AndyB

I have done 170 hours flying in 3 years. Three breakdowns.

1. On switch broke, easy fix.

2. Relay stuck on, easy fix.

3. And last week, would not rev to full revs. I asked the internet geeks and got hundreds of different suggestions as to what was wrong. Most suggestions involved fuel - change filters, meetering spring, re-build carb etc etc. Some said it was an electronic problem, check timing etc.

It was NONE of those. 

There is a video of one of our UK guys having a splash. If you are at height and know you are going to land in water, then you can undo all straps and be ready to jump out of the seat. I have seen another video where someone jumps out of the seat, just as his feet hit the water. Because of the removal of his weight from the wing, the wing and machine then continued to fly on, away from him. The advice is always not to jump as some people panic and jump when too high.

One acre is 64 m by 64 m. Provided there are no obstacles around it, then once you are very proficient,  this is big enough. Two acres would be better.

A word of warning though. It is easier to take off from small patches than to land on them. I once took off from a small strip of car park (my flight number 21).....then I found I couldn't land on it as it was really difficult to get my height exactly right.

I always have a reserve. I own Agama flotation unit, but rarely have it attached. Although I fly at the coast a lot, I prefer to stay over land, as the safer option.

I bought a wing with 30 hours on it. Can't tell the difference between it and a new wing. It was £1500. You have to wait for prices like that, but they do happen.

I still use the wing I trained on, an Ozone Roadster (B wing, but lovely and stable for learning on). If you want to fly slow, low and not do any crazy fast turns, then you will never need anything else. I am now at 170 hours.

But my main switch is SPDT....the elec start would not work if the switch did not connect the battery to earth for starting.

I use the above diagram (in the manual) for Nitro and Tornado E start. What do you think is missing?

Electrically I have had in 170 hours.....

on/off switch fail on Nitro.

Relay fail in the on position on Nitro.

Nothing on Tornado fail.

The blades are paired up after manufacturing to match the weights. You will just need to balance it. I use an RC prop balancer with a small shaft turned to fit my paramotor blades.

I have a 130 cm on my Tornado and it still knocks me over if I put the power on too quickly.

Exactly. I have over 100 RC planes and drones. Every one now has to have my registration number on, but the muppets don't bother. Also, if I was a terrorist with an agricultural drone (capable of carrying a 27 kg payload and auto flying a predetermined flight path/height, at predetermined time ie when I was not in the country) I would not bother registering either. So, I am not sure what the drone registration scheme is trying to achieve.  

Brilliant. You know me so well! Always a brew on the go here......

lol. I have 4 calipers and 7 micrometers, covering metric, imperial up to a foot. I do make lot's of weird stuff though.....such as this granite sculpture with lasers and smoke in it....

Yep, I think many home in on the essentials and maps only when you need them.  Some go OTT with all kinds of gadgets.

The one new gadget I am probably getting is the Skyecho fixed code transponder, which I learned about on here....as I fly between too many bits of controlled airspace and RAF jets.

54 minutes ago, Blackburn Mark said:

I usually pinch one bolt with the calipers, zero it then take the measurement... no math's  

For people with tape measures and no calipers. Some of us have lots of measuring kit, most don't!

I second the Altimeter/speed device. Best thing I ever did was get a Garmin 601. I have the screen configured to show speed, max speed, altitude and moving time (how much fuel used!).

I use maps on my phone when needed....Runway HD or Skydemon.

The easier way to measure PCD (pitch circle diameter) is to put cap head 2 bolts in and measure across the outside of the heads and then the inside, between the heads. Average the 2 dimensions and you get an accurate reading for PCD without having to know the bolt diameter or struggle trying to measure across the shanks.

4 minutes ago, cas_whitmore said:

If there’s no clutch , can’t you mark the two pulleys @12.00 position, turn your prop One complete turn see how many’s time drive pulley turns,  say  2.7 to 1 turn Of large pulley , it worked for choosing  diffs For different gearing, 

Yes, you can, but unless you have a good protractor, measuring 0.7 or 0.6 of a turn can be tricky.

11 hours ago, Blackburn Mark said:

I cant afford that posh coffee... I drink that powdered crap that taste like shite and cost 10p a cup.

Yes a paramotor is an aircraft and has to comply with the ANO. It is exempted from certain parts, such as registration and displaying a reg no. 

500 feet may be thought of as 1 2/3 football fields. Most can judge this reasonably horizontally. I find most cannot judge this as a height if they never fly with an altimeter. After using an altimeter for 3 years I can now get height fairly accurately without checking'.......but at first I was way out...I remember thinking I was at 500' and finding 250' on the meter!

I was taught A's in left hand!

I am right handed and have reserve and throttle on the right side. My throttle does not get in the way at all. I use the reserve as a "shelf" to rest my throttle hand on during flight. I also practice every flight getting hold of the reserve handle. I find that because I rest my hand on the reserve the muscle memory for the finding the reserve handle is really good. Just move hand from where it rests on the side of the reserve pocket, a few inches out and down. Also, my throttle is longer than my arm can reach, so in no way impedes my throwing capability.

I tried both LH and RH for both the reserve and throttle. The clincher for me was having a throttle that only uses 3rd and 4th finger, so out of the way.

The most difficult task is putting on a RH glove when flying!

My RH throttle is operated by my 3rd and 4th fingers, leaving my left hand to hold camera and my right hand to operate it. 

On 09/01/2015 at 20:44, FERRYAIR said:

Its probably easier to do the Rubik Cube backwards ?

Rubik cube is easy backwards, it just gets messed up. It is doing it the normal way that is difficult.

ps I use both Runway HD and Skydemon. I prefer HD.

The site did this some months ago as well.