fanman

Don't want to cause thread drift so will save reply for another day!

Having seen props from both suppiers I would buy from Born Propeller first any day! The other supplier is not always aware of the pitch that is being sent to you.

The effect of the ALC is that it gives you a different feel to the turn. I always find that turn using tip steering is very draggy causing a ponderous high yaw turn. The ALC gives much more roll than yaw which is much quicker responding feeling more 'fighter' like. Although the principle of the ALC is for use on faster trim settings it works well at all areas of the trim range without disturbing the airfoil shape over the key part of the wing and creating such large amounts of drag as when using regular brakes. If flying low level on fast trim then you can have the brakes in your hands (but unused) while actually using the ALC steering so that if you have an 'oh sh1t' moment then the brakes can be dabbed to avoid sudden unexpected contact with the ground! Dudek wings no longer have TST fitted as standard (no need as ALC is way better) but have revised the principle into TEA (torque effect adjuster). This is a form of TST that can be engaged or disengaged (and latched on) pre-flight or at any point during flight to offset prop torque.

The Miniplane weighs half the weight of the Parajet. Much less chance of the student falling over in the first place! As proven by Paul Mahony using 6 Miniplanes for his training operation. Best cure is surely not to have the stumbles from lugging excess weight.

There is a slightly simpler way of rigging the lower end of the ALC lines. Instead of rigging the line via elastic through rings to the B line it can be connected to the trim tab buckle area. It will sit a little higher but as long as it is at the buckle or above it will not be affected by trim position. This simplifies the set up on the risers too.

I don't know how the farmer is managing to restrain himself!

Rob, I think most of us would love to have been doing the flying in the film and I know that I am far from squeaky clean when it comes to the rights and wrongs of my own flying but there are times to not publicise the fact. Love the second video BTW.

The first thing to say about doing the ALC mod is that it is taking the wing away from its certification so it is something that you do at your own risk having understood all the implications for yourself. ALC uses a single separate line to be able to operate the outermost part of the brakes leaving the central majority of the trailing edge fully reflexed. The upper attachment is to a suitable brake cascade (I plan to use the connection where ES3 joins ET9 and ET10 which is where the outermost tertiary brake lines go up from the outermost secondary brake line). Production Dudek wings use a higher outer cascade but I find their ALC less responsive than when I have attached one cascade lower down. Dudek take this new line down to a height adjustable red ball before the line then ties on to a length of black elastic. The elastic goes through a small metal ring at the base of the B riser, then up through another metal ring at the top of the B riser before coming back to the lower ring again where it is tied off. The reason for this elastic is that the trim can then be extended or shortened while the elastic maintains the correct line tension. As the attachment is on the B riser, if you didn't have the elastic then the effect of letting out trim would be to apply both outer brakes.

Chill out... we're entitled to our take on things just as much as you are. I'm all for pushing the envelope (like you I speedfly too) but there's more to the original video than flying skills.

I flew with a friend of mine of mine the other day who was using a propeller from Born Propeller on his Ros125. He was very pleased with it and it was very good value for money. They only make wooden ones and if they don't have one for your machine already they will make you one. Well worth investigating. A nice lightweight 2 blader will keep torque to a minimum.

... and that is why I made the point that if you are going to do this then do it on your own patch where you risk losing your own privileges, not someone elses while you are on holiday before you wizz off home and leave them with all the problems. The muppet is totally selfish. You wouldn't like it if I came to you and pee'd off all the house owners surrounding your hard earned flying field.

Yes, will do as soon as I can get on my laptop. Only have phone right now which is too painful to type a lengthy reply!

It was the muppet from Utah on holiday in Italy where the rule is no flying below 500'agl except for take off and landing. If you watch the film this comes from you'll see he doesn't give a damn that he put Italian paramotorists rights to fly at risk so he could satisfy his own needs on holiday.

Only that it has proved very, very successful with the 'Respect' frame but needs an extra horizontal bar welded in to work well with the original curved frame like yours Alan.

The very first attempt at ALC was on a Revolution! That wing is still flying with ALC today and my Revo will have it fitted as soon as I get round to it!

The BMAA have some material that covers all the relevant up to date aspects of air law, etc. Glad to hear you are turning the 125cm prop. You will get just the right amount of thrust out of that while avoiding the hassles of torque and precession that bigger motors would give which are not required at your weight. The thrustline on your machine is above the wing attachment so you will get a rotation forwards under application of power. Many people think the pivot is the carabiner but it isn't on the PAP, it's the shackle beneath the carabiner and strop that connects to the swing arm. I'm sure Alex will hang check you but when he does make sure that the tilt back angle is right not just when sitting stationary with the engine off but also when someone applies a 50kg push through the center of the prop hub as that is what it will be like under full power. You ask what kit I have... I have 3 motors and 6 wings (did have 4 motors but recently sold one!). I have a PAP 1400 (but not with a Top80) but do have another machine with a Top80 engine as well. I have low, mid and high hang point machines and can genuinely claim that a decent mid hang point set up wipes the floor with the other 2!

Jeff Goin's PPG Bible is an excellent book to study but disregard the section on airlaw and any references to FAA charts for navigation as the USA is different to the rest of the world in those respects. I think I would have chosen the medium Thrust HP over the small one as you are suitably inside the weight range (however I wouldn't free fly it) and your efficiency will be better. You might go 1 or 2 mph faster on the smaller one but you will burn more gas and have faster take offs and landings when you don't want that for quite a while yet. What size prop are you turning on the Top80? You really have got a suitable motor for your weight. You are 72, a PAP 1400 Top80 weighs 25, wing is about 8. Allow say 5kg for clothing and you are 110kg. Another 5 for a reserve, GPS and vario gives you your 115kg. Don't include fuel in your calculation as it has a habit of dissappearing between take off and landing.

Is the machine a PAP1400 Ros125?

Did you come back with any further ratings Stuart? Good opportunity to do so.

Marko, fit an ALC system and you'll wonder why we ever bothered with tip steering.

The other key thing to making ground handling look easy is to control it by moving around yourself rather than using the brakes. Every brake input you apply is trying to stop the wing from flying. Repositioning yourself constantly underneath it keeps the wing in its designed shape that wants to fly rather than fall back down to earth. Understanding this is the key to successful launching too. The wing is something that you work with and guide along to achieve your desired result. It's like a marriage with a recalcitrant wife, you have to make her do what you want by letting her think it was her own idea! The type of pilot that thinks they can force it around the sky on the controls are the ones who struggle and break props. Who is instructing you? Assuming you are not a heavy chap then that is a pretty good choice of kit so they seem to be guiding you well so far.

Look at the horrendous torque on that frame. What motor is it turning what size prop and what weight pilot?

That's right... he is initially running with the prop cage angled (appears to be leaning forward even) so there is a horizontal component of torque. The direction of the horizontal component of torque reverses when rotating from a leant forward position to a leaning back one making its effect even more sudden. There is scope to remove some slack from the harness but a well suspended harness can be flown surprisingly loose. The set up must not cause rotation when it lifts. The more excess of thrust you have then the more this snatching rotation can cause problems.

Cure the root of the problem first... ie what is causing the twist in the first place... ie the lean back angle. Having to overly tighten the harness is compensating for an effect that should not be there in the first place.

When the prop disc is perfectly perpendicular to the direction of flight then the torque effect on the Simonini will give you a steer to the right because more load is placed on the right risers than the left. If the prop disc is angled (watch him swing back when he lifts off the ground in the video) then the same torque now has a horizontal component which twists him to the left. Now there is a side thrust pushing him left and the wing into a right hand turn from which he is locked out. These are just the basics before we even consider asymetric blade thrust and the effect of precession with the sudden aft rotation. This is the result of not doing a proper hang check and getting him set up with his equipment. Was any hang check done before flight? Who is instructing him?