Jean-Claude

A little bit of common sense is needed here. We are well within our rights to go to the park, walk the dog, go for a run or a bike ride provided we keep our social distance and not do it in groups of more than 2 unless it's with our household. Bojo' words not mine and in all honesty, these words are simple common sense. So why is flying not treated in the same manner? This is a rhetorical question, I don't need a lecture, as I got one tonight I went for a sunset flight. I kept well away from everyone in the parking lot. Seems the dog walkers were out in force because Bojo said they could go walking. In fairness they kept their social distance. I set my wing and started clipping in when I saw a man heading my way. Let's call him Mr. SR (Mr. Self Righteous). As he came closer Mr SR barked, "Do you think you're flying that today". "I certainly am" I replied. He went on to say I wasn't allowed to, to which I replied that he was walking his dog. What's the difference. I said that if he kept away from me I would keep away from him. He wagged his finger at me saying that Borris said he was allowed to walk but did not say I could fly. I asked him to move on and keep his social distance. So here is the common sense or lack of it. Mr SF came close enough to me to tell me that Bojo said I cannot fly and that he could walk the dog, but also close enough to give me whatever corono crap he might have had. In all honesty I would have shook his hand if he gestured to, the man is not the issue, it's his mentality and many like him that beggers belief. Is it only me or does it feel like world has more dickheads than reasonable people lately. I for one will continue to fly until the airspace is closed, provided it is within the spirit of what the government is enforcing. I will take my guidance from where the activity is (Park) and who I come into contact with (no one). Happy flying. JC

Needless to say there will some [insert derogatory adjective here] who will want to give their 2 pence worth if they happen to pass you by, but I see no reason why we should change our activity, only the number of people we do it with.

Strange that you cannot replicate the issue on the ground.

Hi All I tested with an open fuel cap. No change, still stalled at low/mid revs. I tested running an open fuel line from the tank to the carb. No change, still stalled at low/mid revs. I then checked the spark plug. It was running very lean. I opened the low and high jet screws a little more than 1/8th and hey presto. She's purring like a cat. Quick response to the throttle and no hesitation or stalling when changing throttle. SOLUTION: So the new carb. has fixed it for me, all-be-it the carb setting it came back with from Parajet needed working. Thanks for all the help everyone. JC

I used Charville's East Farm park to launch a few times. It now has a sign saying no use of motorised vehicles. Seems this is the reaction from my flying.

Hi All Harpsden, just south of Henley, has a privately owned airstrip. I visited the owner today and the answer is no. He said it's not safe enough and he's worried about complaints from surrounding area.

These are the paraglying sites i will be investigating, North of Reading.

Ah understood. My misunderstanding then.

To add my two pence worth, I cant say that affiliation means much for me. Having recently been through the training process I've found that the most important thing you're left with is the decision making skills. In my mind the right instructor gives you this not the affiliation. Maybe too simplistic a view, but when I'm up there and my motor stalled I didn't think of acronyms or what was written in a manual, I immediately thought of Simon's words and instruction. When I'm about to take off and accessing the local environment, I'm sure not thinking about what I read in the manual, I'm thinking about Simon drumming on about making the right decision. PS. Simon, you can pay me later for the plug.

I like the £200 a year if it were closer to me, but Chiltern seems a bit close to RAF Benson (Helicopter base). Also when I spoke to the owner/manager he mentioned that he would not permit use unless I carried a radio for contact with RAF Benson. Too complicated for my liking.

Hi Gunter I have also been struggling to find a place east of Reading. I'm trying to find a place that is a few minutes from home for after work sunset flights during summer. Emailed a few local cricket and rugby clubs. Those that answered wanted about £50 for one take off and landing. Emailed two parish councils. Twyford replied saying no to all parks and greens under their responsibility. The other has not responded, but I've used one park in their constituency. I taken off from this parish council park 3 times in December and early January. It has a primary school on its boundary. The 3rd time I used it was a Friday where I had a run in with who I think was one of the teachers. The crux of the conversation was around permission to use the park. In the end I took off after she had called the police, however I was polite and discussed all her concerns although agreed to disagree even with the threat of the police. My point of view was that I have a right to use public land for recreation purpose as foot-ballers and dog walkers do, unless there is a sign explicitly stating what the park can or cannot be used for. I am not sure of this, but I'm going to push the boundaries a bit. Long story short, I intend pushing the limits a bit on public lands, but I have also identified a few local farms I intend visiting shortly, simply from looking at Google maps. I will keep you posted if I come across any that allow their use. Also, Windy app has linked to a database that list, what looks like Paragliding sights. I intend to visit them in the summer and test the waters. Again, will let you know. Also, I have seen two pilots fly from Basingstoke direction to Reading along the A33. If they are in this forum it would be nice if they could share some info if the site is not too sensitive about number of pilots. Regards, JC

If it was not enough then bad on me. However, after the second stall in the video I checked the fuel line and it had no bubbles or intermittent air gaps. Going on logic, as I'm still feeling my way through this, I think I would have seen air in the line. I'm going to stop posting after this until I have something more concrete to come back with, but if I look at this objectively, it' shouldn't be the coil as there would probably be more sputtering, I changed the plug twice, the carb. has been changed so the odds on a fault there are now seriously high, I don't think it's the air valve into the tank as I vaguely remember originally testing without the cap on, so that leaves the fuel line. There is a high probability that Simon has been right all along, in his words a 90% probability. I will try and test for the fuel tank air valve and more fuel tomorrow and test for the fuel line next weekend. Thank you all! JC

Thanks Simon and thanks Pete who offered the same, but I need to strip and seal the shower tomorrow. I've ordered piping to test this, but if I struggle I will take you or Pete up on the offer another weekend. If it is this something to do with the fuel line, it should have been picked up by the Parajet engineers when it was with them. It took a noob, me, 5 minutes to pick up this problem. BTW, could you please speak to someone about the weather! Regards, JC

Thanks Top I will look into this.

HI All Thank you everyone for your input. I have digested it all to try and get a handle on this and to ensure my experience grows to keep safe. UPDATE: I received the motor back from Parajet. Once the motor was out of the queue and on the workshop floor it took a day to diagnose, test and courier back to me, to receive it 2 days later. I didn't get much feedback, but the MY19 carburettor was changed to a different model/type with the word "Walbro" molded into the casing if you look at the motor from the back. I assume it is the MY20 model, not sure. I tested the motor this morning. (6 degrees C, 62% humidity) The video below is taken after 5 minutes of idle and low rev warming up. I've done nothing except put the spark plug in. There was still about 0.75 litres of fuel in the tank, so did not top it up for the test. FURTHER PROBLEMS: At first the power output seemed smooth and linear to max revs. There was no stalling at max revs! Yeah. This was my original problem. However, after further testing I found that the power climb to max revs was perhaps sluggish. I'd remembered a far more quicker response and rev climb to the throttle before the carb. change. Then after testing at mid/low revs it stalled multiple times. (See video below for 2 of the stalls) QUESTION: Could I please get your opinions on my throttle control? I can't think that this is user error as I should have full control of the throttle for a safe flying environment. I cannot fly like this. I have no trust in the motor. Regards, JC <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jZBTJ8PMDxQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Hi Pete Generally, I'm also worried. Thankfully both you and I had problems with enough altitude to recover. I won't fly it again until Parajet have looked at it, but I consider it a safety issue should this happen at take off. I would like to think with Simon and Collin's training that I would be able to handle the situation, but I'd rather not find out. JC

Hi All Thanks for the replies. Additionally to the solutions I tried I also replaced the spark plug but the problem persisted. Sending my unit back to Parajet. The problem seems plain to see based on the consistency of the comments here. But I'll have to wait and see if they cough up for a new carb. if this is the issue. I'll let you all know how this pans out. I'm not holding my breath for a quick and easy resolution, but hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised. Regards, JC

Chris, did Vittorazi replace at their cost or have you purchased the replacement carb? Regards, JC

Thanks. I saw the video and was the first thing I tried. JC

Thanks Matt. I flushed out the system and did not help. Although I didn't try premium petrol, but this shouldn't be needed. JC

Hi All I need your help please! Engine lifespan: I've flown my new Atom 80 Maverick 3 times, after purchasing it at the beginning of winter. My third flight was from 3-4 hours of the engine's life, excluding the run in time. I ran in the motor meticulously and I'm still running on the richer 2% oil mix per the manual. I'm using Motul 800 synthetic 2 stroke oil as suggested. 3rd Flight Problems: Warmed up the motor as suggested in the manual. Before taking off, I ran the motor a full throttle for 10-15 seconds. 30 minutes into the flight I lost power at approximately mid range revs. The engine performed fine at low - mid revs, but as soon as it got to about 5-6k (guessing) or just before the power band, the engine would loose power until i released the throttle. I limped home and landed safely with the available engine power. Solutions I've tried: I checked for air bubbles in the fuel lines to ensure there were none. There was no air bubbles throughout my problem solving and testing. I warmed up the motor for about 4-5 minutes, idling then reving to about 4-5k revs. I then powered to where the motor felt comfortable at about 8k revs. But then at full throttle the engine lost power until I released the throttle. The power loss is almost instantaneous once at full throttle. I checked the spark plug. As expected it is dark brown to soot black due to the 2% oil mix. Cleaned and screwed back in. Tested again and power loss persisted. I removed the rev counter wire I had wrapped around the coil/spark plug wire, as I heard this can sometimes cause power loss. Tested and power loss persisted. The Atom 80 does not have a High Speed Adj. (H) on the carburettor, so I turned the Low Speed Adj. (L) clockwise/closed 1/4 turn to reduce the fuel flow. Tested and power loss persisted. Considering the manual warns to only turn 1/8, I did not try further. I checked the spark plug which was now running grey to soot black, so I turned the Low Speed Adj. (L) anti-clockwise/open 1/4, back to factory setting. I replaced the petrol as I wasn't sure how old, old is until the fuel looses its effectiveness. Tested and power loss persisted. Any suggestions? JC