AndyB

You are in the middle of the development area for BAE Systems - Pershore Lasers, for defence systems! No fly from surface to 66,000 feet. Risk of laser burns as they test them straight up!!!!! Andy ps. These are in Mere, Wiltshire .... https://www.skyschooluk.com/paramotoring/uk

Great doc. I wish others would do the same. So far in discussions with Spanish Air controllers I have managed to find that PPG is not included in anything! They did point me to a Royal Decree for micro-lights, but then in the small print we were excluded as not being a midro-light!

Skyschool, UK, Italy or Oman. I think it's £800 for 6 days. It was £600 18 months ago when I did mine in Spain. It really did mean 6 days, so bad weather did not count as a day. This one does training to the APPI syllabus and AXA do global insurance for this. https://www.skyschooluk.com/ https://appippg.org/

If the engine is clockwise looking from the front, then the torque is ant-clockwise...so trying turn you to the right...same as my Thor 190. My harness has both the hang points off-set to the right to counter this. On yours, by a longer off-set do you mean it puts the engine at angle to the direction of travel? And is your longer off-set to the left...still looking from the front? ie when sat in it, is the longer off-set on your right?

Thanks Steve, will have a read. Need to fix something before Parafest.

Steve, which engine is yours? I have a 190 and the elec start never works so have been using the pull...but it is getting temperamental and won't always engage.

From the coast where I fly it is 10 km to a 4500 foot mountain. It literally goes up from nothing! I have only dared venture near it when there was no wind low down and after I checked no wind high up. Amazing to do. You can see the mountain well at 6 mins into this video....

Yes, I totally agree. The book does say don't do it near the ground until you are VERY confident. That will be some time away yet. Where I fly off the beach the wind during the day tends to come off the sea onto the beach at a 45 degree angle. In the evening it switches to directly off the sea. On one of the narrow beaches I fly off (40 m wide flat area) I sometimes have to track along the coast path, parallel to beach and then do a 90 degree turn (buildings and trees in the way stopping straight approach). This turn has to be very low on the 40 m wide beach as it drops off suddenly down to the sea. I practised this loads with motor still on at first, as I always had a tendency to be too high and found landing in the sea a distinct possibility. This was how I a stuffed an elbow badly last year when flying off a small gravel car park. It all goes wrong very quickly near the ground!

Book calls it 'swoop'. Braking early, then releasing so you accelerate, timing the height right so that you then land at a higher speed....apparently.

I have read about swoop landings.......and have tried a few very high up to get a feel for it. Not confident enough to try near the floor yet! Is a nil wind landing a similar feel to a swoop when near the ground?

I don't think you can't compare. It is the one flying that determines how safe. There are many different ways of getting wrong with both. I find very calm air can give a false sense of security. Yes, the flying in amazing, especially when you turn the motor off. But, the landing in no wind is one that has the fastest ground speed! Definitely practice makes perfect, and long gaps between flying don't help.....After just a 10 day gap, yesterday I took off from the beach in no wind and struggled to get off the ground. My wife videoed it. A simple mistake, not leaning back enough so the power is pushing my feet slightly down, keeping my feet in the ridiculously soft sand. PPG training requires landing without power, exactly as you would need to do when your engine fails. In thermic conditions I often do a power on low pass to have a good feel as to what is going on in the approach to the landing spot.

This might help your thinking re going over-weight..... http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/paramotor-death-consistent-with-fall-says-air-accident-report-1.2933698

lol. I have the same problem trying to read my instruments while flying! I'd swear it said 800 feet, not 300 sir!

I am 200 lbs..........but also 6' 4"........so no chips for me With machine on I would be at the top end of weight for a 26m. I did my training before buying anything and was trained on a 26m. It was fine, except the no wind take-offs needed a really good run. So as a beginner I was told to go for 28m. Good choice, as the lower wing loading really does make low wind take-off easier.

Get yourself a reserve, fly very high up and keep checking where that reserve handle is

I thought Crowdfunding was created so that teenagers could do all the things they want to, using other people's money. I don't know if it is the same everywhere, but there is a craze where I am for teenagers to go on walking or cycling holidays for 2 weeks and they are sponsored on said activity such that a % of the crowdfunding goes to a Charity. Many of these trips are actually organised by a charity. One last week was £2650 to be raised.....of which £600 goes to the charity.

I have had a chat with the Spanish equivalent of the CAA (ENAIRE). There is a separate Royal Decree that defines Ultra-lightweight flying machines and us. Link here (in Spanish!)... http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Admin/rd2876-1982.html Having recently been told by a large Spanish Paramotor school that we are considered as MIcro-lights, I find Article 1 immediately says we are not! Article 1 Non-motorized aerodynamics (gliders), aerostats, or motorized or non-motorized aircraft, are not considered ultra-light for the direct take-off or landing of any occupant, Such as delta wings, motorized parachutes, aerostats with motorized nacelles, as well as any other ingenuity that needs such an effort to take off or land. Love the last part of that sentence. If it is difficult to get off the ground it is exempted.

I use a windsock made of these 3 items from Ebay and HobbKing.... The HobbyKing windsock is for radio controlled plane flying and is designed for low winds. It is excellent as at 10 mph as it lies horizontal, so easy to tell from the air if above or below the 10 mph. https://hobbyking.com/es_es/hobbyking-scale-airport-windsock-rip-stop.html Hundreds of these on Ebay. I like the 6m pole as it's the right balance between height, but still being able to secure it well enough that it doesn't blow over. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Spirit-Of-Air-Telescopic-Windsock-Pole-Ground-Stake-Festival-Camping-3-10m-/401280853548?var=&hash=item5d6e33e62c:m:m8j1FtuELzioz6-3fK9pipQ And 2 of these taped either side of the base of the pole, with half in the ground.....in hard ground I bang these in with a hammer first and then tape them to the pole. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GROUND-or-SUPER-STAKE-for-TELESCOPIC-WIND-SOCK-FLAG-POLE-camping-caravan-home-/162321132560?var=&hash=item25cb17ec10:m:mJ51Kjz8HBIE-RpwmL8t_bA

Thanks Simon. It would appear that all of the SERA VFR rules are already in the Spanish air law. The Spanish Paramotor body tells me that PG/PPG is largely ignored, although must still follow rules. There does not appear to anything specific as yet for PG/PPG and hence we are told to look under MIcrolight. Key requirements, must have insurance and must have permission form land owner. I have been told that like in the UK, you must ask the land owner's permission. If you are found flying without permission then there is a fine of Euro 6000. The only example of this I have is one of the Paramotor schools got fined flying off the beach! The beach is owned by the State and you have to apply for permission to fly off them and of course it involves some money. I suspect that a Paramotor school flying off the beach, draws much more attention to itself than just a leisure pilot or 2 flying at random times and different beaches....so we are still likely to be ignored. However, I am going to find out about the beach permission and see what is involved in getting it.

Cheers Simon. Were you referring to UK rules? I cannot find in the Air Law for Spain dispensation for us to fly close together. In fact PG/PPG does not appear to actually be mentioned anywhere in the rules. However, I am told we are considered as a microlight. There is legislation for Heli's under special slow flight conditions (less then 140 kph|) and there are also rules for formation flying (of fast moving military aircraft).

Wasn't JulieD selling a Thor 250 a short while ago?

I know there has been much debate on air rules, but I am struggling to find the actual written details in Spain. All the Spanish air law is nicely on one site... http://www.enaire.es/csee/Satellite/navegacion-aerea/en/Page/1078418725153//ENR-En-route.html However, I cannot see any mention of Paraglider or Paramotor anywhere. Does anyone know if pg/ppg has some written content somewhere? Whilst there appears to be a relaxed approach to ppg here, the air law says NO flying closer than 500 feet to anything or person EVER, apart from landing. Even flying together is detailed under formations and separation distances are huge (for fast moving machines!). I was prompted to think again about this after a recent flight where a police car turned up at my launch site on the beach and the two policemen got out and waved to me as I flew over. After landing I found they were just interested and wanted a chat!

Thanks for that, will give it a try. I just had to learn what a hPa is ......Google says hecto Pascal and I will be flying above 1000 hPa and below 800 hPa

Thank you. There just happen to be row of wind turbines atop a hill in the distance, visible from my patio........ which I wish I had had a look at! This evening wind dropped right down and I had a quick go with harness on and it was not reversible at all. However, it was well entertaining just 500 feet up. Tried a little higher and at 700 feet I measured a ground speed (satnav) of -18 mph. Back to 300 feet and manageable. This was defo the strongest wind I have encountered. At 500 feet, if I turned side on to the wind then I had to work hard to control pendulum caused by the strong but very unsteady wind. Had windward wing tip trying to fold in as well, which I think is what set off the pendulum. At 300 feet I was still encountering surges and then the opposite which would dump me rather rapidly back towards the sea. Quickly learned use of throttle and brakes to control it (read in Paramotor book). Probably didn't look pretty, but I eventually managed to keep roughly level. Anyway, back on the ground after just 15 mins. Another bit of learning clocked up

After a previous flight when I found wind higher up to be well over 20 mph, I have now been paying more attention - as was politely pointed out to me after last time! All the forecasts for today's weather in my location show 9 mph steady wind and 13 mph gusts. I estimate the that the few tiny clouds I can see at 5000 ft are doing 40mph ish, prob more. Humph! What is slightly more worrying is that there are virtually no clouds. I only noticed because every 5 mins or so a solitary little cloud comes whizzing into view. What if there were no clouds? Is there some other way of knowing before flying? Local forecasts: https://www.windfinder.com/forecast/estepona http://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/estepona