Mark Pugh

Beginning to realise that I probably won't be flying every week anymore, nights much longer, less daylight, wet weather and windy. Obviously there will be odd days in the winter when everything comes together.... a day off work, hard frosts and beautiful blue skies with light breeze, but for the main part, flying may well be over for a few months.

I'm new to the hobby, what do I need to do to my motor? Do I need to empty fuel tank and run it dry? Will two stroke seize up all my pipes and clog my carburettor? Do I spray WD40 down the spark plug hole?

Or do I just start it up once a month and let it tick-over for a few minutes?

I have a Parajet Zenith Thor Polini 130.

I like wearing a helmet, completely covers my growing bald patch

Yes, seemed a nice guy. The revo 2 was a combination of right price, right age and suitable for a low hours PPG pilot. A few tried to encourage me to get something faster (ITV Billy) but they are so much more money and EN-C rated. Very pleased with this combination, only had 7 hours of flying so far, but don't expect to change anything soon. If I want to get somewhere fast, it will not be on my PPG !!!

Hi, I'm currently flying in the Worcester area but would prefer to start flying in Warwickshire where I live. Anyone local flying???

WOW, three months and not a single reply..... Does no-one fly in Warwickshire?

I have a GP4 by gpcrono fitted to my Zenith paramotor. It no longer displays the cylinder head temperature. I require a new spark plug sensor to fit this system. It is a ring that fits under the spark plug with a thermocouple wire going to my device. Does anyone know where I can purchase this item? I go online and it's all in Italian !

I have the polini Thor 130 in a Parajet Zenith frame. Very pleased with it, great power to weight ratio. Engine seems easy to work on, there is a slight leak from exhaust gaskets, not enough to clean with a rag, but I think this is very normal as the joint is held together with springs, so that slight movement is OK. Most people seem to wire the springs together as they have a nasty option in falling off and then going through the prop. while you are flying!!!

Now got a few first flights in, pleased I saved up a bit more and waited for this combination to fly with. Zenith polini 130 and REVO 2 wing.

I have spent the last 20 years asking farmers for permission to "Metal Detect" on their land; easily the number one answer is "Sorry, but old Bert has been coming here detecting for the last 40 years, so best I let him continue on his own". I now find I'm asking similar questions for permission to fly....

A few tips that have held me in good stead over the years.

Don't stop the farmer whilst he is working on his tractor ! Wait for the evening, or at least when he has finished his days work and is just cleaning up around his sheds.

Dress casual smart, drive up his drive carefully, park correctly.

Knock on door and ask if they are the farmer that owns such-and such a field.

Tell them you live locally and a mutual friend suggested this farm as ideal. Mention names, it means you get along with people he knows.

 Ask him if you can have permission to fly from his farm, tell him you are licensed, rated, insured, etc.. Make him aware that you know of local air law, where you can and can't fly, nature reserve restrictions, events, etc. Take photos or videos on phone/tablet to show him.

Explain you only need somewhere to get your minimal kit out and run 10- 15 yards to take-off, then you will fly away at least 500 feet high so there is minimal to no noise. (Even the farmer does not want to start upsetting neighbours).

Explain, sometimes you may come with one or two friends, but never any more.

Offer to text the farmer each time before you arrive; he may have just put new animals in that field. And he then knows it is you on his land and not someone unknown. Let friends know you have a special arrangement and they can't go there without you!

Finally, if he is still not sure, offer a small car parking fee or decent bottle of wine/whiskey every Christmas. Suggest you will drop a few photographs of his property, farm, fields taken from different heights.

Good luck, surprisingly most farmers are quite friendly and will show an interest in your type of flight.

Great, huge fields, low hedges, no pylons!!! Where are you based?

NIce flight, plenty of height so it doesn't p*ss people off, even the cows weren't bothered by you. I prefer to cut the engine on final approach, stops me pulling the trigger by mistake, cuts noise, and precautionary to stop a line getting into prop. and dragging whole wing in!

Lovely flying in the evening with the sun low.

Hi Dave, I'm just a few months ahead of you. See how my sport has gone.

I flew paragliders (20 years ago), then family and kids stopped all my fun. Both kids now over 16, so I started up again but realised I lived too far from the hills. Two hour drive to find forecast not accurate, so drove back home again; you can only do this so many times!

Something had to change, decided I should try with a motor, therefore take-off from flat field, YIPPEE.

Took the short conversion course in Oct 2017 and then realised new kit would cost me about £9k. Decided that I would work some overtime and put the money aside for PPG. By April 2018 I had £3k saved, so spent almost £2k on a parajet Zenith polini 130 and almost £1k on a Paramania REVO2 reflex wing. You can get into the hobby cheaper, but to get half decent kit, I was advised to budget £3k minimum.

I used my old helmet, boots, vario and found no-one uses 2m radio (144 MHz) but rather the 70cm band (350 MHz).

So I met up with the local PPG's in the Worcester area and they called me up for my first flights. Usually evening flights when the thermals have switched off and the air is much more calm. As with paragliding, it is very weather dependent, I'm always watching the wind speed and direction, and I have been surprised how long a field you need to take off in. Obviously you need an area to run, but also the long slow climb out, they are not all fantastic climb outs !!!! Also no trees up wind that could cause rotor.

I'm averaging a flight every week around work commitments and family events. The first few flights did take several aborted launches, but I'm happy to say I'm much more likely to get off first time now....unless it's nil wind. Power launches do work, but you have to put 100% trust in your wing and run for ever......

Unfortunately the money hasn't stopped spending, new radio, helmet, reserve (£440), towbar (£295), Thule bike carrier for conversion to PPG carrier, I still need a flight deck, kobo tablet, etc... So the overtime goes ever onwards.

Yes, I'm having fun. As a paraglider pilot I hoped to take off from the flat, get high, cut the engine and thermal again. This doesn't really happen ! You tend to fly a smaller wing for speed, stability and ease of launch, the trade off is a worse glide, and the motor is heavy. With fuel another 30kg on your back. It's a different sport. But you fly over a BBQ at 600 feet, and everyone waves at you. You feel like James Bond and the "NUMBSKULLS" in your head are shouting at you to show off, throw over a few wing-overs, spiral dive, and kill yourself for their entertainment....

Take your time, settle in; keep at least 500 feet up, you are quieter and safer, room to throw a reserve! I have found if you keep between 500 and 1000 feet you are below cruising altitude for most small aircraft, and high enough not to upset the locals. It is difficult to find good launch areas, so give the farmer a bottle of wine occasionally, take off and leave the area, don't buzz his animals and neighbours.

ENJOY

...chicken'd out, bought a second hand Paramania revo 2 for my first flights instead

Unfortunately both sellers were at opposite ends of the country, and I'm smack bang in the middle. Whichever I went to see, was the one I would buy if it was good, not going back again all that way!

I'm 20 years out of date on paragliding, did loads until 2000 and then started a family; tried to start again two years ago, put 5 hours on a wing that year and only 3 hours last year. Too far from the hills.

I'm never going to compete or do acrobatics, just want to boat around for fun. So decided on the REVO 2. Went to ground handle it, it flew up easily and stayed above my head whilst I walked along slowly. So haggled and bought it. The previous owner bought it new to learn to paramotor, but in the first few days of paragliding, fell in love with the quiet and gentle paragliding scene, so never bought a  motor! This wing has never been flown with an engine and only has a maximum of 12 hours on it. Nice and clean, well packed with many extras.

I have yet to fly with it, only had it 6 days and the weather is balmy at the  moment, waiting for a nice dry evening. Already got permission from a local farmer to use his field.

53 year old male, used to paraglide and recently converted to POWER rating. Have Zenith and REVO 2 and would like to meet up with other pilots for local flights. Just "boating" around the countryside. Anyone else local to me? TEXT 07505001733

Well, after buying a second hand Zenith, today I purchased a REVO 2 and hope to have many hours flying this year. I will attach my older reserve, and use my helmet until funds allow my next purchases !!!

Damn, opinions are wonderful, but I wish we all had the same one!

My old instructor says "Speedster" no contest, but I'm still turning towards the EN-B REVO 2 wing for my first year to gain experience. When and if I want to upgrade, I'll be more confident buying new knowing I'll use it often. At the moment I need to keep it cheap to try it for a year....

Is the original Speedster much newer than the REVO 2, I think Speedster is 2014, whilst REVO2 was 2010.

After passing my POWER rating in October 2017, I've just saved enough "magic beans" to buy a second hand Zenith with polini thor 130 engine.

I have saved another £900 towards a suitable wing and I am stuck between a Paramania REVO 2 26 EN-B, or a Ozone Speedster 28 EN-C. My brain tells me I should gain experience on the lower rated wing initially, but my heart is more interested in the Speedster.

I have 400 hours on a paraglider, with lots of competitions and several flights over 100km's. But that was before 2000, in the last two years I'm averaging 5 hours a year ! Hence I took my power rating to improve my flight duration this year.

REVO or SPEEDSTER, same price, same weight range. I'm looking to boat around the countryside, not race everywhere! I'm 87 kg and feeling all of my 54 years, shorter runs appreciated....

What do you think?

On ‎01‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 17:57, kiwi k said:

Mark are you trained or training ?, and with the motors your looking at weight wise you'll be on full throttle most of the time, so machine reliability could be a problem, and if your flying with friends you could possibly be struggling to keep up.

 

I'm trained, passed my BHPA POWER rating with Steve at Axis, October 2017. Previously flew paragliders for 400+ hours in a different life (20 years ago, competitions all over the globe), but family and now location (miles from any hills or tow launches) stopped me. Wanted to try a paramotor to see if it gave me the same thrill at an older age (55 next year). I'm imagining easy "boating" around my local countryside in the evenings; escape from gravity for a couple of hours each week

OK, the A3 Plus has now sold on ebay for £1000 with an older reflex wing Eagle Genie. The F3 is on until tomorrow but high hang points are putting me off.

Now considering a Kobra Snake at twice the price but HEAVY. There is also a Bailey Snap 100, but it has a small cage and 110 prop.

Contemplating buying an Adventure paramotor, mostly based on cost.

What is the difference between the A3 Plus and the F3?

The A3 has an electric start and longer exhaust, larger air intake. But the F3 seems to show better HP and more thrust.

Google not very helpful on which is newer model or better option for me at 86 kg.

WOW, that could really help, THANK YOU.

I was aware it was suitable for towing (used to have my own static line tow in Australia), just had no idea if it could be suitable for paramotor, but if you used the Epsilon 1 and 2 for paramotoring, it would seem likely to be worth a go. To get it tested will cost about £120 but if I could just get my first few flights on it, I could afford to buy a better second-hand motor and keep saving for a better wing in 6 months time.

As you can see from the picture, it was last used on a small test hill in 2017; it flew like a charm, this is the first flight for my 15 year old son, after two runs on the flat to get prepared!!!! It looks great in flight, no wrinkles or creases, brakes worked a dream. I would not be throwing it around and B-Line stalls or anything. But don't wish to be the first person to ever try the combination either!!!

Hi Maddirk, not sure if you are still monitoring this post but you have a few options. Derbyshire is close, Airways Airsports teach all types, paramotoring/paragliding/hang gliding etc.. Or you can go to South Wales with Axis, slightly longer journey but consistant on-shore breeze makes more reliable weather, Or you head south to the Swindon area for the paramotoring school here.

Nothing very close, but lots in all directions!

I know it's an old wing, but I have a brand new (less than 5 hours) Advance Epsilon 3 from 1999. It would only be worth getting it tested if it would be at all suitable as a first paramotor wing. Did anyone ever try this particular wing for paramotoring? Picture of wing on a test slope in 2017, first time out of bag in ten years.

I am aware of much better safety on later wings, but this was a beginner wing made by a huge company who were always top notch at quality. Can it be flown with a motor? If I could fly this wing even if only for ten flights, it would mean I could afford a better engine now whilst I saved for a better wing later. Does this make any sense?

I understand it's not ideal, but I also understand that some wings were just never suitable for paramotoring. Or required different risers. Anyone use a engine with Advance canopies?

Unfortunately after the age of 50, the embers may burn, but you can't get enough fuel and oxygen to bring the flames back !!!

Yeh, she's a fully qualified XC paraglider pilot. Got all her own kit but last flew in 2007. Thinks anyone who wants to strap a noisy engine to their back for "free" flight is nuts!