subtlealpine

Best thing to do is try some motors first before buying. If you are still under training, can your instructor provide motors to try? If you have finished training, then ask around if you can try motors first. Sounds to me like you would be better suited on a Moster, but it also depends on your flying style: XC, Acro, etc.

Yeah was a great event, despite mashing my knees and prop! Looking forward to the next one already...

Very inspiring Andy, I admire your perseverance which will surely be rewarded very soon. I sincerely wish you the best.

Yep, a quality event, well done to everyone that helped put it together!

Nice!

I really need to do the same. What's your patter for approaching people? What form of comms do you use? (face-face, email, phone, etc)

17 minutes ago, Hann__ said:

Did you just use the TEA knot in the position that it was set when you got the wing? It`s meant to be adjusted to suit your individual requirements. I`d be surprised if a correctly-set knot didn`t eliminate the problem.

Asymetrical trimmers are fine - you`re only talking 5/10mm difference, it`s not going to develop into a death spiral, certainly not a a Uni, anyway..

Yeah I haven't touched the knot from the factory. I'm sure that changing the knot will fix it, I'm just wondering what everyone else does in this regard. Do they use TEA or offset carabiner loops.

Clive spent two hours getting the harness adjusted just perfect only a few weeks ago!

So choices are

1. Put left riser in upper loop and right right riser in lower loop on carabiners
2. Move the knot down an inch or so
3. Asymmetric trimmers - feels wrong to me, but maybe a short-term fix or in-flight adjustment if it's not quite right when out on an XC

I will go to the field later and just test it out. I think I will do it in the order above.

Thanks!

After getting my new wing I haven't adjusted it yet for straight and level flight when cruising trimmed out on XCs. In my last XC if I trim out and cruise in level flight the motor turns to the right slightly. Even when compensating with weight shift, it doesn't correct it. If I use my TEA line to correct, it then turns to the left. I had to pull on the left tip steering toggle down to my ears for most of the flight, which got annoying.

So I guess I have two options to fix this:

1) Adjust the TEA knot so that when it's engaged I will be flying straight when cruising

2) Try the upper carabiner riser loop on one side. My wing has two loops to connect to the carabiner.

How do people solve this commonly? Adjusting the TEA knot, use the upper carabiner loop or some other method?

I have a bulldog Moster 185 and a Dudek Universal 1.1 28m

I have a 28m and I lost some weight recently so a 25.5 is probably more my size... 

I bought a UK topographical air chart but I don't know how to read it properly. Are there are any online resources that show this? My Google search didn't come up with much, but I did find this http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/aip/vfrcharts/downloads/QUARTER_LEGEND_A4.pdf

I have SHEET 8 ENGLAND SOUTH Edition 24 (2020) 1:250,000

For example I can see a region that says this in purple with a dashed line around it: LUTON LTA D 4500'-5500' 129.550 (0013).

1. Does this mean Class D airspace between 4500-5500 feet?
2. Can I fly my paramotor under 4500'? 
3. What does 129.550 mean?
4. What does 0013 mean?
5. Some lines are dashed and some are solid. What's the difference?
6. I'm guessing CTR D SFC-3500' would mean class D airspace from surface to 3500 feet? What does CTR mean?
7. There are some heavy solid black lines on the map with dashes crossed through them. What are they? There are also dashed black lines.

I guide book or online tutorial on reading these maps would be great if anyone has a link.

Cheers

Sent you a PM Matty. 

Day 11  19:00 - 21:30 3rd June 2018

Total training time: 9½ days

Arrived at the field about 18:30 and started setting up with a few other guys. Weather was quite humid and warm around 22C, light wind dropping down to nil wind by 20:00.

Plan was to ask Steve to talk me up over the radios and then he'd join me. We had problems with starting the bulldog up as it kept cutting out due to air in the fuel lines, once we had it running sweet, the throttle cable was sticking a little bit. On closer examination it was decided to err on the side of caution and get a new throttle cable and abandon the bulldog for the evening.

Steve very kindly offered his beauty to be flown by me and he would talk me up and down. Very generous of him as I know he wanted to fly that evening. At this point I started feeling very nervous, started sweating a lot, probably because I had never been up on my own wing before (a dudek synthesis 31 LT). The wind had completely disappeared at this point so I needed a full-effort launch. After a lot of deliberation, I finally went for the launch and the wing came up great, but something didn't feel right to me, so I bottled it and stopped. When I stopped, the wing stayed above me so it was a perfect launch and I just didn't have the conviction to commit to the launch. Grrr.

I was soaked in sweat at this point, so put the motor down, took off the flight suit, drank lots of water and cooled off. 10 mins later I set up again but I didn't have the full conviction and the wing didn't come up above me fully so it was a botched launch. We set up again right away, and this time I gave it everything I had mentally and physically and was determined to not bottle it this time! I needed quite a long run due to the nil wind, but got airborne nicely. I was still feeling pretty anxious on launch but once I was 50m up I felt much better and got comfortable in the seat. My mind was such a mess that I pulled the brakes down after launch a little bit and Steve screamed in my ear "Brakes up! Brakes up! Arms up!" After that, all was good!

Launch

Just after launch

Interesting how, when under stress how my mind does stupid stuff like that. Here's the edited video of the 30 minute flight:

I didn't want to come down, but we were getting close to sunset so I had to come in for a landing.

Landing was not the best, but I got down without hurting myself, although I did fall over again. As you can see in the video I came in way too low because I haven't worked out in my mind what the glide slope is without power yet. Hopefully next flight I can come in a bit higher without any power, and have better judgement of the glide slope.

Final Approach

A great evening, and thanks again to Steve for the encouragement to keep going with the launches. Several times I said to him, "I'm not going up tonight", but it was just fear and anxiety, and I got through it and now feel great.

To any new or wannabe pilots: get yourself proper training, don't try and do it yourself. There is so much going on mentally and physically that you need a trainer. I have had two flights now and I still need a trainer to guide me up and down for at least the next five to ten flights I would imagine.

I've narrowed it down to either a tow bar shelf or a trailer now. I have a garage I can put the trailer in so it's not a big deal. I will be attaching it to a small car, Ford Fiesta which should be able to pull a paramotor on a box trailer just fine. Doesn't seem to be a huge market for box trailers in the UK that can it a paramotor snugly inside.

Loving the quality videos, hope to fly with you soon! 

Just had my first flight and now need to decide on whether to buy a small van as a third vehicle or get a tow bar fitted to my VW Sharan and buy a small trailer. What do you guys use to get your motor and wing to the field? What are the pros and cons?

I've also seen some people fit a shelf onto the tow bar and strap the motor to that, but I only think that's suitable for short distance driving, and dirt from roads would cover the engine.

Amazing feeling isn't it? Looks like you got some decent altitude.

Nice I had my first flight last week too - check it out in my blog. There's a video there of my first flight on the GoPro.

Day 10 (6 in Spain). 07:00 - 09:00. 12 May 2018

Total training time: 9 days

Writing this in Barcelona airport while waiting for my flight back.

Arrived at the field to very gloomy overcast conditions with a light local wind from the mountains. Forecast for light drizzle from 11:00. Intention is to do one practise jump and then go up.

I did the first practise jump perfectly, and felt ready to go!

Launch for the first flight was also perfect with no issues at all. Got into the air really easily and was talked though on the headset by the instructor as to what to do. I didn't have to think about anything, just to relax and enjoy! After 30 seconds or so, I got into my seat which was a bit of a struggle, I had to park the left brake and use my left had to wiggle in, but after I had done that it was bliss.

I had full throttle all the way up to cloud base and at this point the instructor told me to ease up on the throttle but I misunderstood him. After the third instruction, I got the message and eased up but at this point I was going into the cloud. I then came out of the cloud and the instructor gave me instructions to idle back to the field with an 8-pattern at the end of the field until I was 20m above and I then came in for a landing.

At this point I had slight brake, so I let the brake up to get some speed for landing. Right at the end I pulled the brake a little and flared when instructed, but I think it was a little too soon and I went up a bit too high and then came down and sadly didn't stay on my feet and face planted. 

When I landed I was so happy to have finally done it. It was a fantastic moment, really magical to be up in the sky with the engine at idle near the cloud base and to look around in my chair in the sky with no obstructions in front of me. Amazing feeling.

I captured it on the Go Pro here:

Feeling great and can't wait to fly with you guys in the UK!

Day 9 (5 in Spain). 07:00 - 09:30. 11 May 2018

Total training time: 8 days

Arrived at the field with the wind blowing the opposite direction. Nice clear day but with meterological wind, not local wind from the mountains. My instructor explained that perhaps the mountains had cloud cover overnight so the cold air did not flow from mountain to the beach, and also the higher altitude winds were stronger from the opposite direction. This meant we had limited time because as the sun warmed the mountainsides, more wind would be sucked inland and it was already coming from the beach.

We took out gear to the opposite end of the field to do a couple more practise runs with a stop, to be followed by our first flight. I must admit I was pretty excited the night before so hadn't had much sleep but I was dead keen to do it.

This time we started with the 125cc Pap engine instead of the 80cc for more power and a bigger harness. My first run I pulled the wrong break and felt more torque from the engine which threw me, so I killed the engine. Not good:

My second run was perfect, although I forgot to keep holding the brakes down after landing, but I am now ready for first flight! 

John's turn and on his second flight he got quite high, maybe 6-10 ft and landed awkwardly as the wind changed slightly on landing and he sprained his ankle. Understandably, he was not very happy about this turn of events at all, and limped back to the end of the field for a rest.

The wind was starting to pick up more now and the instructor told us that we would not be flying anymore today.  We did some kiting of the wing for practise, and went back to the shed for a recap of the day and a reassurance that tomorrow we would be flying for sure.

We both felt a bit deflated after today, disappointed in the weather again with the strong wind, and the fact that John had now sprained his ankle. Went into town for a nice pizza and then chilled out back at the hotel for the afternoon, when I wrote the trip up on the blog. So, looking forward to tomorrow, hoping that John's ankle has recovered enough for his first flight.

Day 8 (4 in Spain). 07:00 - 12:00. 10 May 2018

Total training time: 7½ days

Continuing on from yesterday with engine on back, but this time getting the throttle to full power and then cutting the engine just before take-off point. On this run I got maybe 2 seconds of air maybe 1 ft off the ground. It was a great feeling and much easier with the engine doing most of the work. Finally my days of running the entire length of the field with the wing are over!

I did another run, but this time held full throttle for much longer. I started to get airborne and then stopped the throttle, full brakes and killled the engine. Quite a lot of mental load for a new learner, but I managed to do it, but not without scaring myself silly when I was at least 10 ft up in the air. I held the brake and came back smoothly to the ground and somehow managed to stay on my feet. Massive adrenaline rush, and I wanted to do it again!!

Bravo, bravo, bravo, bravo!!!  

This final run consolidated what I had learnt that day, so felt really good at the end.

One of the Spanish students showed us his tattoo, and I was blown away! Check this out:

After physical training we went back into the classroom and did some more theory, Next day is the day for first flight!! We went through the protocols for landing, learning about 8, S, and U patterns, more wind theory, and what to do on engine failure, radio failure, etc. So tomorrow we will be doing our first flight (weather permitting)!

In the afternoon, took a trip into the ancient Roman settlement of Tarragona, nice place.

Day 7 (3 in Spain). 07:00 - 12:00. 9 May 2018

Total training time: 6½ days

We started the day training with motor on back, engine on but no throttle. Did a couple of runs like this, just to get the feeling of a running engine on my back and to demonstrate that I could stop the engine and brake the wing well. I didn't do too well with this at first, forgetting to pull the brakes right down and hold them there, or struggling to find the kill switch.

We then progressed onto using a little throttle maybe 30-50% to feel the push of the engine, but not getting anywhere near to take off speed. Again, focusing on stopping well and killing the engine.

Video [00:29]

Instructor then showed us another technique to launch by using some throttle at the start to inflate the wing. Bending over slightly get the engine up to 30% throttle then stand up straight and walk forward. Wing inflates, then full power. Nice. Much less effort to get going on a light wind day.

We then did a hang test in the "simulator" to see if we could get into the seat once in the air. It proved difficult with the little Pap 80cc engine as the seat was small, so we changed to the 125 Pap with a bigger harness and was a still challenging but finally managed it.

John on the simulator

To finish off the instructor wanted us to feel the max power of the 80cc engine on our back so we put the engine on again and revved up to full throttle. Fun!

Video [00:11]

In the afternoon, we took a trip up to Montserrat Monastry on the cable car and had a relaxing pleasant afternoon.

Day 6 (2 in Spain). 07:00 - 12:00. 8 May 2018

Total training time: 5½ days

Weather very light winds again from the mountains, overcast with occasional light rain. Started the day with another couple of runs with harness, then put the motor on my back and did some runs with motor on back, engine off. Again, focusing on keeping a straight line, looking forward only with risers taut on launch. Was a challenge but much more successful than my attempt in the UK with my heavy Bulldog Moster 185. Using an 80cc Pap motor with a little fuel in the tank, so much lighter.

Body feeling wrecked afterwards. Bruised and aching. Went into the shed for another hour or two of theory on the whiteboard. Learned about air law, and basic meteorology and wind. I found this interesting to observe the play of sun on the ground and how that affects wind conditions especially when in close proximity to mountains and the sea. Most of you know this, but the cold air overnight sinks down from the mountains and flows to the coast creating a steady light cool wind. Perfect conditions for flying. As the sun heats the mountainside, the air there rises creating a vacuum below, so the wind then becomes changeable and then starts to flow the opposite way from the beach to the mountains. I could see this by looking at the windsock on the field. By around 11:30 - 12:00 the wind direction changed and started to become slightly thermally.

Again, another successful day with much progress made so, well happy.

Weather brightened up in the afternoon, so we took a trip down to Sitges. Beautiful place! 

Long time, no write!

Busy with work and weather in UK has been shite. Decided to just get my training done and head to the APPI Paramotor Barcelona School for 6 days training on the APPI Adventure Pilot course. Myself and a training buddy, John, from the field in UK decided to go together. We were trained by APPI Master Trainer Armand Rubiella. Amazing guy, top notch teacher, recommended.

Day 5. 07:00 - 13:00. 7 May 2018

Total training time: 4½ days

Arrived at the field and basically started training again from scratch with a run down the field with harness, with the following aims:

1. Bring the wing up nice and level
2. Correct the wing if drift and keep it level.
3. Stop immediately on stop command from instructor.

This went pretty well thanks to the previous days training with Steve in the UK. Video [00:22] 

Weather was cloudy and the occasional 5-10 minute light rain and very light winds < 2 mph, a bit annoying, but never mind.

A successful day was had with many successful runs down the field and good stops. At 11:00 we went into the shed for some theory and learned about theory of flight, and the importance and procedure for stopping correctly.

One thing that I hadn't noticed before was that I was not pulling the risers tight outwards before launch. This made a huge difference to my launches as it meant that I was perfectly symmetric. The teacher told me that I need to keep my shoulders straight as well, and to focus on a point on the horizon and not look up at the wing. If my path was pulled left or right, to just adjust with the opposite brake. This alone improved my launches a lot.

Great day, and feeling confident and inspired.

36 minutes ago, MarbleOne said:

I feel those feels.. only done a couple of runs wearing the motor myself and had results very like yours. I'm sure it's another one of those 'once you get it, you get it' things, like kiting was.

Onwards and upwards! Let me know when you're down there again, I'll try to make it.

 

Paul.

Was great to meet you Paul, I'll be down the field the next weekend that weather permits for sure!

Day 4. Full day

Total training time: 3½ days

Had a hectic week before so was pretty tired this cold heavily overcast, dark murky January Sunday morning. Got a text message from Steve at 8am saying he would be down the field. I honestly felt like lying in bed, but I knew I would regret it later, and I'd been wanting to train for weeks. Weather for the past six weeks had been too windy or too wet so I was keen to get some solid training in.

Weather was cold, dry and still. About 4C and literally no wind at all, no frost. Heavily overcast, low cloud base.

I finally dragged myself out of bed, and got down to the field at 10:30 where Steve was waiting.  Spent the first hour getting the kit out and got the old bulldog fired up. Had some trouble with the clips and some leaking fuel, but it turned out the fuel had leaked out of the overflow pipe while travelling. Starts up beautifully and got it on my back to get a feel for it. It did cut out several times while getting it going, but was probably air in the tubes, will have to keep an eye on that.

Another chap called Paul popped down for some practice (not one of Steve's students), so was nice to chat to another paramotor enthusiast. Hi Paul if you're reading!

After too much chat and playing around with the bulldog, it was time to get serious.

I decided to do a forward without the motor and run down the field with the wing above. The wing came up easy despite the nil wind and I ran down the field and got warmed up nicely, a great start to the day with a perfect launch and run. I was happy. I decided to practice a few more times and at this point a slight breeze came in. Trouble was, the breeze kept changing direction, although it was very light, not enough to even lift a windsock, just the little ribbons.

The next two runs were not so great as I was running cross wind so the wing came up good but then I couldn't keep it in the air and it ditched. Got a bit frustrated at this point to be honest, and decided to have a rest. After a drink and a sandwich, did another run down the field, here it is for you wannabe paramotorists, it's bloody hard work, especially on a big 31 meter dudek synth LT wing.

At this point there was a nice gentle breeze of about 4mph and I heard some paramotors on the horizon! Two guys came in to land from St Neots and it was great to see them land and have a good chat. One of the guys had a bulldog too so that was good to see. I did another run without the motor to provide some entertainment to the guys that had just landed:

At the end of that run the wing was coming down into a very large muddy puddle with lots of mud so I frantically tried to keep the wing out but failed, and got a bit of mud on the front edge, not too bad though.

We then watched our visitors take off and it was then time to get the motor on and do a dead motor run. i.e. running the field with motor, helmet and wing but without it fired up. I am still surprised by how heavy it is, even after Steve kindly siphoned off half the fuel from the tank so I had less weight. This run did not go very well, as you can see:

I hadn't experienced the pull of a large wing with a motor on my back before and so face planted into the ground and I felt like a right idiot, haha. Steve came running over and helped me up and untangled me. Good job the motor wasn't running! 

It was about 3pm by this point and I was getting pretty tired. It did cross my mind to pack it in right then and go home for the day and I was getting a bit despondent. Steve wouldn't have it, and kept my spirits up by encouraging me to keep going. So, we got the wing laid out again and I had another go. This time wasn't great either, the RH riser got trapped on the side of the frame which pulled the wing over. I wasn't holding the As out wide enough for the launch so got dragged to the side of the field and I didn't really feel in control of the wing at all.

Steve encouraged me to go again, so I dragged myself back to the edge of the field, got the wing laid out and had another go. This time the lines caught on the edge of the frame again and the wing wouldn't fully inflate.

At this point I was totally done in, so I asked Steve to show me how it's done.  Of course Steve got the wing up beautifully but I could see it was a lot of effort for him too, it's a heavy motor and a big wing, and when it's not powered up demands a lot of effort.

At this point Steve could tell I was getting a little pissed off with it, so we put the motor down and did some hand kiting without harness to get a good feel for the wing again. That was good and went reasonably well so I felt a bit better after that.

The goal for the day was to end with a powered run with wing, but we didn't quite get there after lots of gruelling effort. Never mind, the next training session will be powered runs and I'll try and get some practice in myself in between.

Steve was patient with me as usual, with good humour and spirit encouraging me along when I wanted to get a few times. So thanks again Steve!