Patrick1 Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 Okay, so hate is probably laying it on a bit thick but I have noticed a definite negative vibe towards ppg from some people in the population at large that I can't totally understand. Negativity from other aviators I sort of understand (a combination of jealously, control freakery and to be fair, occasional genuine concern at our relative 'outlaw' status). I can also understand people who dislike noisy aircraft in general. However, I've found a few occasions when the subject of paramotors comes up that some people really dislike them whilst tolerating everything else. Is is just me being overly sensitive or has anyone else picked up on this? I'll give an example from today that prompted this post; I live between a military helicopter base and an airfield with lots of micro lights and not too far from a gliding centre.. All in all, we have a hell of a lot of air traffic over the village, quite a lot of it at 500 feet. We also get the very occasional ppg. I was chatting to some neighbours over a beer who were whinging about 3 paramotors flying over the village a couple of weeks ago.. Apparently it spoilt the peace. Ok, it might just have been a friendly wind up as they know I fly but it's not the first time I've noticed ppg singled out as being an irritation. I should add in the interest of balance that most people I come across love the novelty of it and I get far more waves, smiles and nice comments than neg but keen to get anyone else's insight - are we really that much more noisy than a helicopter or a Pitt special? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 Patrick I think the problem is that PPG is the slowest of all flight so any noise problem (apparent or otherwise) is always of a greater duration to any fixed point on the ground. I also wonder if some people without greater understanding still consider PPG as a very 'dangerous' and foolhardy sport, and almost automatically rail against it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hann__ Posted September 18, 2016 Share Posted September 18, 2016 Yep, i would say it`s the noise duration. Folk can probably tolerate noise for a short spell such as that from a helicopter which passes very quickly but an irritating, buzzing high-pitch whine that`s not pleasant to the ears that persists for a few minutes while the PPG crosses a village or house is what people remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aljken Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 Probably cos they dont have one! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatPux Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 Where I live in Pangbourne, I dont seem to have a problem. In fact I was well received by anyone I spoke to at the local village fete where I took the kit for "Show and Tell". I have routes I try to stick to as i fly out of the field which avoid passing low over nearby houses. One thing I do hear a lot of complaint about and maybe a reason I dont get too much heat- is that we live out west of Heathrow LTMA and offer the first decent opportunity where the ceiling raises to 4500ft for aerobatic aircraft out of White Waltham so we do get quite a lot of Yak50/52s ,Pitts and the odd Extra giving it "what for" right overhead. That really winds people up at weekends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 There will always be some people who will hate anything, whether it's paramotors, motorcycles or cats. They're just wrong. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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