Phil_P Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Got up to my airfield pretty early (at least for me that is), once Dave was dispatched to school. I thought it was time to give the shiny new Bailey a thorough work out. The wind was pretty much a southerly, and was varying from very light, to just about reverse-launch-able. I reckon you can guess the option I went for. With a southerly, I have to contend with a little bit of rotor off some trees, and today was no exception, with my take off run needing a few extra dabs when I sank a bit. But apart from that, it was fine. I had decided to strike out towards the coast, which would mean contending with a cross wind on both legs of the journey. I wasn't expecting to get as far as the coast, but I thought I would see how it went. As I've got a run of Scampton. Waddington and Cranwell MATZ to contend with to the east, I climbed overhead the field till I was at about three thousand feet, and then set off in an easterly direction to go over the top of the zones. I had a lovely flight, and dodged the clouds around the four thousand feet mark, flying round them and continuing my climb till I was able to ride along above them, obviously still with clear sight of the ground as they were quite scattered, probably about 3-4 octas. I managed to get a sight of three of the old disused RAF airfields that litter this part of the Fens, and even recited to myself 'Oh I have slipped the surly bonds of earth' as I flew over Scopwick village, where the RAF pilot who wrote the poem is buried (I could quite clearly see the cemetery). Back to my departure took a grand total of 2 3/4 hours, covering I guess about 45 miles. My longest distance and greatest duration to date, although not quite my highest flight. The wind had stiffened quite a bit since I took off, so I was really glad I had managed to get in a flight during what looks to have been the best part of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Sounds brilliant, how was the Bailey Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammertime Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Phil, Were you on a 175? Out of interest, do you know how much fuel you used in that time? I fly a 175 with a Synth 34. Last Sunday I went on a 2 hour XC and used just over 7 litres. I was a little disappointed with those figures but I did have the trimmers fully open and was using full speed bar as and when my legs could handle it! Regards Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_P Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 The Bailey ran like a very smooth clockwork thing. Despite prop noise being pretty constant regardless of what machine you fly, the Bailey is perceptibly quieter from the pilots perspective than my Solo based Adventure unit. So much so, that the Bailey makes a similar level of noise with just my standard head set, as I was getting with the Adventure with the ANR (active noise reduction) turned on. With the Bailey AND the ANR, it is a positive joy. Chris, it is indeed the 175 unit. I am 102Kg and am currently on a Swing Arcus in XL. I was in cold weather gear plus a goodly weight reserve, so probably around the 160kg all up weight mark when you take into account stuff like suit, boots and helmet. I was on full fast trim for the duration of the flight, with some bursts of speed bar. Bear in mind that I was climbing at full RPM for the majority of the outbound leg, as I had to avoid the MATZ and also dodge some cloud, so I got above about 5000 feet amsl. I was on fumes when I landed, and had had the tank filled to the 10 litre mark on t/o. I could maybe have squeezed in another litre into the tank. Although not quite the 2 litres per hour some people seem to get, it's about half of the consumption of my Adventure so I'm pretty happy. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean_barker Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Hi Chris, I'm averaging roughly 3 l/hr at full fast trim flying near the top end of the weight range of my 31 synth. I think that to get close to the optimum numbers we'll need more efficient wings and we'll need to stay well away from the bar. That said I've repeatedly been told that fuel economy on a paramotor is just as it is with a car: it's as much about how you drive as it is about what you drive. Bring on the cruise-climb... Blue skies! Dean B Synthesis 31, Bailey 175 and loving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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