rob_jones

From my ice pop licking view point I concur it was just one of those freaky accidents that triggered a chain reaction that was lucky not to end in a very worse outcome. The Prop when striking the dirt was flying at full power and as such just disintergrated. One of splinters appeared to slice of the petrol cap (you could argue this was a flaw in design as to me to protruded into the prop area) of course the heat of the day probably expanded the fuel to a gas which of course went up like a rocket. If you noticed next to the severed fuel cap there was quite a defined hole that looked like a burn through to me. We were so lucky as when we lifted you from the remains of your rig the remaining 6 or so litres of fuel came flooding out but luckily did not catch on the grass that was burning. Of course your disco strobes was another potential flash point - and for the life of me I could not find a kill switch. On the flip side I reckon a tad more speed you would have been off the ground and the cravets had just popped out as you went over. Good to see you are fine and dandy Rob

I bought myself a little extension boom I seen advertised on the gadget show, about £15 or so from Amazon. I can screw the camera onto it and slip it in the harness pocket, when relaxed you whip it out and just extend it out

Well let me answer in my limited experience (so happy to be shot down) Ear Defenders - I wish, and everytime I go up I remember the thing I am missing. That helmet is one I use for skiing and speedriding and does have some flaps over your ears which keeps the noise down slightly. But I will get some of those in ear plugs, just need to remember. Your right on the trimmers and what i find is that the torque effect is quite strong and I continually turn to the right (I turned the engine off just to check nothing wrong with the setup - Fusion flies straight with no power). I can counter this by weight shift. So on the flight your looking at I actually used the tip steering just to bring me back online, I have found with the tip steering you tend to get a much flattter turn and you can use the velcro to set it up to counter the torque. Which is what I was dabbling with.

could do with some of those suits Bear and Gilo were using last night, although heaven knows how they managed to run wearing that much kit. The flight in the video was about 2400ft and a tad chilly, really pretty view though of the sea and cliffs

some footage of me and my Fusion, Simon you will be pleased to see my tip steering in action.

I actually watch the temp, as I have a desire to take a photo from about 12000ft mark and the only thing stopping me is the cold as I go up. Ground Temp on take off was 16degrees (ish) at 2450ft it was down to 6 degrees and cold enough that I wanted to come back down. It is a nice feeling as you descend to feel the layers of warmth increase

Well I have now convinced the three kids and chick that having the boot full of toys (paramotor and speed wing + Kitesurf on the roof) is worth the cramped driving I now subject them too. This weekend I had three days kitesurfing planned in Pembrokeshire but looking at the forecast it had a paramotor feel to it rather than a surf session. Managed a flight from a random (non horse populated field) around St Davids head and the surrounding peninsular, very rugged and quite magical from the air. I have imposed a self ban, if conditions are enough to kitesurf (15-20mph) then they are to much to fly, the day I took off I estimate about 12- 15mph which really I should not have gone up in but it did make for an interesting flight. Speed over ground on the down wind leg was tremendous and before I could blink I was over the sea, now with pangs of doubt as to whether my wing would push me back inland or would I be taking a swim. Trimmers set to 3/4 and engine cranked up I edged forward over the landing field (now at 2450ft) I also took the step to kill the engine and allow myself to drift down in silence, doesnt get better than that. One aborted landing later and a flyby seen me tip toe into the field. with the wing still hovering above my head feeding off the constant breeze, even on my Karma when landing I always seem to have to kill the power but the Fusion just stayed above. Trimmers set to neutral for this landing (engine off) I have a video but now way to publish. [/img]

Just spent the weekend in the Isle of White for 3 days camping and of course flying (when the three kids would let me out of their sight) I managed 2 very nice evening flights with my Fusion. When I consider my experience is very limited I really cannot fault the wing. Weather was overcast all weekend (except departure day today) I debated for a long time should I fly or not, but of course the draw was to great and off to the nearest field I could find. Nil wind launch and a forward sprint seen me in the air first try. The wing naturally rises behind you and seems to sit there waiting for the power. As the air was silky smooth I decided to explore the speed bar (full reflex) and tip steering. From a PG background I must admit to finding even the thought of taking my hands off the brakes unnatural, but I did. I have found with my Bailey 175 that at full throttle the torque is pretty strong and I do need to keep my left brake down in order to counter it. Speed bar - no issues, quite hard to apply but it sits very nicely when applied. As I wasnt going anywhere other than playing in the sky above the 1952 Caravan I was staying in I left the speed bar (of course my first worry was is there any chance this will get sucked in the prop, my reasoning side came up with what "designer would be dumb enough to even risk a close shave") Back to the tip steering, so yes it does feel alien to me and I like the comfort of having the brakes to damp out any surges . But when on full speed you really struggle to bury a brake. I did explore weight shift and pulling the tip steer down and using the velcro to counter the torque which did sort it. I also got up to 3000ft and dropped the revs completely just to check the wing flies straight (which it did). I really enjoyed leaving the revs off and setting reflex to take off and then cranking the turns in. I fly a DHV Apco Karma and the fusion will carve like a knife when you pull the brake. The landing is just the same as my Karma, it feels and in fact it does come down alot faster and at about a 100ft I think crikey I am shifting over the ground, but pulling the brakes down to land and its like stepping of a kerb and both landings were a stand up. I have some photos and a short film but not sure how I publish them on here.

I also have a bailey 175 purchased in November (less than 5 hours on it now) and the only issue I have had is the battery and to be honest that was only when I was ground handling alot but not taking off.

Morgy, I am very new to PPG and the Fusion, but I have done a few flights and will attempt to articulate the wing as a novice like me has been learning. When the trimmers are set to slow (take off) the wing is very stable, yesterday I was in Brighton flying and conducted some ground handling with a standard harness. The wing comes up very easy and straight and will just sit above your head with no overshoot, I set the trimmers on and tried the same and immediately the wing over ran me and collapsed.I think I would go as far as to say the wing is easier to ground handle than the Karma When taking off you can just take a few paces gun the engine and off you go, flying reminds me of my apco karma and I personally cannot feel any difference, yesterday I ran a gps and was seeing 20mph with trimmers on. I was finding it really bouncy though and not very comfortable. Moving trimmers to fast it did smooth out and I seen my speed peak at 42 mph, no speed bar. (20 mins up and I am sitting on top of inversion @ 3450ft) but I do notice how hard the brakes become and you can very quickly tire of trying to turn. I have installed the tip steering kit but as it was quite turbulent yesterday I did not dare to try them. Im hoping that makes it far easier. I cannot really fault the wing, and if I thought I could get a decent price for my Karma I would sell and use the Fusion for free flying also.

Wow whats cool is seeing me on there (red Fusion wing), didnt think I actually had an audience other than Colin, let alone it being filmed My launch actually looks pretty rubbish. I am wearing a helmet cam and have the footage from the hot seat - bit boring though really

well after I watched the others I thought why the hell is mine so bloody heavy, when I have my cold weather gear on (nothing more than a body warmer) and the reserve and a full tank I am sure its about 40kg, I cannot do more than about 4 attempts at taking off before I need to take a break, luckily I got away ok yesterday. I went out towards that tower and then over to the white horse (its not white and doesnt much look like a horse from 3000ft) Will have to go for a flight together next time your up there

what time did you get up there Dave?

I am 81KGS in the buff, so I reckon fully kitted with Skis and a Lid maybe looking at 95kgs The difference would be akin to comparing a cruise ship to a jetski. When you pull the brakes you immediately fly out to the side, but it does feel very safe. To be fair I have not had the fusion up that much to really get it going - still trying to grasp the fact that with a squirt of power I can actually go back up instead of always coming in to land. With speedriding i is also over so very quick, you would be lucky if you get more than a 2 min flight, quite a rush though to be skiing with it above your head and then just ping off the nearest cliff.

yes this is the same sport as on top gear, the guy whom raced the audi is called Francois Bon and is bit of a speedriding guru.

sorry about that, kept getting fatal errors when submitting - guess it all works fine

ah yes that is my un edited version, the second vid that pops up is also mine and shows some of my falls and dodgy landings.

I had tried to insert a youtube link in here, guess its blocked if you are interested youtube - rob jones speed riding

Hello All, Just thought I'd introduce myself and say hi. Im addicted to anything that gets my feet off the ground, been paragliding for 2 years and last November I purchased a Bailey 175 with a Fusion from Simon, one day conversion course and I am able top increase my annual flying window ten fold. I spent this winter learning another sport called speed riding, skiing with a 14m wing Roll on Spring

test

test post

Well Simon I took the plunge and signed up (was to lazy before) The Fusion is flying great & luckily I do not have had the pleasure of verifying the Gin reserve is great

Hello all, that guy mentioned in Daves post (with the Bailey) was me - Funny reading it I was thinking gosh that sounds like the day I took off, I also could not get into the seat. I have since done a few flights. My last was from Croydon where I spent 30 mins circling in the bitter cold @ 2000ft. Looking forward to the warm weather