fuzzybabybunny

I'm looking to be more specific in my thermal forecasting instead of just going with the "land 3 hours after sunrise, earliest takeoff 3 hours before sunset" rule. 1) Are there any good apps (Windy, MeteoBlue, Windy.app, etc) that offer good thermal forecasting abilities and 2) what specific numbers or values do you look for in these forecasts to determine when it will become too thermic to fly? Thermal Index, Lifted Index, CAPE, etc?

On my EOS 100 and old ROS 125 I am never able to cold start the motor by just pull starting. It either never starts at all, or it starts and shuts down immediately, never going into idle. I have to be pull starting and giving it a little bit of throttle at the same time, even if I've primed it correctly. - Is giving a bit of throttle when cold starting necessary and expected to have it start and maintain idle? - If not, what motor do you have? - What should I do to get throttle-less starts and idles?

I can check the head studs... But it's a new motor with only 7 hours. It should be tight, right? It's on a SkyMax Expedition frame (not their newer Star frame).

I'm confused. I have the EOS 100 Booster as well but it has a choke and it only has 7 hours on it. I depress the diaphragm on the carb and squeeze the bulb to get fuel just to the entrance of the carb. I then release the diaphragm on the carb and squeeze the bulb until it's firm and then I leave the bulb alone. I then press in on the diaphragm for half a second and the pressure built up in the primer bulb squirts fuel into the intake. I put the motor on my back and then proceed to pull 50 times with a touch of throttle with no luck. Should I let fuel squirt into the intake for longer? I'm concerned I'll flood the engine.

Doesn't work for me on my EOS 100 Booster. On a cold start without the choke first I will be pulling until my pull start rope breaks, and this is with a bit of throttle. Pulling with the choke doesn't actually seem to start the engine either. Without choke I can pull 50 times without it starting. With choke I pull it 5 times without it starting, but then disengage the choke and within 5 more pulls it'll start.

I've got an EOS 100 Booster with a pull start and I'm trying to get a handle on how you're supposed to cold start an engine on your back. Because you cannot reach the choke lever with the motor on your back it appears that you have to take the motor on and off twice just to cold start and engine. - press on the diaphragm of the carb and press the primer until fuel just reaches the inlet on the carb - release the diaphragm and give the primer a few more presses to increase pressure in the fuel line - press the diaphragm for half a second to squirt fuel into the intake - engage the choke lever on the carb *** Is this where you put the paramotor on your back? *** - with no throttle, pull start the engine while it's choked *** With the choke engaged, is the engine supposed to be able to turn over and continue idling on its own, or is it simply supposed to sputter for half a second and then die? The whole idea of the choke is to get the engine running for a little while so it can warm up so the fuel can properly vaporize and burn, right? With the choke engaged, is there still the threat of a prop strike on your hands and limbs? *** - take the paramotor off your back so you can then disengage the choke - put the paramotor *back* on your back and pull start the engine while giving it a little bit of throttle to really start it **** Is this correct? For people who start their engines on their backs, do you put on the choke, put the motor on your back, pull start, take the motor off your back, release the choke, put the motor back on your back, and then start it up?

I talked to a paramotor instructor and dealer in Adelaide, Australia and he said he has *never* had a new prop arrive perfectly balanced. He works as an airplane mechanic and needs to get every single prop balanced before he sells them to people. And this includes e-Props.

I'm getting a bit overwhelmed with radio stuff because it appears that cables and connectors are not standardized, which is frustrating because in the consumer audio world everything just works with a 3.5mm audio plug. I've got a normal pair of in-ear headphones that seal really really well. 3.5mm plug. I will not get an over-the-ear headset. I fly with an Android smartphone with bluetooth. I need an airband radio (108 - 137 MHz, with 108–117.95 MHz split into 200 channels of 50 KHz) I have a Baofeng GT-3TP UHF radio for pilot-to-pilot communication (not airband obviously) but that takes a stupid two-pronged connector. It has a 136-174 and 400-520 MHz range. I've got a Sena SMH10R but I'm completely ok with selling it if it means I don't have to deal with proprietary connectors or being unable to communicate with others who don't have Sena. Can anyone recommend a complete and affordable VHF and UHF radio setup so I can be up and running with what I've got? I'm thinking Bluetooth might just be the answer here? I'll need to have at least two radios - an airband to broadcast my position, and another one (UHF or Sena) for general comms between friends I'm flying with. And a way to switch between the two or to listen in on both at the same time.

Ok, so the bumps are felt more on the PPG kit than the PG kit, but there is no real difference in terms of actual safety and stability, right? It just feels a bit worse. I was under the impression that PPG isn't good for summer because it's somehow more dangerous than PG-flying in the same conditions (and the same wing).

I bought a SkyMax Expedition with the EOS 100 Booster engine in 2017. I had to go overseas for over a year and only came back in 2018 to the brand new setup. I got it professionally assembled by a SkyMax dealer and started on my roadtrip around Australia. The dealer only does Skymax combos with the Vittorazi motors because they have been unimpressed by EOS. - After only 5 hours the plastic spindle that the pull start rope coils around cracked. The rope doesn't recoil back into the housing even though the internal spring is fine. - Contact EOS Engine via Facebook Messenger and he says he sent a replacement spindle on 12/14. - 12/16 - I ask for a tracking number. No response. - 12/20 - I ask for a tracking number. No response. - 12/29 - He texts me with "Got the part??" and I say "no" and again ask for the tracking number. No response. - Ok, by this time I've already paid for an week and a half of accommodation at the place where I'm having the spool sent to. As I mentioned, I'm in the middle of traveling around Australia. - 1/3 - I ask how much it would cost for a new drive belt and the new Easy Starter. No response. My Australia visa expires on 1/18. My road trip has ground to a complete halt while waiting for this part and not having a tracking number and being ignored by EOS Engine means I have no way of planning for the future. This motor has 5 hours on it. I've tried Skymax and they say that unfortunately they can't help me service EOS engines. I am beyond frustrated right now. This is all on Facebook Messenger. I *know* that he has seen my messages and he has ignored me a total of, what, 4 times now? And all because of a stupid f*cking spindle.

This is something that I've never fully understood. Instructors have told me that summer is bad for paramotoring but it's good for paragliding. For paragliding it's obvious - they need the thermals to stay up, so summer is great! Then they tell me that paramotoring isn't good in summer because the ride is bumpy, and this is where I lose the logic. When both glider and motor are in the air in summer, BOTH are going to experience a bumpy ride... (I personally use the same wing for both). So, uh, why isn't summer a good time to paramotor again? It doesn't make sense to retire your motor to the garage during summer and use your freeflight harness instead based solely on ride quality. The only logical explanation that I can think of is that launching and landing in thermic conditions is harder in summer with all that paramotor weight on your back and if you get knocked over you can break more stuff. Once you lift off you've got more of a chance of experiencing a low-altitude wing collapse but that should be the same for a paraglider as well, no?

I'm currently in Australia and I fly an EOS Booster 100. Can anyone give some good sources for wooden or carbon fiber props? I faintly remember my New Zealand instructor getting his wooden props from some place in southeast Asia for a good price? I'm also aware of E-Props. Any others?

Ok, so basically your yank is trying to immediately push through the hardest part of the cycle?

When you pull the rope slowly there are moments where it pulls easier and moments when it pulls harder. When you're doing a pull start are you supposed to pull slowly just past the hard part (just past when the compression has been released), stop, and then yank hard and fast? Or are you supposed to pull and stop right before the hard bit (mid-compression?), and then yank?

Any tips on how to adjust hang angle? The propeller / cage is currently 15 degrees off of vertical. Watching some videos of the Scout, they recommend between 0 - 5 degrees and as close to 0 degrees as possible for maximum thrust efficiency. I've already got my riser carabiners adjusted pretty far aft on the weight shift arms and the straps that connect the shoulder of the harness to the frame are already the shortest they'll go. What else can I do to bring my prop angle more upright?

I've got both the PPGPS and Paraglider Dashboard apps on my Android phone and I can't figure out how to make use of airspaces. I download and load up the airspace file and I get the colored airspace overlays on my main display. In PPGPS when I tap on a colored portion nothing happens. I have no idea what airspace it is, what the details are, what the limits are, etc. In Paraglider Dashboard I tap on a colored portion and airspace details pop up, BUT since airspaces are frequently layered on each other, one spot on the map can have several different airspaces that change with altitude, so how do we get this view in PPGPS? Between 0 - 4,000 ft for instance can include several different airspaces all in one spot.

By the looks of it, the Sena SMH10R uses proprietary connectors for it's audio input and outputs. Has anyone had any luck using the SMH10R with their UHF radios? I'm hoping to: - speak into a mic - have the audio go into the Sena, which does the noise reduction - have the clean audio go out of the Sena and into the radio - have the radio transmit the clean audio to others On the receiving end: - have the radio receive the audio - either: - have the radio output audio into headphones - have the radio output audio into the Sena and have the Sena output audio into the headphones Please see the attached image.

Which engine do you have and oil?

I'm going to go with the priming issue as well. Make sure you're priming it properly and start it with the choke on. It should start up momentarily and then die on its own. Then turn off the choke and start it normally.

No, there are no knots, but I can't figure out how to thread a soft link twice through an o-ring that's also holding a group of lines in place. There's an image in my original post.

I can't use metal mallions because I don't have any at the moment . Otherwise I would swap all of them in. For the time being I want to figure out how to tie this soft link thing.

I have a Gin reserve and their soft link method is far easier than Ozone's. It's also different, at least the o-ring part, because Gin uses the o-ring to keep the soft link's knot in place while Ozone uses the o-ring for keeping the lines attached to the wing from sliding around in the soft link. I can't use the method a metal mallion would use because a metal mallion remains open during the entire process (until you're ready to close it) while the soft link wraps around twice, so it's already closed during the first wrap even if you haven't locked it closed on the second wrap.

I'm replacing lines on my Ozone B riser and it has soft links instead of standard metal mallions and it's impossible to figure out how to tie them with the rubber O-ring: http://imgur.com/HSn6dkJ I can't find any instructions on how to tie soft links with the o-ring as shown. Been here at the field now for a couple HOURS trying to tie this correctly. I really should just chuck out all the soft links and replace with metal ones. Anyway, can anyone in the know post a video?

So what are your rules of thumb for gusts and thermic conditions? Gusts can't be more than X knots in Y minutes. Wind direction can only change up to X degrees in Y minutes. If it's marginal, do you guys drive up, plant the wind sock, and then just sit around for 15 minutes watching the sock, not even unpacking the motor and wing?

Wow, ok, thanks for the numbers. They make a lot more sense to me now. 10mph / 8.7kt has been about the max for me as well in non-gusty conditions. 11.5mph / 10kt has always felt too strong. Not a problem in just a PG harness, but different with a motor on your back.