Steve Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 My daily Google auto-search just dumped a story into my in box. Whilst I'm a great supporter of anyone who has big ideas and wants to expand their horizons, this left me feeling a bit uncomfortable. Good luck to him but it's a bit ambitious for someone who hasn't even started lessons yet and appears to think he'll have to land every half an hour to refuel. He also thinks he's going to go from Lands End to John o'Groats in a week - Obviously it's possible ... with British weather and the fact he'll be a low hours pilot in pretty crappy conditions a lot of the time that might be a bit opitmistic. However, I hope he realises his dream. Let's invite him to the next fly-in! http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/lorry-driver-planning-fly-solo-13375319 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 He wants to hire or borrow a machine....anyone fancy lending theirs? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 25, 2017 Author Share Posted July 25, 2017 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Jackson Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 ... well you can't knock his enthusiasm! I would have perhaps tried a tandem before shooting my mouth off about such a challenging trip myself! It reminds me of a chap I saw at the first Parafest. He was proudly telling his family and friends how paramotoring was the best thing ever and he knew he was going to just love it. He had a tandem and soon changed his tune, never letting go of the tandem support bar thingy and keeping the peepers tightly shut. It definitely isn't for everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 25, 2017 Author Share Posted July 25, 2017 Good story! The trouble is that a lot of people who fancy a bit of this paramotoring lark must watch YouTube, where it all looks so easy - no noise, vibration, stress, freezing cold, tons of sweat, unexpected crappy conditions, several important skills to learn plus a pile of other things not caught in a video with a tasteless soundtrack. ... er, your videos are delightful Lee. The amount of first enquiries that have 'I want to do tandems to take the missus and friends up' somewhere in the sentence show some unrealistic expectations. Nothing wrong with wanting to do that, obviously, but first things first and doing tandems is a long way down the road for most people (if ever), but it just looks so easy on YouTube. I've seen some people amazed when they first put a paramotor on and apply power on the ground - "It's not like the videos" has been said on more than one ocassion. Like you said, perhaps this guy should have had a taster before going to the press. Having said all of the above, I'd be very happy to have him as one of our regular pilots five years down the road and have to eat my words. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allrightscud Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 What amazes me more is the way folk create a go fund me or just giving page for others to then donate and finance their latest or bucket list adventure. I'd like to know how much money actually goes to these charities out of the total raised, once expenses for travel and equipment to cycle the Great Wall of China, trek Machu Picchu, climb Kilimanjaro, or fly from John O Groats to Lands End with a borrowed paramotor and the organisers or web page take their cut. Maybe I'm just too cynical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 Most of the fundraising adventures are organised by charities. About 1/3 goes to the charity and is why I will never donate to any of these schemes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin (Simon W) Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 The online fund raising sites are not cool (and the charities tend to dislike them also) There are a few charities which have corporate sponsors who pay staff, rent, and so on. This is so that 100% of the donated money get's to an end user. More and more of them seem to be adopting this model now, which I think is a nice clean way to play. One example of this would be Global Angels. Theses are the type of charities to approach for something like this as more often than not, the same corporate sponsors will sponsor your mission. SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted July 26, 2017 Share Posted July 26, 2017 I just wish him good luck. If you have a serious goal, I'm sure you can learn the needed skills faster than average when you have to push yourself. Maybe it will involve lots of bad decision making, but that's sometimes needed to get things done. And the fundraising sites is just something we have to get used to. Can't blame people who try them, it's an effortless way to go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyDavao Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 He is committed now,he cant back out without looking like a plum once the story has gone to press,be interesting to see how he progresses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin (Simon W) Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 Well, for me I am going to default to supportive mode. Anyone who can be arsed to get out of the house and do something completely different is worthy of at least that much in my view. I will watch with interest. SW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cianpars Posted October 25, 2017 Share Posted October 25, 2017 As of today he has raised only £435 of his £12,000 goal. Amazing that he thinks he can just go and do a task like that before he has even had any training at all and that he will manage an average speed of 40 mph with little or no experience. People see a couple of Youtube videos where it all seems so simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyDavao Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 He is still carrying the plan through... https://twitter.com/slimmuldoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Jackson Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Bloody good on him! Looks very like he's going for it. He's certainly determined. By the end of a long old trip like that he'll be a very seasoned XC pilot! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frosty100 Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Maybe he is going to slash his outgoings by taking lessons from a well known guy in the U.S of A? (good luck there) The official distance if you take the crow is 603 miles or by road it's 874 miles, The road journey would take most many accomplished cyclists 10 to 14 days. I think given the unpredictable nature of the west coast weather and the rude awakening he will get when he finds out his average forwards speed is not any where near the 40mph mark - his forecasted week to do the trip will be somewhat lenghthened. I really do wish him the very best of luck though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Wouldn't it better (faster) to go the other way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asquaddie Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 55 minutes ago, AndyB said: Wouldn't it better (faster) to go the other way? Yep downhill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kran Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 (edited) Look on the bright side, his missus is NOW happy, that's gotta be a bonus for the guy. Edited March 6, 2018 by Kran add Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frosty100 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 7 hours ago, asquaddie said: Yep downhill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TONYPARAMOTOR Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 On 25/07/2017 at 12:17, Steve said: My daily Google auto-search just dumped a story into my in box. Whilst I'm a great supporter of anyone who has big ideas and wants to expand their horizons, this left me feeling a bit uncomfortable. Good luck to him but it's a bit ambitious for someone who hasn't even started lessons yet and appears to think he'll have to land every half an hour to refuel. He also thinks he's going to go from Lands End to John o'Groats in a week - Obviously it's possible ... with British weather and the fact he'll be a low hours pilot in pretty crappy conditions a lot of the time that might be a bit opitmistic. However, I hope he realises his dream. Let's invite him to the next fly-in! http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/lorry-driver-planning-fly-solo-13375319 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TONYPARAMOTOR Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 live and learn or learn and live Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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