Blackburn Mark

Good choice if you are a bodger (I mean "engineer") I'm assuming you have a tig given your use of a filler rod.... But I guess with the Top 80,s low mass, you are reasonably unlikely to knock the frame too far out of shape unless you make large mistake. Hang check is number one concern.... from bolt upright (efficient, safe but not too comfy) to maybe 10 degrees... at least until you get to grips. The paramotor could, in principle, self destruct behind you and you would be reasonably safe but if you launch without a hang check and find yourself at 45 degrees, thing can quickly get pretty ugly.

I have reluctantly complied with the "guidelines" for the sake of protecting the sport only. The slightly exotic nature of the sport makes us prime targets for those who get a rise out of lording it over other peoples business. Its a tough spot to be in, I think we ought to be flying... I think it was obvious weeks ago. If I pass on or catch Covid, I am 99% sure it will be via work, not in a field or at 2000ft

That prop looks lost in that frame... I bet a bigger prop and a redrive would give you 20% more thrust/efficiency

Iv seen a video of a DLE170 (opposing twin two stroke) Set up as a direct drive (small prop) such a shame as a re-drive with a 130cm prop would have been much more usable. Very light, very noisy and I "assume" not very good for long term use without frequent rebuilds.

Indeed! Bailey V5 (190cc) claims 20hp and they have the V5s (210cc) maybe another 1hp, maybe not depending how they implemented. Solid reliability, superb efficiency but no Moster killer. The "predator/honda clone" is a bit of an odd lump with its integrated crankcase/cylinder but its OHV ought to save some weight but its potential for high RPM would be less than the GY6's OHC The Scout GY6 has a small/tidy/light crankcase and is either 240cc (or 290cc so according to one report) ought to give the Moster a run for its money IF they ever get their ducks in a row but I am assuming they are still ironing out an issue or two

That would be a bit pricy! You can pick up a new, complete 150cc GY6 for £170... parts are cheap up to 180cc. A CRF250F, not so much and its not air-cooled so I have my doubts about getting it down to 14kg

Lots of cables omitted from this sketch and the tail is not complete. Rough calculations based upon Mike Sandlin's Goat4 wings + everything including the 490mm WheelEeez wheels leaves me with just over 4kg for motor mounts, controls, reserve mount, harness and front skid.... it would be a slow and draggy little machine but still better than watching TV I don't "know" it can be done, it is close enough that I may commit to building in order to find out and if all else fails I could drop the four stroke for a lighter motor (really don't want to do that!) There are a couple of drive/prop issues that need solving (without adding weight) to keep the engine vibrations off the tail boom/prop... if I can crack those with confidence, ill pull the trigger on a pile of tubing.

That's a little under powered. It may make more sense to use a GY6 motor.... Very similar to the one you have shown but seems to have a much greater tuning/moding following and lots of aftermarket gear (big bore kits, high lift cams etc) A new 150cc GY6 can be had in the UK for less than £170 which will work marginally according to one YouTube builder who built using a 125cc GY6. Every bit of extra power will help... more CC // bigger propeller etc. As a very rough guess, I would say 10-15hp is doable and 15-20hp useable and 20-30hp would be fun

The last I heard was that they had managed to squeeze 290cc into the latest test model (no idea how they have done this with a 57mm stud spacing// very long stroke maybe?) They must be having problems of some description or other: Reliability / feature creep / still blowing oil.... who knows? Are you looking to add to an ultralight or use one as a paramotor?

In short // GY6 "B-Block" (57mm cylinder stud spacing) They make their own crank case. Aftermarket 67mm piston, cylinder and head. The "V 5s" must have a stroker crank to give it 210cc (+2mm crank stroke maybe?) The "B-Block" is quite rare but you can build a 180cc out of the dirt cheap standard block (125-150) with a 63mm piston and cylinder. A guy on youtube built one out of a standard 125cc and flew it... not sure how he got on in the long term.

Owch! Sorry, cant help you specifically. 8 times in six months is too many for it not to be a design error (unless one of your castings / mounting points has an anomaly) If you like the engine and its not one of those fancy "flash" starters, you may be able to buy another generic make that will fit... it will probably weigh more (nice and cheap unless you buy a Honda one) Recoiling pull starters have been around for a long time, I'm guessing the only way to mess one up is to shave too much weight off somewhere...? I have a Honda generator that's now four years old that is pull-started at "least" once a day during winter with no problems.... that's like ten years worth of paramotoring

It seems there is an issue with applying "symmetrical" breaks with open trimmers on your wing (I tried to copy and paste from the manual but it doesn't work from a PDF) So I would advise to fly with speed bar off and trimmer in when its hairy (as we both already do) Best efficiency is in that configuration anyway and is how I fly 99% of the time including 100+ mile xc flights.... more interested in a leisurely meander than blowing my eyebrows off

I couldn't find the manual for the "2" but the Gin Pegasus seems to be a sensible safe wing where breaks can be used in all configurations. I'm sure most of the more recent wings are the same. Coming from thousands of hours of free-flight, it would be unwise of me to fly a wing that forbids the use of breaks as I find it very, very difficult not to instinctively revert to active flying when things get hairy.

As best as I can gather: A "reflex" aerodynamically shrinks the wing chord so only a proportion of the leading section is lifting and the trailing edge is neutral or even producing negative lift (like a tail does on a typical three axis) Ergo: the wing loading goes up causing more speed. When you pull down on the trailing edge, you are "abruptly" pulling out the reflex and returning the wing to a slow high lift profile beginning with the trailing edge which momentarily place the leading edge (highly loaded portion of the wing) into a negative angle of attack.... The Trailing edge is basically "flaring" and pulling the leading edge into a negative angle of attack. (I THINK) A reflex profile, in general, is not divergent (no tendency to "nose down") and a more standard profile is. (Edit: might be the other way around.....?) Some reflex wings allow the use of breaks while trimmed out and (or) on full bar and I am "guessing" they do this by maintaining an amount of reflex that is NOT fully neutral and the breaks pull more than just the extreme trailing edge (very heavy break pressure in reflex mode) so the transition is not enough to have the trailing edge pull the leading edge into a negative angle of attack. I think its a bitch to get a perspective on because a lot of what is occurring is "aerodynamic".... the angle of attack switch is not obvious.

I'm with paraflyer17 on this, if I wished to fly with my Mrs often (if she was interested in such things) I would be very very tempted to look at microlights as a much more practical option. My legs are getting too old to guarantee a launch in anything less that a 6mph wind and that is solo. Its becoming such a pain in the ass, I am considering attempting to build a sub 70kg three axis.... setup time will be a bitch but ill be guaranteed a flight in nil wind

How many hours? Both strategies have their ups and downs and I have a welder so a bit if science isn't a big deal

For anyone who might have thought I know what I was doing! It broke in the last place I expected it to (ten hours flight time) so after bodging, I added a failsafe at this end too. That will get me another ten hours

You are unlikely to get much ear-ache for kiting a wing but be carful, it can be dangerous if you underestimate the wind!

I would be very cautious about annoying people Avoid places that folks might get all territorial about (finely manicured parks etc) we are highly visible and make easy targets for busy-bodies to make a big fuss about. If you have a "common" or a bit of open and scruffy land, it is unlikely anyone will bitch unless you piss them off by flying over/near their house/property too often/to closely. Be stealthy and super polite Airspace knowledge is essential... get that wrong and CAA is likely to land on you like a ton of bricks! With some of the things that have gone on in the drone world, they might be itching to make a big example of people who get it wrong!

Splendid, it isn't just me then

I was attempting to escape the high flex strategy. With such a short system, I looked like the zero flex strategy was possible "if" I could keep the weight down. The image shows the strategy EOS has opted for on their version of the GY6 and I don't like it. Their first few attempts failed via fatigue so they added the flex coupling and lighter canister (they also had the heavier generic muffler that I had also looked at above) As scruffy as mine is, its a better design to my eyes than the EOS attempt but the proof will be in how well they resist the dreaded fatigue. If mine fails via fatigue, I will just add a perpendicular leg to prevent side on vibration (it cant vibrate lengthwise as it is)

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These look to be the same boot as the ones I have and are £114 (different colour though and hooked eyes) I think id give them a twirl when my Sunday best ones get ratty JACK PYKE COUNTRYMAN HUNTERS WATERPROOF LEATHER BOOTS FIELDMAN HUNTING HUNTER Ebay