Phil_P

After a huge amount of research and the spending of many of our hard earned tax pennies, the RAF found that black with a yellow flash was the most visible of any combination. It is no coincidence that these are the colours that will be found on my wing. Phil

Gary, host it on photobucket or similar and then insert into your post. Photobucket provides easy links to help you in a similar way to youtube. Phil

From Simon's last post, I would say that they were VX(choose your number depending on cash available)R. If that's the case, they are good sets, compact, robust and functional. Only thing I have problems with on my VX2 is remembering how to set certain features (like the other day trying to set the lock to NOT lock the PTT). Phil

If wind is almost nil, I would expect you to use 'paraglider mode' i.e. the slowest setting available. Phil

And of course there is the inevitable backlash from liberals saying the farmers shouldn't put cows in fields with footpaths through them FFS. How about they take themselves and their North Face jackets off the farmers land! This is akin to the 'nimby's' who buy a house next to a long established airport, and then complain about aircraft noise.

If it was for an odd event, I could lend you one. If you decide to buy new, get yourself down to Tottenham Court Road with a wad of cash, and play the various retailers off against each other. Phil

Vertex is a brand name of the Yaesu Corp. The reports I have heard for the VXA series of radios have been very favourable, although I have never tried one myself. There are a whole rash of generic VHF Tx/Rx sets on ebay; the following is an example; http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Weierwei-VEV-3288 ... 286.c0.m14 They come under a whole host of brand names. Again, I have no idea on quality, but lots of people seem to use them. I personally have never experienced any problems buying stuff from the far east, and the traders are usually very eager to please. I have even known some of them make an error on the customs declaration, with the upshot that the item hasn't been levied for duty on the way in. Obviously in such an instance, any individual would feel compelled to contact customs and excise to have the matter put right.

Well, he could fly in exactly the same places as a paramotor can, and I think you might be surprised by the number of small private strips you can fly to and from. There are at least five within 30 miles of where I'm sat. There are still a huge number of GA aircraft on the UK register, that don't even have a generator to run electronics. I personally feel there should be no more requirement for a GA plane to carry a radio than we as paramotorists are. Phil

Just to clarify, he may gain the qualification while getting his PPL, but there is no obligation to fly a radio equipped aircraft or ever speak to ATC. Phil

Agree 100%. Flying from within a couple of miles of a CMATZ, it's good to talk. And ATC aren't a bunch of ogres, they are really MEGA helpful guys and girls. Twice in the last few weeks, when I've not been radio equipped, I have phoned Waddington and they have given me a pre arranged MATZ transit. So they know who I am, what I am, and even if I don't show up on their radar, they have a pretty good idea of where I am, so can warn other aircraft to which they are providing a service about me/us. If I could only carry one radio ever, it would be airband, for my own security. A course to get people FRTL qualified is a good idea. If it does nothing else, it gives you confidence to use the radio well. Phil

Just a thought here; Anyone who thinks dangling by your arm pits and flying a paramotor is a workable deal, I think you might want to reconsider. Given that you are unlikely to end up with the bar tucked neatly in the 'pit' of your armpit, much more likely to have it pressing into somewhere along your upper arm. Now imagine your whole body weight suspended from that. Apart from anything else, massive muscle tensions are created in your chest, which greatly resticts your ability to breathe, exactly at the moment when a surge of adrenalin is yelling at your body to breathe like mad. This alone can create a feeling of utter panic in most people, with the exception of those who have exceptional training. Doing the right things at a moment like this becomes a complete lottery, not least the almost reflex action of clenching your fists (fight or flight) and remember where your throttle grip is. I for one have taken off with one leg strap undone, when I aborted a landing and was about to get out my harness until someone came to assist me. By that time, one of my legs was undone (can't remember if the chest was). When I took off and realised, even THAT amount of panic was quite butt clenching and uncontrollable. Build your leg straps into a pattern of checks, always follow that pattern. If the pattern is interrupted, start again. Do NOT let the pattern become so routine you become complacent. I now have a pre-flight pattern of '6' checks, and an essential actions pattern of 'six' checks. As I check the items, I physically touch them and count out loud. If for some reason I don't get to '6' I start again. Thoughts of Grandmothers and egg-sucking come to mind here, so please forgive, and try to consider it as reinforcement for something you already do impeccably Phil

Depending on timing Si, I may well be up for this, although of course this would be so I can fix other peoples props cos I NEVER break my own

As long as it is the right section (shape of the V's), length and number of grooves, I'm sure it'll be just fine. Might be tempted to go with the thicker back and kevlar tension lines however. The 'aerospace' ticket adds about a 500% mark up, just for the word!

It has been debunked as a fake.

No, I was a cheapskate and went for the 2R Phil

Just bought a pair of Peltor Optime III ear defenders, that I am going to build into a new headset. Their passive noise reduction is fantastic, way better than my other set, and once I add the ANR rig, they should be unbeatable. I have a feeling that these form the basis for the MicroAvionics headsets, as they look very similar. If you just used a pair of ear buds inside these defenders, I would lay money on them out performing most GA headsets.

Nice one, thanks.

And I'd love to see it done if it can be Alan. Presumably you'd need something like a spectrum analyser to see how 'clean' the RF was? Must confess to liking to fiddle too. Having just got a new phone from Orange, I felt obliged to flash a hacked ROM to it to get rid of the Orange branding and get the Wifi working properly. Then a bit of registry tweaking to do some other stuff, great fun.

Come on Phil, spill the beans, what happened Alan Almost came home to an empty house with a note on the mantle piece!

What did you say your all up weight would be? I am currently using a reserve that is a little on the small side for me and my mass, and might be looking for a bit of horse trading

Lets put it this way; I have not heard of a VX7R that has had the surgery to get it to transmit AM on the airband frequencies. This is not to say it is impossible, but if you go for it, it sounds like you will be a guinea pig. If it was as simple as Alan suggests, I am truly surprised that to date, no geek has published this as a hack on the net (that I have found). Along with computers, radio comms has more than it's fair share of uber geeks who I reckon would be up to the job if do-able. If you are content with the possibility of short range airband comms to your mates (which may or may not work), together with a full ability to hear what is being said by ATC, the simple solder bridge mods will do the job for you. Incidentally, the VX2R can be modded to MARS/CAP by Windows software. I also found that I was unable to receive modded VX2R airband transmissions on my ICOM A24, even in the same room. It might well be a similar situation with the '7'. Hope this put a little clarity on the subject.

Kev, I speak from experience. Get it cleared by SWMBO first!!!!!!

Take off run to disappearing into ditch with large splash? As if that could happen to anyone in reality!

Some of the reading I have done on many radio fora, suggests that the solder bridge modifications that allows the VX 7R to transmit on airband simply allow the transmission of an under-modulated FM signal. This it would seem from the info I have available, will probably work over a very limited range, and possibly only to certain other radios. Whilst there may be modifications that could be done to allow the VX7R to work on airband as a true AM transmitter, they seem to be pretty involved, and to date I have found no evidence that anyone has actually succeeded in doing it. Personally, I don't feel it's worth it, and would rather use a dedicated set and sort out a switching system with priority given to airband (as in the FlightCell devices), or just a manual switch over system. The other option I've not tried yet is to wear a pair of ear buds for pmr/vhf inside my headset which is connected to the airband. I did have a panel mount aircraft radio that would monitor the vhf frequencies, but was blocked from transmitting on them. By using dual watch, you could at least hear what your mates were saying and still be monitoring airband. Phil

I don't know if they would be the right size, although it doesn't really matter if they are a bit big, just secure them with a close fitting 'O' ring. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5-Microphone-Wind ... 286.c0.m14 Alternatively, have a look in 'Maplins Electronics' they carry a variety of sizes. Phil