savage

As most of you know Sacha Dench was involved in a terrible accident on the 18th of September, in the final stages of her Round Britain Climate Change Challenge. Sasha is now doing well in hospital following many hours of surgery but she still has more to go and has a very long road to recovery ahead of her. Some of Sacha's friends have put together a little Crowdfunder page for her and asked that l post it here for anyone that may like to contribute something to help towards her recovery or, to just leave a nice message. Thank you. https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/help-sacha

Sasha's new adventure- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/03/swans-ospreys-one-womans-soaring-migration-mission-aoe?CMP=share_btn_tw

Definitely get the lightest machine for your weight as you can. It must have moving swing arms. You have 2 choices of arms, low and straight like an orginal PAP machine or swan neck like Miniplane. With the straight arms you lean back, without power, like a PG harness but landing is a bit more difficult. With Swan arms you will be upright all the time, easier to land and prefered my most paramotor pilots. I mostly paramotor thermal with a Miniplane Top80 and MacPara Elan, it's different to pg but great fun, especially on no wind days when almost no pgs are flying in the UK.

If you have a spare 17 mins, here is a nice positive Paramotor story. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AOBixLRYYog

It's very unlikely to stall, but it depends on a number of factors. How low in the weight range you are, how old and slow it is and is it suitable for towing etc? (I see the Alpha 3 is suitable for towing) Looking at the history, the Alpha 3 is a 2003 wing or 15years old, personally I would look for something a bit more modern, you really are in vintage territory there. Nevertheless, you are the one with the throttle in your hand, apply it gently at first and see how far back it goes (an experienced ground observer might be a better judge). The wing is most likely to spin when trying to turn in a climb, rather than power stall if it is close to the edge. Stuart.

Max pilot weight relates to the thrust of the motor and has nothing to do with loadings or withstanding G's. Smaller motors will have a smaller max pilot weight. The figure is given as a guide for pilots flying a typical, suitably sized, reflex wing. Pilots are free to ignore this recommendation once they know what they want, for instance, if flying a bigger/ smaller or, PG style wing. Loadings and ultimate G's are really down to your confidence in the machine/harness and the manufacturers behind them. Remember nothing is tested and certified by independent testing organisations here. Some manufacturers make machines suitable for acro use and some most certainly do not.

Agreed, they are all great wings, the Spyder launches the easiest of the lot as its made from light weight materials, but the Universal is the fastest on trimmers alone (which is what the op asked for). Personally I would stick to wings from the well known manufacturers, it's a false economy to buy cheap from a less popular manufacturer as they are difficult to sell if you want to upgrade afterwards.

My apologies, I am forgetting which way the flywheel spins. The 14mm mark should be on the back (lower) edge of the coil at TDC (like in the picture and paragraph no.8). The magnets are under the coil, but that isn't important.

Having flown the original Universal all the way from Russia, I can't recommend the Universal 1.1 enough for what you need it to do. The Universal gets overlooked because it's considered a beginner wing, it's also probably the best allrounder out there, IMHO. Stay in the top of the weight range to keep it fun.

It should look like the 9th picture down on this page- http://www.elpasoparagliding.com/ppgtechinfo/top80/hrservicenotes/timing/timing.htm i.e the 14mm line, in line with the leading edge of the magnet when the piston is at TDC. (It takes a bit of trial and error and I am not sure how accurate your pencil mark on the piston is? The dial gauges are cheap on ebay and accurate. I clamped mine to the cooling fins rather than fitting to the spark plug hole).

Can I give a little plug for this free App, it gives a moving map with all airspace and NOTAMS displayed. It seems pretty idiot proof too. http://www.pocketfms.com/easyvfr/?UID=7A629BF0-5818-4983-8A55-416994D59306

1. I haven't flown this type, so am still to be convinced. If it's not a sales gimmick, they will add a reasonable amount of drag, especially if you like to 'motor off' thermal and AFAIK, they still employ riser offsets and moving swing arms on the Scout to counter torque. (happy to be told otherwise though). 2. Try 5. 3. Agreed and was/is mostly used for fixed, rather than moving swing arms. 4. I am sure it's never been done, it would put the prop well outside the cage on one side and very close to the cage on the other. 5. Works very nicely. It's how I fly my Miniplane Top80. I increased the fore/aft offset still further when I fitted a Sky110s, again it worked nicely. I also flew my old HE 120 with one hole difference either side on the swing arms, again it worked well. Power off and it flys straight, add power and the slightly offset thrust line has a tendency to be straightened (perpendicular) to the wing, not the other way round. Get the fore/aft offset the wrong way round and yes, you could easily end up twisted, as per your example. The old powerful Walkerjets were notorious for twisting as they had little or no torque offset and fixed arms. Remember, smoothly come off the power, if you feel the motor twisting under the wing and it will straighten out (better to have a heavy landing than a twisted, stalled, backwards, power on, landing). With wing turns, if you think of the wing as a broom balanced, brush up, on your palm. Walk forward, balancing the broom. If you now offset the thrust, you can sort of see where the wing is going to turn. Stuart.

Sorry fellas, been away in the Alps for the long weekend. Guy. Yes, you are correct to raise the left hang point for a left turn. It's a compromise because it will induce a slight right turn when you are power off. You may find you prefer moving the left hang point forward 10mm (if you can) as this won't cause a turn when is power off or, a combination of both (but one step at a time). FYI. If you have a swing arm with holes that are an inch apart, you can fit two shackles into two adjacent holes and this will give you a hang point between the two, just satisfy yourself that the two shackles are long enough that they don't try to unzip the stitching of the fabric loops that go to the carabiner. Raglan. It sounds like the offsets are in the right direction. I would avoid spacing out the right-hand swing arm bolt any further as they are already under a lot of stress (in the wrong plane) and it would only make it worse. Can you not move left hang point back one hole (about an inch)? Rember, power off it will still fly sraight, so if you are not happy, reduce the power and land. Hope that helps. Stuart. (I take no responsibility for my advice and any adjustments you do at your own risk. Obviously, it would be better to take your machine to someone who can actually see your set up, adjust it and test fly it for you).

As no one else has replied. ... Guy. Never shorten the brake line to compensate for torque! Whoever told you that needs taking out and shooting! Can you move one hang pint up or down, 10mm? If not, can you can move one 10mm forward or back? For a left hand turn, move the right hang point back 10mm or, left fwd 10mm and test fly and adjust as necessary. Raglan. You have gone from a gearbox motor to a belt motor, this usually (but not always) means the prop spins in the opposite direction. If this is the case, then all your torque compensation will be adding to the torque rather than reducing it. Unless you can swap the arms over, or buy arms with offsets in the other direction, you will have to get some arms professionally made to suit.

Sounds like the cross threading of the original has perhaps caused the new post to lean slightly? I never had the issue with mine, could one of the posts be slightly bent? Can you push it back?

That was probably me Alex, just on an out and return from Banstead nr Epsom. Lovely evening for it.

Seems like you are getting there. Just for future reference, you should be able to remove the fan and all the black metal casing without having to drill out the casing rivets. First you need to remove the starter posts (finger screws) so the fan is loose, then you will find you can get an Alan key through 4 holes in the front of the casing (the bit you have removed in the picture) to undo the 4 bolts that hold the casing on (the fan stays in the casing when you lift it all off). It will be easier to see the marks on the flywheel in relation to the coil too. Good luck. Stuart.

It sounds like the timing will be out then (a pic would be good though). The parts weren't made for each other they most likely will not align correctly (Miniplane would have fitted the key if it was simple and saved time at assembly in the factory). It is possible to buy (make) Woodruff keys with an offset if you really need one, but I would just lap the shaft/ flywheel with some grinding past before torquing up. It's fairly unusual for them to slip, it probably wasn't fitted perfectly in the factory. I would steer clear of heating the flywheel and fitting it, you'll never get it off again and you need to, to change the seals etc at 400ish hours

You can't make a Woodruff key, there's no slot in the crank for one. Most PPG motors are like this as they are made from various different scooter parts and haven't been designed to fit together. I have just put my Miniplane flywheel back on after changing the crankshaft oil seals. I timed it up using Had Robinson's excellent website (link above), it was pretty straight forward with dial gauge down the plug hole (cheap off eBay). Miniplane UK are excellent for Top80 spares.

Check the needle valve in the carb is seating/sealing properly, if it isn't it will let the fuel run back down the pipe. Make sure no air is getting into the fuel pipe connections allowing the fuel to drain down. Failing that, you could try a non-return valve in the fuel line.

I have flown all around wind turbines and they aren't an issue. There are millions of them right across Europe and I had more than a couple of close encounters with them on the Flight of the Swans expedition. One overcast, light wind, November morning, I am flying with a group of 10 paramotorists across the Netherlands, when several of us suddenly notice a rolling turbulence, not enough to collapse a wing but, a big contrast to the absolutely flat calm conditions of the morning. It made us all sit up and look around, we realise we have flown directly downwind of a wind farm, which is at least 2Km away. Our lead pilot makes a radio call to warn some of the others in our group and I make mental note to avoid flying downwind of turbines in future. Roll on a few days and flying across Belgium one morning, the wind is howling and it's rough. 15 gusting 20 Km/h on the ground with a paramotor ground speed of anything between 110 Km/h to backwards, depending on which direction we are facing (Dudek Universal 28m). We are following a local pilot to his landing field and with some amazement, I watch him fly down to a big field of turbines, weave between them and land in the field immediately behind them... Reviewing our options we make our landing approach high above the turbines and try to keep away from them as much as possible, but given that we were flying backwards for some of the descent, we can't really go downwind to get away from them. Anyway, we land without incident and don't notice any extra turbulence from the turbines. Chatting with the local pilot about the turbines and he say's he's never had an issue with them...mmm. Following refueling, our local pilot stays on the ground due to hypothermia and let's be honest, it not exactly pleasant up there. Anyway, we manage to launch both the trike and my paramotor, directly towards the turbines, in the strengthening conditions, we make a 90-degree turn close to the back of them, slowly climb out and head towards France. Again, no extra roughness from the turbines over and above what was already in the atmosphere. My thoughts. Turbines cause some turbulence, it's noticeable in smooth air but not in rougher/ stronger conditions. Does the fact they operate at a constant speed but increase the blade pitch in stronger conditions have anything to do with this, I have no idea? Finally, don't blame me if you fly behind one and fall out of the sky. And don't forget the 500 foot rule, peeps.

I may be being pedantic here, but there is no EN rating for the Nuc XX, it is effectively an uncertified glider, but then it's not a beginner wing or, sold as such, either.

The Top80 (and most other motors) will not over prime if you tip it slightly sideways so the carb slopes downwards whilst pressing the prime button, excess fuel runs into he airbox not the engine. A small hole in the bottom of the airbox let's he fuel drip out and tells you to stop priming. Simples! The only place to start a motor is on your back. I know 3 people in the UK who suffered serious incidents from starting using other methods. Stuart.

Lets hope it wasn't Nonsuch Park that you flew from as that's nearly 3km inside the south-eastern boundary of the Heathrow no fly zone (CTR: surface to 2500ft)....

I had a (PAP) Ros 125... never again. I think the Backbone was ok when it came with the less stressed Ross 100. Yeti Convertible.....mmm. I cant find any certification for it which as a beginner might be something you'd want(?) I see it has an airbag 'tied on' underneath (but it doesn't go up your back).... I have something similar from Mac Para (without the airbag) and while it's fine for short flights, I wouldn't use it on long thermal flights, I'd want something that was more comfortable and felt more secure. Have you looked at the Karpofly Xion (3.4Kgs) or X-apls (3.1Kgs)? Only a bit more weight but they have the best back protection in their class and are proper, secure harnesses, with seat boards.