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I'm feeling that we're drifting from the topic but it does make a wonderful point - the Lambourn Paramotor Club is full of fun loving people who don't take themselves too seriously. On the other hand I can't help wondering what it would take to rig enough kit on my motor to fly the equivalent of an instrument rating

And there I was thinking of ordering a night vision sight for my helmet

Hi David, I looked at a number of different training options around the area before deciding to go with Simon (he isn't paying me to say this - honest ) Here are the primary reasons I chose him... He does this full time which means that when I can do it he's (almost) always ready and willing. Sometimes I can get a day off work, other times I can make weekends He has a great balance of approach - he won't let you do something you're not ready to do but he understands the need to put some fun bits in between the practice Training is personal - he doesn't skip anything but neither does he labour through things that you are already familiar with Safety is everything - I have a wife and three children who want me to come home at the end of a flying trip preferably in one piece (yesterday's bruises not withstanding) I hope that helps you. I've been writing a training blog on this site (this link will take you straight there) so you can see how I've been making progress. Yours, Stuart

Training day 4 was very challenging but after almost two weeks without a flyable day it was good to be getting my wing out again. A good crowd turned up at Lambourn including David and Rachael(?) H. who demonstrated how it should be done despite some gusty conditions and a less than ideal take off site. We were in a borrowed field and had to wait for the horses to be moved. Unfortunately there was rather a lot of horse manure left in the field which made the whole day rather smelly When the gusts died down the wind was pretty smooth and we all got some good ground handling done. Tony started his first lesson with that wonderful task - getting out your brand new wing - a nice crispy Dudek Synthesis. After lunch (which included rounding up 3 escaped horses) I strapped on my Rad motor for the first time. Everything changes! The hang points move slightly so launching is harder. The weight of the motor makes it much more difficult to maneuver around the field. I found that I could only do one or two launches before having to stop for a breather. The motor is quite uncomfortable and hard work to carry around. Obviously, once I'm flying the wing will be carrying it rather than me but right now, whilst practicing, it's all on my back and really hard work. After a couple of hours of struggling with the motor I took it off and enjoyed some simple ground handling - for a while - until a particularly large gust arrived just as I was turning from reverse to forward pose. It hit me exactly as I was side on and I completely lost my balance. I hit the ground hard on my shoulder and started to be dragged across the field using my shoulder as a shock absorber. The real problem was the barbed wire fence that was coming up fast. Remembering my instruction I grabbed one break and just kept pulling on the string but although the wing wasn't flying any longer it was still dragging me across the field and it was getting perilously close to the wing shredder of a fence. Fortunately at that point the rest of the guys realised the problem and came and jumped on the wing. Thanks guys, I suspect I owe a round of beers! Not surprisingly at that point and given the increasingly unfriendly looking sky we all decided that discretion was the better part of valour and started to pack up. It took me 10 minutes just to untangle all my lines. The wing had a complete twist in it and when everything had stopped moving I was well and truly enmeshed in string. The bruises are beginning to come out and the grazing looks far worse than it is. My shoulder isn't working particularly well but I don't think there is any serious damage. Mrs M. has enjoyed rubbing arnica into it if only to watch me squirm. I doubt there will be any sympathy from that quarter The main treat of the day was Simon taking his new Parajet for a quick spin. An awesome piece of kit with an awesome price tag. I only had my phone camera with me so the picture is pretty crap but I've added the best one to my album. The final lesson for the day was sun cream. I clearly didn't use enough on my neck and face - ouch. Enough for now. I need something to eat and some paracetamol. 'till next time. Stuart

Hi Tony, Like you, I'm not absolutely confident of being ready to fly the whole way but that doesn't stop either of us getting involved and driving a support vehicle if we're not ready to fly. That way we can drink in the vibe of the trip at least. Stuart

Hi Simon, What time on Thursday and Saturday for the navigation briefing? Also, do you have Lat,Lon coordinates for the waypoints on the route? Thanks, Stuart

Hi Simon, Dudek ReAction 31, RAD motor but then you knew all of that any way Stuart

So does the fact that your post appeared mean that it worked or not Thanks for your efforts. Stuart

My wife thinks she's turning into a "wing widow" now. Under the pretense of offering to go and collect one of the kids from their evening activity I managed to sneak off and get another half hour of practice in on the way last night! An excellent session with some nice even evening breeze from the North. My record was 60 or so seconds above my head with a couple of moments of air beneath my feet. It is amazing to suddenly realise that everything is stable and that just a little pull on the brakes gives enough lift to be off the ground. The fun of the evening was the face of the Sargent Major with his group of Army Cadets. He was wondering why they weren't managing to keep in line during their square bashing, until he turned around and saw what they were all looking at. I'm enjoying this sport just for the reactions of the spectators! Maybe we should start a Forum for training blogs. Simon, can you move a thread from one section to another? 'Till next time, Stuart

Hi Guys, I know it is an uphill struggle but is there anything we can do to stop the spam posts? Thanks, Stuart

Today I decided that my colleagues needed a laugh so at lunch time I went out onto the field and spent a happy hour ground handling. They watched from the windows of the office. So, what did I achieve? Well, I managed to get it to stay over my head for 35 seconds at one point and for between 20 and 25 seconds a number of times. Although the weather web sites are all saying that the wind here in Reading was 10 to 15mph the reality on the ground was much lower and a bit gusty at times so one minute I'd be nice and stable, just on my tippy toes, and the next everything was coming out of the sky on my head. I did get a bit close to some trees that were on the upwind side of the field at one point and got a great demonstration of the turbulence on their leeward side. The leading edge collapsed and then the wing folded in half turning into a big pile on the floor. An interesting lesson to learn in benign circumstances. I'm getting pretty good at building the wall now even from a complete mess which is encouraging. So, time to go do some work. Stuart

For the many fans of my "Training blog" there are some pictures of my first day's practice at home in my personal album. Click here to go straight to it. Stuart

On Friday night I managed to get 45 minutes of ground handling practice in the field near my office. The wind was steady at about 5mph. Lots of forward launches were the order of the day. Unfortunately I didn't have a windsock with me so I was relying on watching the trees and feeling to gauge the wind. Getting the wind direction wrong means the wing just wants to go off to one side and no amount of running and brakes seems to get it back. I also noticed that because of the higher speed nature of the reflex wing it is much harder to do useful ground handling in low winds. This morning Number 2 son begged me to show him the wing so off we went to the the field. After a few forward launches that were not very successful because of the low wind, Josh asked if he could try. It didn't take a Ph.D in Aerodynamics to work out that this was going to be tough - how to get a 3 stone child off the ground on a reflex wing with almost no wind and limited ability to control the brakes (remote control by yelling ) It took three attempts but we did manage a 10 yard flight at 5 feet off the ground and actually it taught me a lot about things I've been doing wrong. The good news is that harness, wing, father and son survived to tell the tale to mom Having not learned my lesson, this evening Number 3 son was livid that his elder brother had got his feet off the ground and he hadn't been invited. Off we went to the nearby park and after a lot of effort he flew too. The quote of the weekend was "Dad, you have to help me become the youngest paramotor pilot in the world!" It's going to be interesting! The question I'll have to ask Simon is how do you get this blasted wing to launch reliably in no wind? Am I just being a weakling or is there a knack to it? So, after about 2 hours of practice and another hour of kiting children around I think I'm beginning to get a better feel for this stuff. I'm beginning to be able to tell which way the wing is going without looking at it. Now to get praying for some better weather. 'Till next time. Stuart

Hi Eddie, I'm a newbie to the sport and really enjoying it. From all the research I've done it is clear that your kit is the pick of the bunch but at £284 (MM021 helmet plus MP001 headset) or £319 (MM021 helmet plus MP006 headset) it feels like a lot of cash and from your website I'm still not sure that once I've paid over the money I've got everything I need. It leaves me with a sneaking feeling that there is another £80 or so in adapters for my iPod, Nokia phone and Kenwood 2-way radio. On the other hand I can spend relatively little and go with a cheaper (and undoubtedly inferior) solution and use my in-ear headphones to listen to my iPod I guess, as with all things, the proof is in the eating. Given something as personal as a helmet it would be nice if I could walk in to a shop somewhere within an hour's drive of Reading in Berkshire and try it on and put all the pieces together just to be sure. Very low tech approach to buying especially in this age of Amazon and Ebay I know. Any thoughts? Feel free to contact me via a PM. Stuart

Today truly was father's day! My lovely new crispy Dudek wing arrived so Simon and I took it up the hill (thanks Clive). It was a pretty low wind day so lots of practice forward launches but I did manage to get a few reverses in and some time just ground handling. I don't ache as much tonight as last week. What wind there was came from the South so we were using the gentle grassy slope. It really does get easier with practice! Clive Bunce (he of Dudek fame) flew overhead in his microlight but couldn't land at the time so he went home. I managed one towed launch thanks to Rob and Simon running like maniacs (well done and thank you guys) followed by a reasonable landing. Now to put lots of ground handling practice in before my next day at Lambourn. It was a bit tricky to practice before with a lack of a wing and harness but now that deficit has been fixed I can make some progress (i hope). And the lesson of the day? When to give up. If the takeoff isn't happening then abort earlier rather than later. When you're physically tired stop and rest. There's no point in getting tired. The wing seems to know and chooses that moment to turn around and bite you We saw a couple of buzzards pretty closely today together with a kestrel and various other wild life. Altogether another great day. I think I'll sleep well tonight Stuart

Ok, so the day started a little late. It was raining when I left Reading but by the time I got to Lambourn it was sunny, a little "thermic" as Simon puts it but a nice steady 8mph breeze blowing from the North. Training started at midday and ended at about 4pm because I had to be home in time to get number 3 son off to camp for the weekend. After day one when it was far too gusty to try and get a wing over my head today was much better. I fell over quite a bit. It isn't like flying my stunt kite at all! I keep having to try and remember that the brakes are generally to be used sparingly but I did get a few hops down the hill including one at 20 feet altitude and 20 yards in length. What a feeling and not a motor in sight yet! Now I'm exhausted, I've got aches in places I didn't know I had places and several bumps and bruises but a big smile on my face. I suspect I'll sleep like a log tonight. I took a couple of pictures of Simon practicing with his new Dudek Synthesis. Click here for my album. He let me try it out at the end of the day. A truly fantastic piece of kit. My brand new one arrives at the weekend and I can't wait. I suspect the stunt kite will be languishing in the back of the car for a while whilst I practice with 31 square meters of nice crispy wing every lunchtime in the field near my office. More next time. Stuart.

Yeeee ha. I've finally started my training! Thanks Simon. A beautiful day, just a shame it was too blustery to get a wing over my head I felt a bit of a wally hanging from two bits of rope in the barn with the harness and motor but it was a lot more comfortable than I was expecting. Here's to gentle winds and a total absence of work emergencies on Friday Stuart

Hi Simon, There are lots of reasons why a direct comparison doesn't work but because we all live on planet Earth we can make a conversion. Gravity is a force pulling down (no, really) with a force of 9.81N per Kg. So your 120N force would lift 12.2Kg straight up. Although it wouldn't really, it would just make it appear weightless. To make it move you'd need to add a little more force. Another way of looking at it is Newton's Force=Mass x Acceleration equation (Newton's second law) applied to a pilot and motor etc with a total mass of 200Kg: 120 = 200 x A A=120/200 A=0.6m/s/s Or, with a force of 120N behind him, assuming no wind resistance or lift or anything else (ha ha) our pilot will experience an acceleration of 0.6 meters per second per second. Or for each second his speed will increase by 0.6 meters per second. Or, for each second that passes his speed will increase by 2.16Km/hour which is roughly equivalent to a 0 - 60 time of 44.5 seconds. Just for reference, the force of gravity acting on our pilot should he collapse his wing would cause an acceleration of 9.81m/s/s which is equivalent to a 0 to 60mph time of 9.76seconds. As clear as mud? Thus endeth today's lesson. Stuart

Hi Guys, I'm really new to the sport! Just about to start lessons with Simon. I live on the East side of Reading so I'd love to hook up with some people close to me. The Lambourne site is wonderful but it is a good 45 minutes' drive. Perhaps there is an opportunity for lift sharing etc. Stuart

Hi Simon, You mentioned your N70/GPS combo the other day. Which software and GOS do you use? Thanks, Stuart

As a complete newbie I decided to spend a while Googling for good paramotor websites whilst it rained and was generally unpleasant outside. This link Sevillaparamotor is an amazing video of mother nature showing that she's cleverer than the pilot. To my untrained eye it looks like he got caught in turbulence caused by the stadium. Another 20 feet higher up and he might even have saved it. There are plenty of other less dramatic videos of Spanish flying to keep your spirits up when the British weather isn't being kind. My wife is not getting shown that crash though. Time to check the life insurance policy I will get in the air, I will, I will. Stuart.

Fantastic idea. I'd be there in a flash except I shall be 7000 miles away on business I hope to see you before then though.

New to the site and new to the sport so I'm saying hi and hoping to find friendly people who are kind to newbies. I'm looking forward to getting over to Lambourne to meet up and start learning as soon as the weather is kinder. Now, time to start saving for some kit ... Stuart