sit a test in order to use the radio, even if the test isn't very demanding. Finding a tame examiner can be a bit tricky. I guess not being completely comfortable with the 'patter' involved in aircraft conversations might be off-putting too, but once you've got the hang of such transmissions it's easy to say what needs to be said, quickly and clearly The argument of the superiority of FM over AM doesn't carry much weight with me, as the quality of transmission on airband sets is pretty good, and certainly adequate for talking to a station twenty or so miles away with complete clarity.

I've also got an A6 as well as the A24, the plan being that I can give the other half a quick call on the PPG frequency if it looks like I'm going to need recovery. Failing that, wait till I'm down and use a cellphone. If I'm talking to an airfield and had an engine out I could always make a PAN call just in case, and again give them a call on the cell once I'm safely on the ground to avoid calling out SAR. I bought both direct from the USA, the A24 second hand with hardly any use and a Lion battery for about £145 which escaped duty, and the A6 new, with NiMh battery for £115 plus £30 VAT and handling charge. Both were plus about fifteen pounds postage. These were real bargains as far as I'm concerned, with prices in the UK tending to be about £250 and £300 respectively. We really do live in a crap country for rip-off prices!

Just to re-awaken this thread. Buried in the ICOM UK web site is a paragraph that states that neither the IC-A6 nor the IC-A24 have type approval for airborne use, and therefore an installation licence cannot be issued for their use (they are not on the CAA approved list). I spoke to the MD of ICOM UK who told me that this was basically because the approval system had changed, and the small volume run of these radios makes it uneconomic to put them through the procedure, so type approval is unlikely to be granted unless the criteria is changed. That however won't stop me using my IC A26 whist airborne, I want to be able to talk to those nice RAF radar operators, who will help me not bump into any fast jets, and I like the VOR facility on that radio too.

Probably the EMPC out of their field near Measham

Don't suppose it's the same as an F3 one is it? I've got a standard 'shoe box' that was taken off unused when a tuned system was fitted to mine.

Remember that the water that becomes encased in the wing doesn't immediately make the wing weigh 1.5 tonnes so it sinks, it is only the weight of the fabric itself that will determine whether it sinks or floats. So the buoyancy device only has to keep the weight of yourself and your gear afloat, minus the weight of the water it displaces. A typical scuba diving buoyancy device might only provide 30Kg of lift, but it's plenty to keep a diver with full twin cylinder kit afloat. However your point about it having huge inertia is very well taken, and there is nothing you could do to prevent yourself being dragged by a current or waves. As a diver, I'm well used to the forces that a body can be exposed to, and the sea at work is awesome in the extreme. Just floating on the surface in full diving gear can become unpleasant if there is anything of a swell, and I wouldn't want to do it strapped to a paramotor.

If it's less than eighteen quid including the postage, there shouldn't be any duty.