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Hi WingsJ You don't say where you are based. Someone on here may well be able to recommend an independant instructor much closer to home. I have only recently taken up this sport, so like you am doing as much research as I can. I have found this site particularly helpful, and some of the great folks in here even more so. The general concensus seems to be to get hold of an old wing and get someone to show you the basics of ground handling, probably the single most important part of this sport. Once you have done that and grasped the basics, you will obviously get a lot more out of any course you may enrol in later because you have already mastered some of the essentials to progression. Good luck

It also depends what class of airspace you are in too Phil. When you think that clouds, particularly building cumulous types will have lots of super cooled water droplets in them it makes sense to keep that big scoop above your head away as much as possible. Not found any mentions anywhere of icing on paramotors, but I'm sure that too should be another deterrent.

If you already have a 4 stroke motor, what about looking at a trikebuggy? You could have the best of 4 worlds then as the fancy took you. Another bonus of course is being able to ground steer Have a look at trikebuggy.com I would be very interested in your thoughts because this is a path that interests me too. A stable camera platform that will fit in the boot of a Polo

hi Malc At the moment the Somerset guys are using a farm near Yeovil. Excellent site. You're more than welcome to join us. I was in your neck of the woods today. I had an appointment in Oxford and stopped for lunch in Lambourn. en route to Swidon Corsham and Bath. You're right, beautiful flying country there

Perfect Francis. Thank you. I was just 'running through the wall' (The point at which the wing acts more like a traction kite than a wing) It makes perfect sense now you have described it to let the wing follow it's natural tendency and then pull again once it has gone through that phase. Doh!

This site has just hit 500 registered users! Nice one Simon and all involved

And my back and legs are starting to ache well

Mon 5 May The Henge Finally got to try out the Arcus for ground handling. Using a borrowed harness (Thanks Norman ) got clipped in and attempted to build a wall. Why is it that after four solid days of steady east southeast 10mph+ winds, on the one day I get to play it drops to less than 3mph? Anyway, a couple of reverse launches, very short lived of course, then the moment I have not been looking forward to. Forward launch take 1. Check harness and A risers for tangles, step back, park heart behind front teeth and away we go. One, two, three steps, feel like I'm tied to a tree as the wing goes up intio the air. At this point I must have looked quite a sight. A grown man running full pelt with a big kite over his head. Trouble was I was running forward but being blown backwards at about 2 mph. The 3 inches of clay that had plastered itself to my boots meant I was going in the direction of what little wind there was. It was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened and my feet went one way while the rest of me and the wing went the other! Much mirth ensued as I rosetted the wing and carried it back up the field for take 2. Take 2 one, two, three steps then the tree was behind me again. This time I had removed most of the clay so I was making headway. wing dipped left so ran left and applied appropriate brake, wing dipped right, same again. On I went. Just as my chest was about to explode I was running out of field so stopped, turned and brought the wing down. I know it's something that everyone here has done, but the feeling of elation I felt at that precise moment was amazing! It has got to be the most fun I have had with my clothes on for ages I decided to quit while I was winning. Picked up the wing and headed back up the field. good timing as it happened because no sooner had I packed it away it started to rain a little. I was still sweating buckets and getting my breath back fully half an hour later as Norman and I were planning a possible trip to Lambourn in the near future. Thanks Norman. I'll pick up a harness of my own this week and go out at any given opportunity to fine tune, then it's all systems go for Lambourn. Judging by the cardio vascular workout I got today, I might need a smaller harness before long

Excellent job Simon Must have taken hours of valuable time putting it all together. Thank you. I ordered my 3 free maps yesterday

I think you got a great deal. Just spotted something else as well. I believe that on rare occasions props get busted. Who knows? this could go for a song too http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Paramotor-Blades- ... dZViewItem On the way back from picking it up you could call in for a lesson or two with Simon at Lambourn

Congratulations Steve. I was wondering if someone from here would get that one. A Bargain! if you're not too cream crackered after the trip to Brighton, maybe you'd like to join us in Yeovil sunday or Monday?

The reason I have been going round knocking doors etc is to avoid precisely that problem. Not too many Years ago I lived on my first wife's family farm on the outskirts of Torbay. The number of people, both locals and grockles who thought it was perfectly fine to open gates and leave them open, walk across private land, have a picnic and leave litter etc and then generally get abusive and even violent when challenged beggared belief! I would like to think that I, as a representative of paramotoring would be a lot more responsible than the people I regularly had to deal with as I rounded up straying livestock while picking up everything from pastie wrappers to soiled toilet paper off our own (private) land! With luck and a following wind, by the end of this, Simon's Paramotorclub.org should have a few approved flying and landing sites where the farmers are happy to see us, and welcome PPG pilots. Me included.

Well, a few hours of driving round knocking on farm doors has produced some limited success. upland farms tend to be a lot smaller than their lowland counterparts. Fields are generally much smaller, with a lot more hazards in. Also, anything remotely open is quite rare. Small steep hills with big trees right round them seem to be the order of the day round here The farmers themselves tend to try to get a lot more out of each acre too, so the type of field I have been looking for is right now being grown up for silage or hay, so quite understandably the farmers don't like the idea of some fat bloke with a hard hat and big kite trampling it all down! However, in a month or so's time that will be different, and I have a couple of fields I can go play in. One of them is even great for flying too AND tomorrow's another day

I am now off work until next tuesday. I had planned a trip to Lambourn for today or tomorrow, but a couple things have conspired to throw a spanner into the works Plus, The weather is at best irratic, so by the time I get over there it may just be the case I have to turn around and come back again Instead I'm therefore gonna scout for a field for groundhandling, and who knows? I might get lucky and find a flying site for the Devon branch

Hey Steve, Welcome back. I was giving your situation some thought, re microlight/PPG and I spotted what could be the perfect solution for you. Trikebuggy.com If it gets too windy to fly, I'll lend you a 4M traction kite Watch the forum for news of an upcoming meeting near Yeovil pretty soon

I've just bought myself one of these. I saw them for sale last Christmass for £99.99 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nike-ACG-Ascent-F ... dZViewItem

I now have what seems like half an acre of ripstop nylon grinning at me from the corner. I can tell it just wants to go out and play Thanks Francis. If you see a familiar wing kiting on Dartmoor this weekend, that'll be me then

He he, I haven't seen one of those since taking turns as winch signaller in the cadets With any luck, once particular hippie might completely forget where he left his double decker bus last year huh?

I'm up for some of that Dave. Thanks for the invitation.

Norman, we are on the verge of yet another new safety system for PPG. "Olfactory reserve" On a standard prevailing wind approach, you check your trim and altimeter. If there is nothing you recognise in VFR you sniff the air. If your eyes start to water immediately, you know you are over the lagoons and have to 'go round again' (Do you think we've put enough people off so we have this perfect flying site to ourselves yet?)

Daz, I really enjoyed your blog. Looking forward to reading more. You realize you have already been bitten and there there is NO antidote don't you?

Date: 26 April 2008 Place: The Henge Norman and I went to meet a farmer who was interested in allowing paramotoring on his land. Bear in mind, I had set up this appointment having never handled a wing, never been physically close to a motor and having not flown anything myself for 15 years! Norman took his Parajet Macro and Paramania Revo wing. I took my anemometer, and as luck would have it, a pair of ear plugs that were in my camera bag from the last time I went to Santa Pod Raceway. I am awaiting the imminent delivery of a training wing, so I watched with great interest as Norman unpacked and laid out his wing in somewhat blustery conditions. He is obviously a methodical type of person so I would recommend any newbie to watch him at any given opportunity. While he was setting up the wing, it gave me the chance to identify the lines and risers. Something I have only seen on youtube video etc up to now. Next came the harness, again, connecting the risers is something I have only seen on video, but no-one has ever shot a vid of getting strapped in to the harnes that I am aware of, so this too was educational to a good extent. Next came the launch. I was watching the anemometer, and Norman after making sure his ground was clear was looking at the windsock. He built the wall, and prepared to launch. Just as he got the wing to halfway, the wind suddenly went from a steady 10mph to 19.5mph! (We later identified pockets of thermals that sweep across these fields by watching a pair of buzzards soaring them) I have to say, watching that magnificent wing go up has to be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! After that came the motor. Because of the blustery conditions and the fact that he had limited fuel Norman decided he wouldn't fly. Good call! However, again watching him go through the checks gave me another valuable opportunity to see how it should be done. I watched him go through these same procedures three times. Once for me, once for Sid the farmer, and once more because one of Sid's friends and neighbours had seen what was going on and 'popped over' to see Sid . The meeting was a great success and Paramotorclub.org now has a fantastic new place to fly. Lessons learned: The sheer size of these wings has to be seen. Be prepared for sudden gusts, you can't see it coming, but you can read signs if you know what to look for. Up to now, terms like '60KG of thrust' have been meaningless numbers to me. Now I have seen the motor fired up and revved, it at least gives me some quantification. If like me you are a complete newbie to this sport, take any opportunity to watch an experienced pilot, and don't be afraid to ask questions. If you think you would like a go, just ask for an invitation when a club is flying. It will NOT be wasted time Norman, once again, thank you for a great day

I'm sure Norman's expert demonstration and clear descriptions helped as much as anything else. It's just a shame the wind was just that little bit too fresh to be able to do a circuit the farmer was very impressed, and he's looking forward to a flight or two himself if and when it can be arranged. Thanks for a great morning Norman, and I'm looking forward to flying with you. I reckon twice round the henge with a winsock tied around our heads will appease the resident deity and ensure a trouble free flight I've put a few pics from the site in my album, and a few more will follow

I'm just doing a bit of research for a project I'm working on and it would be really helpful if as many folks as possible could answer the following questions 1. What is the length in time of your average flight? 2> How long would you normally run your motor at full throttle? 3. What percentage of available power do you use while cruising? Thanks in advance to all that reply. The results are to be used in electric paramotor development.

Does that make anyone who flies them Arconaughts?