Dragonphotographic

A glass has certainly been raised here T hat's a half decent photo there Francis

Paul, I think you might be missing a bit of torque steer Read it again in the morning From the remnants of two organisations with diverging goals, there may be another way. Who knows? there may be 'Motor' in the title huh?

That's perfect!! Thank you sooo much I'm of course impatient to get started, but I'll let you two enjoy your parting ritual Besides, it's not payday 'till Friday so I'll send your postage then if we haven't worked out another method In the meantime, I may have some good news for the Somerset pilots. I will know more at the weekend

I really appreciate it Francis, Thank you. Have sent a PM re price etc I can assure you it will have a long and useful retirement. how do you go about restretching lines?

how's the teabag hunt going Francis?

thanks Simon I have seen that one I voted for start from scratch before I even left a comment. My meaning in that comment was (IMHO) a new dedicated structure would be ideal, based on the modified but generally already successful one. (A sort of hybrid BHPA/BMAA syllabus) I also totally agree with Francis, participants in any sport such as this do need to be seen to be putting, and keeping their house in order to ward off the largely unnecessary and certainly unwelcome future interferences of beurocracy

From what I have seen, the majority of PPG pilots have come from BHPA ranks anyway, so it's a natural progression for them. Therefore the same model would seem to be the ideal starting point. It's a rare blend. Familiar, but progressive and I for one like that idea. Major strengths are already there. The rate of development in this sport is extremely impressive. Wing technology, motors, even heated knickers! It would seem the old adage of KISS represents that middle road. Albeit "Keep It Simple (but) Safe" in this instance

I've seen lots of videos on youtube where smoke cannisters are being used by paramotor pilots. In all the ones I've seen the cannisters are suspended on a chord of a metre or so attached to the ankle

What a way to discover your passport expired last year! Have a great time folks. i look forward to seeing the pics and reading the reviews of the E-pac

As a newcomer to this sport the lack of masses of compliance issues is a large part of it's appeal. I could buy a perfectly servicable microlight for less than a paramotor and wing, but to enjoy it's continued use a very large part of my meagre resources would be swallowed up by beurocracy. A structured syllabus, with regular quality control over instruction are of course ideal goals, and definately the way to go. However, the difficulty lies with how that system is implemented and then administered. If it gets to the stage that the beurocracy and therefore costs involved work to the detriment of the sport as it does in related others, it would be very sad indeed

Well I've just had a word with the wife about the testicle deposit. She said I should definately keep those. Something about "The only things still in proportion" ??? Anyway, I was more worried about her comments to the teabag analogy. See what's in yer cupboard Francis. I'll look for some drop tested, but virtually servicable cameras I can chuck on Ebay to pay for stuff

Thanks for that Francis I really do appreciate your experience And yes, I really only want to ground handle this wing. Given where I will most likely be kiting it, as well as the fact that I will probably be putting in a hundred hours or more of GH while I save up for the rest means it won't be fit for much else afterwards I have saved a copy of your photo so that if I am ever selling something and you walk up to the door I'll know what I'm in for!

After looking through all the training blogs, and virtually every other post on this site, PLUS I think close on a thousand or so videos , as well as getting some great advice from Farmer Dave and Simon etc etc etc. I have decided to do what many have done and that is to buy an old wing for ground handling only. My intention is to take a couple of days instruction and then get as much GH practice in as possible before going on an intensive course in the summer. I know there are dedicated 'practice' wings out there, but to my mind, at about £600 this would be a major hurdle for me. Plus I have seen relatively little used old wings for anything from £100+ including harness. Can anyone recommend such a wing for a 100KG novice? and what should I look for? I also know the importance of a helmet, gloves and brown trousers too, but just wing advice for now would be brilliant thanks

Now I've drop tested a few things in my life, from cameras to mobile phones, but this one may be a step too far http://www.fresh-breeze.de/video/quickrelease.mpg

I do believe Honda Racing UK may have a couple of suitably adaptable racing tubs available from last year. Worth a look? If all the hype is to be believed, a Paramotorclub member could certainly be on course to set an electrically powered record this year.

I've been present at a couple of speed record attempts. Drag cars etc. The format is usually at least two timed runs over a course/strip. The runs must not be more than a set time apart (in the case of the drag cars one hour if memory serves), and the record is the highest average of the two runs. The quoted existing record may seem low, but it may just be the only time it's been done with the official criteria being met so they claimed it anyway. I'd have done the same.

Don't forgret you need someone motoring in front waving a red flag

Who wants to P2 with me on a world record speed attempt? Colin? Pegasus? Lizzy? someone light and sleek ...... and photogenic. Damn, I was doing well in the volunteer stakes up to this point

Not at the moment anyway. A few more of these clowns will soon see to that though huh?

Good to see you back online mate

The fabric is zero porosity, so it doesn't absorb water as such, but as Francis said, it is a bag designed to collect and evenly distribute a much less dense liquid..Air. There is a very good reason why kitesurfers use a different technology to other 'kiting' type sports. They use a single surface wing with a sealed, inflatable leading edge Just doing some very basic maths. 1 cubic metre of seawater = 1 Tonne. By that reckoning, a reaction 26 will very quickly swallow about 1.5 tonnes of water when ditched. Make your choice, having the prospect of being patched up by Whitters & co with a broken bone or two, or being fished out at some point by a trawler. I have broken bones before, I'm sure many of us have, but you only get to drown once. This principle would apply for inland waterways too, although freshwater is about 1/3 less weight by volume. Still wouldn't make me want to rely on an inflation device producing 100 (ish) newtons of bouyancy.

Hi Steve Welcome to the club, drop in on the Devon page We are a very new branch and as such still looking to get things set up in this part of the country. Spread the word and we may have enough people to bring in an instructor to get us started on the basics at least. If the weather is good over the weekend, hopefully we will have the majority of the Tip to tip team training on Dartmoor, but I've yet to see confirmation. If it is going ahead, it will be a fantastic sight seeing them in the air, and a chance to see what it's all about. I won't be missing it

He he, like Dave, I am of the 'Heavy pilot' variety, but I'm certain a lot of ground handling practice will take care of a bit of excess I AM in shape. ROUND is a shape! LOL Dave, how do you plan to import? once the customs and excise get hold of it your exchange rate and costs could be on a spiral Hhowever, if you have kit to sell, I'm interested

I love this clip. I have all of this to come I don't know why, but it reminds me of a famous quote by Thomas Eddystone when he finally succeeded in inventing the light bulb. A reporter reputedly asked him "How did you have the fortitude to carry on after 1000 failed experiments?" To which he allegedly replied, "I didn't have 1000 failed experiments, I merely found 999 ways that something wouldn't work"

Lloyd, good to see another newbie asking similar questions to my own One thing I have observed in the few weeks I have been planning my return to aviation via paramotoring is that this kit REALLY holds it's value. Occasionally, you can get a real steal. I've recently seen a 2 week old Paramania Revolution wing with zero time going for £1400 because the first owner's priorities changed dramaticaly as soon as it arrived! Believe me, I'm kicking myself for not having the cash available that time! If you buy carefully from the used market while you train and develop skills, you will effectively get almost free kit. Let's say you buy a proven used setup for learning. Approx £3000-£4000 Less than 75 hours should tell you what you need to know RE where you want to go with the sport. Assuming you have taken good care of the kit you should get about £3000-£4000 for it once you decide to sell and upgrade with the benefit of experience