slim

Ordered. I'm so close to getting in the air again I simply can't wait! S

Ladies and Gentlemen, After an absence from the skies of almost two years I have finally re-built my motor... except that the starter motor has died! Does anyone know where I can get my hands on a starter for a Raket engine? Please. Yours, incredibly frustrated! S.

Does anyone who went on the visit to RAF Lyneham a couple of years ago remember what they said about fatigue? I'm sure that one of the safety officers said that the research they'd done showed that someone who had been working for 8 hours was impaired by the same amount as someone who had recently got up (i.e. not tired) and drunk 2 pints of beer. Certainly worth thinking about next time you've slept badly and decide to go for a sunset fly S

Best back it up at home too Pete. I've had far too many hard drives fail to risk not backing everything up again and again!

Mi-26 can lift 20 tonnes of cargo. That's the biggest anyone does. Not quite enough for you eh Pete?

I've put the Feb dates in my diary. Can I join the party chaps?

Yes he does. And it might even be flying in the very near future - honest Simon's comment about power is true. I'm 92Kg in the raw and I can get off the ground with no real problems with the RAD but I have to get the technique right otherwise I'm running down the field like a turkey with no altitude. The boys with their Parajet Macros and the like don't have to worry that much about technique because they've the power to spit them off the ground without really trying. In short... The RAD (in the form I have) is a good little machine with brilliant power to weight ratio and very simple to maintain but it can be frustrating at times when it takes a longer run to get off the ground. S.

It is a VERY cool plan folks.

Awesome news. Well done.

Lots of old faces, lots of new faces. A good time.

Yay. Well done to the tech team. I know how tricky that was. S.

Soon, I really hope soon. Missing the sky terribly.

Lay the wing out on the bank, set off briskly and hope it pops up before it gets to the water On landing, keep just enough speed up to keep the wing up until you get back to the shore and let it come over your head onto the bank Isn't theory a wonderful thing?

I've been trying to work out how big a wing I'd need to turn Relativity into the first "SkyBoat" but I might need more horsepower than my RAD has to get 23 tonnes of rusty narrowboat into the air But seriously, with all the lakes near me I'm really tempted to see if I can work out how to build a water launched "trike" Perhaps I should just get myself back in the air first S

I'd love to do that too. I don't mind that someone else has already done it. Perhaps we should compile a list of other mini-missions. Here are a couple for starters: Fly the length of the major rivers: Thames, Severn etc. Fly around the M25 (I know it was done last year but that doesn't mean other people can't do it) S.

I really like the idea of a training simulator. Combine it with a treadmill arrangement and we can even practice takeoff and landing

Yes please. Possibly with a guest or two if that's ok. SLiM

SliM & the soon to be Mrs SLiM please.

All our prayers are with Jackie, Mike and their family. Please keep us as informed as you can Simon. S.

Several of my friends have sent it to me as well. I'm still trying to work out what he was hoping to achieve by tethering it to his car. Its clear he wasn't using the car to tow him into the air, more as a lump on the ground to stop him getting blown away? Just goes to show how important proper training by qualified instructors is. S.

http://ardrone.parrot.com/parrot-ar-drone/en Please Santa, please

Hi SLiM Thinking of getting a Bak-Rak and I've just been looking at your photos of your kit attached to the Bak-Rak. I was wondering what method you use to secure your paramotor to the rack when travelling. Thanks Dan I use kayak straps like these: and it works very well but I do get the dirt and rain problem that other people have talked about. I tried covering it in plastic sheet but the wind resistance goes up massively and therefore the stresses on the frame and fixings and also the fuel consumption. S.

But the Ekranoplan was designed not to go higher then the influence of the ground effect which is why it could get away with such short wings. This thing seems to go higher than the ground effect would last for so it seems to me that it is generating enough lift to be "flying" rather than just "ekranoplan-ing"?

It's only 292 days to Christmas, plenty of time for mummy and daddy to save up. Yes please

On my way over now!