MattMc

So today was a totally different day. I arrived a bit worried and feeling like it might be a few more days before ground handling made any sense at all bit after a few more coaching sessions I feel like I made really good progress. Setting the wing and me up for a launch seems natural now, forward launches are way better after today and I even managed to kite the bloody thing! Better than that, towards the end of the day I reverse launched the wing, kited for a decent time, turned forward, ran forwards, span back to reverse and kited again, spun to forwards, fared, turned and landed the wing. TWICE! Not exactly flying yet (its only been two days!) but it feels like I made good progress. Things have been made way easier by having a really good bunch of lads on the course, including my new mate Ian who I believe has now joined the forum. Dont tell him I said his ground handling is way better than mine because he might get big headed LOL Oh dont tell him thats because he had an easier wing or he will call me a liar! Tomorrow is a whole new day and I really hope I make as much progress as today and that at least one of the more experienced P.I.T. gets airborne.

So day 1....... Holy cow my legs are sore! Lots of learning regarding pre flight checks etc. More learning regarding design, construction and maintenance of wings, harnesses and motors. Wow so many mnemonics! Will Geordie Have His Cat Aboard Today? ha ha ha Mostly however today will be remembered as the day I ran further than I have run in years (fat lazy twat) and the day I found out that kiting is way, way, way harder than it looks. Forward launches feel intuitive and natural ( I need to get way better but I get it ) reverse launches and kiting feels like trying to think in Spanish, answer in Chineses while listening to an American auctioneer sell cows! Please tell me my legs will get stronger and that my brain will be able to make my hands do the right things to keep that bloody wing in the air! Loving it so far people.

If the handbook says 50 to 1 it might be worth sticking to that. Remember that in a 2t some of the oil won't get burnt but all of the oil goes through the engine. More oil won't necessarily mean better lubrication but it will mean a higher compression ration and it will mean more unburnt oil in you silencer and it will mean more smoke. Just my 2p. I have just bought the same motor but mine is a low hours and already broken in so this is general years of 2t experience talking not moster 185 specific experience.

So far I have bought a Parajet, a Universal 1.1 and an Independence reserve. This is all going to Spain so I can get trained with it and get it set up ready for me when I get home. Thank you so much for your kind offer of help, I am pretty sure I will need to take you up on it.

That's why I was so keen to do the research and buy the kit had of time. I know it was a bit of a risk but I need to be back in the air in less than a week after I get back from training. I would like it to be the day after I get back but the motor has to be shipped to me. Im happy that I have some cool sounding guys local to me so I am happy that is I do get weather delayed those guys will get me back on it and up in the air.

No its closer to mojacor

Im off to Spain with Steve from Mid Wales Paragliding.

i was literally chomping at the bit today! So glad to hear there is an active group of flyers down here. I can cope with my own company if I have to but learning from a group of experienced pilots right on my doorstep is a great opportunity. 5 days till training starts, two weeks of head scratching and practice then its home to start developing those skills. I cant wait.

Big day today...Wing and paramotor are paid for and on the way. Im not going to lie this has all just got very real and Im giddy as a kitten. Im going to use school helmet etc while I keep looking for the right kit for me. I would love to hear from you experienced pilots regarding gear. Helmets, gloves, boots etc. I am thinking some wind proof trousers with reinforced knees? 5 days until Spain........

I totally understand and agree with you 100% regarding weather conditions. I rather like the idea of a reserve just to cover off any non weather issues.

Petrol loses its effectiveness very quickly. In addition if its not ethanol free it will absorb water and once that hits your fuel filter and the carb you can get the same symptoms you are describing. If it was my motor I would be thoroughly cleaning the whole system, filling it with brand new premium petrol and see if that helps.

Do you guys have another forum or a facebook page or other group you use more often?

As a newbie, obviously I am keen for any new information and therefore have to check this forum at least a few times a day. If anyone has other forums or pages they would recommend please let me know. This morning began with the delightful post regarding mortality in paragliding.... Lucky for me I am both brave and cautious with a finely developed sense of my own fragility coupled with a strong desire to see tomorrow. My later grandmother gave me the following mantra and I have tried to live my life by it "Never stick a finger somewhere you wouldn't stick your dick" Todays job is to try and decide on the best value / safest reserve, decide howe much to spend on an alt vario, look at nav, notam, metar apps for the iPhone and try and find a decent one. I would welcome any input other forum members would like to share. Have a lovely day.

Thats a really kind offer Tony! I am sure I will take you up on it.

I am so afraid of the weather but as I have a field outside my door and Im available almost every morning and evening I am hopeful that I can at least maximise whats possible.

Ha ha ha brill.

Hello people. Im about to get training and will be flying from my home near Redruth. It would be good to hear from other Cornish pilots.

I was so inspired by the training blogs that I decided to start one of my own. Not to get too far off topic I feel it might be worth giving a little of the history that led me here. I went on a 5 day glider course when I was 21 and loved it. Sadly I didn't have the financial ability to keep up with it and so let it go. Fast forward 25 years and my son is an air cadet, flying every weekend and well on the way to his solo flight. After one year is is ready to go on the solo course but its too late in the season. Year two the cadets decide he cant go solo because they have increased the minimum age. Year three he is booked on a course and less than a week before he goes cadets suspend all flying indefinitely! My son was destroyed! So upset! It was horrific to see as a dad. I promised him I would make it right. It took over a year but I got us into the only club in Cornwall and off we went together. What fun! Weather and other commitments meant we struggled to get as much flying in as we wanted to but I was learning fast and my son was just great. We decided to go on a course for a week to push us on. Amazing both go solo and its all on. Back home the club we belong to is really struggling to get us in the air and over time my son goes off to Uni and joins another club and I just drift away from gliding again. It was a combination of things but mostly the need for a team to get you in the air on top of every other constraint. I discovered solo hot air balloons and the idea of being able to fly on my own was fabulous. Sadly learning to fly balloons while living in Cornwall is really hard and it turns out solo balloons are for very experienced pilots so once again Im unable to get up in the air. I am still going to do training flights but its a long term project now. Once again it was my son to the rescue "Im thinking about paramotoring dad" he says "check this out" HOLD THE FRONT DOOR! I can take off from home, explore the beauty of Cornwall and land right back at home without the need for another living soul. Better than that I can fly with my son as soon as he learns and get home from his year in New Zealand! This is it. Better even than all of that after I speak to a few people it turns out you lot are pretty cool. There seems to be a lot less bullshit in the paramotor world than in other forms of flying. I have found and booked what I believe you cal a "Zero to Hero" course in Spain with Steve from Wales. He has been great in the run up to the course (end of this month) with loads of advice on what I will and won't need to buy. No pressure to buy kit from him but the opportunity to if that suits. I am lucky enough to have a decent (not limitless) budget so the world is sort of my oyster. So far I have committed to buying a nearly new parajet Maverick and decided that the wing for me is a dudek universal 1.1 if I cant find a nearly new one today!!!! I will order a new one tomorrow along with a reserve a helmet and a box full of much needed widgets and gadgets! All of my new toys are going to Spain so that I can get using the kit I intend to develop my flying with ASAP. I want to avoid coming home to either no kit and a massive confidence sapping delay as well as coming home to a big box of kit that is all new and unknown to me. My plan so far is to get to Spain, learn as much as I can, get in the sky a bit, learn a lot more and then come home so I can use every little weather window to slowly develop my skills. Did I mention that I am lucky enough to be almost retired and live on a small holding with a decent launch field 1 minutes walk from my front door? I am grown up enough to know that the course is very much a tiny step and that I won't come back a pilot. I am very much looking forward to the Cornwall fly in and hope to be good enough to fly in from home and maybe fly here with a few new friends for a tea and cake pitstop! I hope you lot will be totally honest with me and feel free to point out flaws in my plan and to suggest anything you feel might be useful I will try and do blog updates as I put my kit together and while I am in Spain.

Well thats handy. Ten minutes up there road. I best get training, practicing and joining!

No way! Please tel me where and when. That would be great, we get so few opportunities like that down here!

Im looking to buy a lightly used universal 1.1 31m If you are considering selling one please get in touch. 07967614564 mcevoy532@aol.com Matt

Hi everyone, I am based in sunny (ha ha ha ha) Cornwall and while I am not a newbie to flight but I am a newbie to paramotors. I am booked on a course at the end of this month and cant wait to get airborne in a new and exciting way. I am, reading, watching videos, chatting to my instructor and putting together some carefully selected kit to get me started. See you in the sky sometime.