AndyB

The thing I learnt is that when there is a consistent cloud cover, there is no way of telling how much wind high up. It all just looks the same. Three different local weather stations all had wind at max 8mph.

That's why it's called parawaiting. I flew yesterday. Forecast here said 7/8 degrees and 8mph with 10mph gusts. At the field there is only ever me as no one else seems to live up here! Wind was gentle. Fully overcast. Off I went. 20 feet off the ground and I went up vertically!...then backwards! Uhm, lots of wind up here! At about 100 feet I managed to let trimmers out. Progress...moving forward extremely slowly. Oh well, having never used speedbar before looked it was time to give it a go. I have only just fitted it, having hoisted myself, in the paramotor up on a chain winch in the garage. Excellent, I could now go forwards...but note to self...only got 2/3 of the travel on the speed system! As you can imagine, landing was also a new experience.

Will this be before end August? If not you could come and join me at my pad south of Marbella. I am there half the year. Beach and mountain flying....although I have only flown off the beaches so far. ps, I have room for 4 in the house if needed (free if you clear up after yoursleves!)

With a 5 to 10 mph breeze you can reverse the wing well. Above 10 and it starts to get more entertaining. I was learning in a good breeze with my son hanging onto the harness......when we both ended up in the air for a time!...24m wing.

Was there any wind? If no, how far did you run forward before collapsing in a heap? We had organised sprints down a beach to see who got the furthest....my 22 year old son out did all of us! Were you using small wing? How small?

I nearly said to you...it sounds just like the black shit that my radio controlled engines chuck out of the exhaust joints and is quite normal! Normally this is not seen because it gets chucked out into the air behind you. With RC planes it ends up all over the plane (as engine is at the front) and then has to be cleaned off when finished flying!

I had an engine with decomp valve. It was NOT supposed to start with the valve open. The valve was only to aid spinning up of the motor. So it started like this.... open valve, pull starter and then just before starter gets to end of travel, close valve and away it went. Usually the modern ones are designed so that they self close as soon as the first combustion happens.

Hi, go to the Members tab and zoom in on the map. All the UK air space restrictions are shown. You have controlled airspace from surface to 3500 feet!

If you just want it apart, you can knock it through and it will push out of the way!

I had to change my frame when it got bent in the post! The inner end of the swing arm shaft is a slight tight fit in the housing. You will either need a slide hammer or...... a long bolt that fits the threaded hole, a socket bigger than the diameter of the shaft and a washer. Put the bolt through the washer and the socket, then screw into the thread. As you tighten it be careful to centre the socket so it clears the shaft and keep tightening to pull the shaft out. When you replace the shaft, be careful to get the rebated inner end of the shaft orientated so that it matches the machined step. I put locktight on it as well, since once the shaft has been removed it is not quite as tight as before!

That's not bad! 150/14.5 = 10.3 to 1. Doing it hot usually increases the reading as well (as the expanded piston rings form a slightly better seal).

Just found this old post. When in Perpignan last year I called Perpignan ATC and asked about flying from the beach nearby. They said it was fine so long as I kept out of their ATZ. They never mentioned a license. Oops!

Brilliant. I just tried that last weekend! If I can work out how to upload my vid, it captures quite nicely me trying to decide whether to forward or reverse...it was quite gusty, but in between gusts sod all wind. So I thought forward it is. Wing goes up, I go racing backwards across field in direction of fence......only stopped by power assistance and straight up into the air.......followed by no wind and a little grass strimming (grass was about 18" long) as I dipped back down again. More distance from fence next time

He is on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/Honzazi?lst=100000707619347%3A706746175%3A1491894100

Be careful reducing oil content and be very wary of oil manufacturers claims. I used to manage a Petrochemicals complex (makes oil and petrol). All oils made from crude are very similar. They have a range of molecular weights and are usually made up of molecules with 17 to 34 components ie. they have a distribution of size. Synthetic oils have molecules manufactured to have a specific number of components and have a very tight distribution around a specific molecular weight. Synthetic oils are better because most of the oil is at the target molecular weight. All oils have additives to improve performance. I remember well a BP oil expert coming to talk to us about the additives as well as the use of after market additional additives. His view....there is very little difference between oils! All 2 stroke oils must meet the minimum spec defined by API TC or ISO EG and these modern specs are very good. Manufacturers have determined the oil ratio required to match the tolerances and operating range of their engines. It is a balance between getting lubrication and not getting ash/gum/crap build-up. I would be very wary of changing the spec they have given. One final point. There are racing and castor based oils. These sometimes give improved performance, though might not be enough to notice, and there will be greater coking requiring more frequent stripping!

Hi, Nope. Holding throttle wide open will give an increase in compression. It is best to hold throttle open, although often the gauge will not notice the difference. Science: Throttle closed gives smallest air intake and hence causes suction (lower pressure) so less air gets in. Then the air that entered the cylinder is compressed somewhere in the ratio of about 8.5 to 1 and 10.5 to 1.

After reading various stuff on here I got a CHT gauge and RPM gauge from the USA (Blue Sky Para). So now I know that my Thor 190 idles at 2300 rpm and is doing 8025 rpm at max. Max temp at full power was 200 deg C yesterday on a warm day (19 C). This seems slightly low compared to the manual saying at max it should have flight temp between 200 to 230 C and absolute max of 250 to 260. My first guess is it is a little too rich........but It has loads of power! Any thoughts re this would be much appreciated.

Sounds a great idea. I am an engineer and have re-built many engines (and gearboxes!). I used to build mini 1480 racing engines. Whilst this is all great knowledge, I have as yet to take a 2-stroke to bits! A fly-in with some practical lessons as well?

2 stroke engines all use a ratio of between 1:40 and 1:50 oil:petrol. 1:40 is 2.5% or 25cc per litre. 1:50 is 2% or 20cc per litre. And of course, the larger the petrol can you use, the more accurate the measuring. I use a 20 litre can and always refill it when it gets below half full. I use a separate 10 litre can to refill it, so add 200cc each time (Thor 190). If in any doubt always go for a higher oil content. Whilst it may cause a little more carbon, it will help prevent any disasters!

Brilliant, great vid. The exact spot I learned to fly last year!

I struggle to walk steadily and carrying the weight for long is an issue. However, my instructors were brilliant and taught me to foot launch...initially with lots of help holding the weight etc. Now I have now been flying on my own 1 year and still foot launching. I am considering trike for future as disability gets worse. Definitely foot launch if you can.

LOL. I'm not that good yet....lot's more learning to do.

I am flying between Kiderminster and Hagley this weekend.......

Thanks. Interesting! But they are really fixed pitch at any pitch you want.

Was looking for some info on props for Parajet and found the above. I have flown model aeroplanes for 40 years and am rather used to how we do them...essentially use the largest diameter possible and then select the right pitch to give correct rpm at full power.....increasing pitch to lower the rpm and decreasing for higher. Of course this is relatively easy with props on my planes going from 4cm to 65cm and not costing a fortune. Can anyone tell me what is suitable for Thor 190cm (other than the one from Parajet)?