norbertflyer

Got mine from Andy at www.skydragons.co.uk Only very minor balance issues found, but it worked! Hand drill, small fishing weights and Araldite, sorted! Richard

I would bet piston life is inversely proportional to the max power/litre cubed. Or something like that. Richard 430cc, 21hp, 819 hours, no rebuild (yet).....

Loads of speedwings have been flown now, Gin Bobcat, ITV (another) Awak, etc, etc. They're all on video somewhere. Did Superd*ck fly an 8m U-turn something?

Don't like the emergency landing options mind .....

Repeated from 'other' forum: To be fair you would notice these differences moving from a 29 Synth to a 26 Synth. Losing 3sqm of cloth will reduce the weight of a wing and increase it's agility, etc. What is of interest to me, is the glide claims. If the Speedster did get close to it's 'sibling' Delta pg wing glide at (say) 9:1 (pg harness) then a creditable 7:1 should be achievable with a motor on your back. I think the Synth came out at 6.5:1 (Vol Libre). This 7:1 glide from the Speedster might be about right given the 4 years of progress in general wing development since the Synth came out (2007). If you get chance, download a square pattern gps track from a still (ish) days powered flying (engine off) and I'd be interested in what quantified average glide you get from the Speedster. Richard (Delta averaged glide with my motor is 7.4:1 to 7.6:1, Gradient Aspen2 was 6.6:1 (ish))

My money is on it being Phil. He was seen flying very low acro at times during the Nats. Especially low during his take offs and landings....

Alan, I managed to get hold of a Geoffw who say he flys near Wollaston (I don't know him) and he says it's not him low flying. So, I've asked the friends who contacted me about it, to take a picture/video next time it happens (if it happens). The chance of me spotting another flyer in that area is too remote, as I normally b*gger off for a 60+k XC or otherwise I'm enjoying the thermals. Hopefully this message thread might be enough to stop it happening again. Cheers, Richard.

Clarificaton - now seen by 4 independent witnesses over the last 6 months, who know I fly a lot near that area and have asked if it was me performing the low flying stunts. Wing colour is white/blue is all the description I have been given. thanks, Richard

Can the paramotor pilot who is 'regularly' seen flying low over the housing estates in the Wollaston area of Stourbridge, please stop it. I don't need to say why. Please fly legally and protect the freedom of this sport for others. Thanks, Richard.

Agreed, good learning points for us all to be had there. My front mount won't catch a speed bar line, but others' underseat mounted reserves might be suspect. Richard

Oops indeed. Hope he was ok. Still needs a spark/fire to ignite the fuel. A hot surface alone, is not sufficient. Richard

Heard there has been one and just wondering the reasons and if the pilot was ok? Guess we'll read about it in a BHPA report soon enough. Richard

Great stuff Jock, can't wait to see you powered up more than 20ft agl next time... Will be be great to do few xc's with you and Paramotormike. Even better if we can also get Lord Jennings on a combined flight! Richard

if that's the full extent of your injuries, it looks like just a fibula. if that is the case, you should be flying again this summer. did my fib in june 97 and was flying again in september 97. Richard.

Get well soon! I've done a bone in my legs on 6 occasions now (none flying) & know exactly how you're feeling. 12 months time, you'll have nearly forgotten about it. Hope you continue the flying when mended. Richard

Thanks for the 'heads up' Jock. Had 2h38m on the Mynd as a ridge-rat yesterday afternoon, no significant thermals though. Richard

Learn to control the wing with A's & C's. This is the best method in higher winds. Details from your instructor/friend/dvd/youtube. Richard

Speed depends upon wing area and weight within an EN class, as said may times before. At 32mph +/-2mph that sounds as if you're relatively light on the wing. As with Fergus, try a multi square pattern flight and average the gps speed results. I dumped my airspeed probe due to inconsistent results. At 32sqm, ENC PG & 142kg I get a fairly consistent average 54kph +/- 1kph top speed at 1,000ft asl. I have had 90+kph briefly at 5,500ft on a PG downwind XC dash in front of a rain line. Richard.

Alistair, think you hit the nail on the head with that comment. The Paraflying to Parawaiting ratio is significantly higher for paramotoring compared with paragliding. I've just had a trawl through my log book and I've had just 1 abortive UK PPG trip this year out of 27 outings, compared to 8 failed UK PG outings out of 15 last year. Richard.

the original tracklog file from the gps device will be required for verification and submission for world record ratification/claim. PM me the file and I'll get it done for you. Richard.

Carbon 'build up' will increase compression, even the slightest amount. Are you sure the top of the piston and combustion chamber is free from carbon? Richard.

It's a high end DHV Class 2/3 wing, so you need extensive experience to fly this thing safely. http://www.para2000.info/wings/ozone/ma ... tests.html They have been flown under power (last years comp model) but, I would steer clear of it if you're a low hours pilot. Contacting Ozone for their opinion of this wing under power would be a waste of time, due to the usual legal issues. Even though they file the report under their paramotor section http://www.flyozone.com/paramotor/en/ne ... 6/07/1652/ Hope this helps. Richard

I remember watching two training videos from a few years ago. It showed a non bhpa instructor towing a red glider from the back of a landrover. It seemed really dangerous, breaking quite a lot of safety rules and the student looked as if he took some serious back injuries. I can't remember who was the instructor, but perhaps some will know on here. He may well not be teaching these days anyway. Richard

SimonW said "So in my view . . . . Why would I go to the BHPA? they had nothing for me at all, no instructors , no sites that I can use one from . . . and so on . . . The BHPA were not set up to deal with Paramotors at the time ." SimonW this is not true, I've been on the BHPA PPG database since 1997, they've always had instructors since then, I had a PPG syllabus, exam, 4 day training course, several PPG sites in Marlborough. Richard.

Karen Skinner sets a new paramotor record flying a paraglider with a top speed of 48kph. 'Blasphemy'? ........ http://www.ojovolador.com/eng/paramotor/ Richard