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tatumdale

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  1. tatumdale
    Today was the day that I began to realise my childhood dream. When i was 11 years old, i bet my brother that i would be a pilot by the time i’m 50! Well today was the day that my vision of actually achieving that felt real. Today was my 1st Paramotoring lesson.   Before i start - I had a few flying lessons in the past, but the ‘cost' of getting a pilots licence was just too high (in both time and money). AND once you get it, there’s the small issue of BUYING A PLANE! So realistically, i needed to work out another way to fly. Cue Paramotoring.      So what is Paramotoring?   So for those reading this outside of the Paramotorclub.org, Paramotoring is basically a person, with a parachute (called a wing) and a big propeller strapped to his/her back flying - Here's a picture for you  ?      Learning this sport can be frustrating - it’s weather dependant - in particular, the wind and so you can’t really guarantee a training day more than 1 day away. If it’s too windy then you can’t do it. Simple. To help, here’s an app that i highly recommend (as recommended to me by my instructor Simon) - it gives wind and gust speeds. I’m sure it does more as i learn more. But it give you an idea if flying is going to happen. Even with these potential delays due to weather, it still beats flying a fixed wing simply down to the fact that it takes less ‘hours’ and more demonstrable competence. So if you’re keen you can be in the air flying solo within 3-4 days! (weather dependance of course). 

     
    Day 1 
    Getting there: The airfield was just behind the Membury services on the M4. Easy enough to get to. Lower profile wheels/cars should be warned, the driveway is a little rough.
    Food & Drink: Their is a Starbucks literally 10 meters away! and another 10 meters are WHSmiths, Macdonalds etc… so food and drink is easy to get. However, i think i’ll bring a gas cooker and kettle next time - much cheaper than motorway service prices!
    Getting started: So after arriving, there was a meet and greet, coffee (very important), a short briefing and the issuing of the Trainee Pilot’s Guide workbook (TPG). The TPG contains info, further reading and more importantly, explanations and instructor sign-off for each stage/learning outcome. It looks pretty good… gives me an idea on what stages i’ll be going through in my training. Today was about Ground Handling.
    The most difficult part of Paramotoring is getting off the ground (as told by the instructors). So a good understanding and ‘feel’ of the wing is essential. So today was about getting used to handling the wing, getting it in the air and keeping it stable. Things i learnt:
     
    Laying out the wing on the ground in the optimal position for a good launch Controls - brakes and Risers with left and right controls How to ‘balance’ the wing - Simons analogy was to think of it as an up-side-down pyramid that you are balancing on your finger - if it starts to lean to the right, you need move yourself to the right beneath it. This is done with the left and right controls of the brakes and your feet.  Using the wind - the wing flipped a few times, but rather than physically unflipping it, i could use the lightest of winds to get it to right itself.  Wing control in 3 stages - today was just stage 1: getting used to the wing and getting up in the air while wearing a harness.  Make love to the wing - don’t just f*ck it -  Haha. this had to be the quote of the day - and it worked!!! If you pull hard, tug left and right aggressively then the wing responds aggressively (usually to the floor), but if you use the wind, and lightly touch the direction you want to go, it’ll work better (and stays up - no pun intended). This took most of the day to get the hang of due to it being a ‘feeling’ rather than a step-by-step technique.  Managing the cables - so they don’t tangle etc Picking up the wing safely so the wind doesn’t catch it and pull you away Packing the wing away So overall, a really fun day - a great experience. 
     
    Next Steps
    I’ll blog each of my training days, so others can share in the experience, but also, if you are also interested in learning this sport - do it! It’s a lot cheaper than you think… and way more fun!!! 
    Now, I just gotta wait for a combination of free time and good weather for the next lesson! 
     
    I'll leave you with my quote of the day:
     
  2. tatumdale
    Rather than bore you with text... i thought i'd make a little video of my flight
    Got some cool data visualisation stuff on it so you might wanna watch it to take a look at that for your own videos. 
    **Full disclosure** - i did sh*t myself a little and turn back when the thermals kicked in! Felt like I was on an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin!!! 
     
     
    Membury_Fly_with_some_cool_Data_:).mp4
    Did this inspire you? www.paramotortraining.com would be a good place to start your journey. 
  3. tatumdale
    It’s been 5 weeks since i had my first lesson in Paramotoring.  Since then there have been a few variables that have led to such a long absence from the airfield:   Weather Family life  Work Other hobbies   The main cause out has been the weather. I have a bit of a better understanding of the weather requirements now so now i look for a good wind - Average of <10mph and gusts under 15mph. That’s about my limit.     The night of my 1st session, i ordered what has now become a bible and regular bedtime read - ‘Paramotoring from the ground up’ 2013 edition.  This is a great book that covers so much in a really easy-going way:    FLPA exemption (Which means i can’t take a cup of coffee up with me because if the cup falls, that contravenes Schedule 3 of the Foot-Launched Powered Aircraft Exemption - which includes dropping people (??)).  Introduction to the aircraft (i’ll stop calling it a parachute with a motor - i think aircraft sounds betters!) How it actually fly’s - Lift, drag, the controls etc Mastering the Wing - of which some of my learning was validated when i finally got my 2nd lesson in) The Power Unit (I didn’t even know how a 2-stroke engine worked!) As well as the rest: Instruments, hardware, rules, laws, airspace, weather and (excited bit) competitions   Overall, the book has really helped me on a number of levels - learning, keeping the ‘drive to fly’ present, and giving my confidence.   O and i also order my own wing… the not so expensive part of the kit… (exciting!!!!!)   So on the night of the 17th (June), i text Simon after looking at the not-so-perfect weather “are we good to go?”.  "Yes mate ? Se you tomorrow" was the response got…  BOOM! We’re on!!!    So Saturday morning, i arrived promptly at 9am ready for the day.  There were a few other there that i hadn’t met - all at similar levels.  I met the guy that went to a trade-type show to buy a t-shirt and walked away with a paramotor! Awesome bit of kit btw…. (didn’t see the t-shirt thought lol) and i has my first task of ‘F*ck he’s gunna crash… ooo no he didn’t, ooo he’s about to have a wind direction pole anally inserted…. ooo no he didn’t!) that incidentally didn’t scare me off - just made me wanna get up there!    So as for the training….   After re-familiarisign myself with the kit, building the wall, ‘making love with the wing’ and general practice, i moved on to a full sized wing! This was great…. more force but slower reaction time to the wind… which actually gave more thinking time….  I also did the reverse launch….    Reverse launch?   Yes - you face the wing, get it in the air, twist 180 degrees and run! simple…. got the hang of that pretty quick (thanks to imprinting the instructions from the book followed by confirmation and more tips to improve from the instructor… felt more autonomous today ?   TIP: I wore some gym gloves today…. so the cables arrmchign the wing to the harness didn’t rub my hand raw… (Less from the last lesson).    So - not much more to say apart from:   “you’ll be taking your first flight next lesson… “    Yes! I’ll be in the air actually flying solo!!! Hopefully i won’t be almost flying into trees and i’ll try to prevent the wind direction pole from inserting itself anally!!!! haha   So here's a little arial drone video edit i've knocked up showing the airfield, and someone training their 'ground handling'... Hope you like it... (and i mean 'knocked up' btw... )      
     
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