New Comer

[theguy]

*this is the second time im posting this as the first one never showed up. if its just a delay showing up please delete the duplicate and accept my apology*

Grettings all,

I'm a newcomer to the sport of paramotoring, and i have about a billion questions. First is obviously equipment. The easiest company for me to find on the web is paratoys, so I;ve contacted them and asked them a bunch of questions. In doing research i came across super del peddling his flat top. He seems to have a vendetta against paratoys, and they've entered into a youtube skirmish, and i cant tell which paraglider is better, or safer, or anything, so i;ve come to the community. Can someone out there shed some light on the benefits of u-turns flat top over paratoys and vice versa?

Now, i live in utah, and i want to do some pretty long cross country flights across some pretty gnarly national forest, and there is a chance i'd be going solo on some of these (i know i know horrible idea), so my question to the community is what is the absolute most reliable engine out there? is there a honda of the paramotoring world? same question for a wing, is there one wing over another wing? what do i even look for in a wing? im assuming the wing question is a stability queston.

My last question is pretty specific. there is a local nut here in town that has way too many para-things. i went in to talk to him and he has a paramotoring setup he'd sell to me. it's a fly 100 that has 3 hours on it for $4800, with an epsilon 3 wing with 50 hours on it for $1000. when i looked up the fly100 that seems more like an engine and not a whole paramotor setup. can anybody tell by the price which harness this is? i know it has a 4 gallon tank on it. Im going to go take a look at this thing friday and will be able to tell you more about it then. can anyone tell me about fly products safety and reliability? can anyone tell me about the eplison 3 and maybe compare it to the paratoys or u-turn k2 wing? (sorry those two products just seem to be the easiest to find on the internet)

thanks again

[Farmer_Dave]

Hi

I've run a Flat Top in the UK for 2 years and clocked about 120 hours now. It's big on power, economy and safety. The 200 Simmonini is probably one of the best for longevity,economy and power but some say it vibrates a bit.

I do like the unit and, looking around, I'd say it's a good choice and one of the lightest Simmo powered units. Only problem I've had (machine fault) is having to change the muffler mounting bolts, periodically, before vibration breaks them. So basically, FT's are a bit pricey but you probably wont spend much on running repairs. Oh yes...It doesn't eat propellors either.

You're in the right part of the world to get fast service, which I've also found to be good, when I needed a part which I bent recently.

We were talking about the K 2 lastnight with a chap who test flys wings and rights reviews. It was thought that re-inflation, after collapse, would likely be quite quick. Launching would be easier as you could also reverse launch in lighter winds. But you'd probably need to take more care of the fabric to get the total hours use from it. I know a chap over here who's bought one and he likes it.

Dave

[skyraider]

I have just purchased an F-200 WJ and found the vibration noticable but I was wondering if that is just the sensitive nature of a low hang point position? Do they vibrate more or is it just more noticable? I would be interested to try the motor on a high hang point machine to study this theory.

Marko D

[Farmer_Dave]

Not sure on that score Marko, but my gut feeling is that you will feel vibration, through the seat, regardless of hang point heights, wether prop or engine induced.

I had an e f 200 WJ before this one. Watch the exhaust / barrel studs. They stretch and always need tightening. Might pay to drill some bigger threads and put next size up in there if possible. Might be the way I tuned it but it seemed to run a bit warm and used more fuel than the Simmo too.

You spinning a 125 prop or the 130 Marko ? New machine or s/h

Dave

[skyraider]

Thanks Dave, much appreciated heads up on the weak spots. My prop is a 3-blade composite and I also have a 2-blade wooden spare...I jsut bought the unit on a whim last weekend because I can't get a piston to fit my early macro with the ported goodies etc. maybe I will refit that one with a 160 rotary if the boys are nice to me...but the prope size question I have to tell you I don't even know yet (prolly the longer one) only foot launched it once (under a reaction) and it worked so I'll run her and wait for my JET back. Will repost when the F-200 gets fitted to the new tandem Flash Trike

Cheers,

Marko D

[learner_driver]

Here is some wisdom that I have imbibed from others.

In my quest for what is the most reliable powerful Paramotor / economical.

I ask all the wise long time flyers

Only one name came out.

Simonini mini 2 plus.

Were they correct.?

I think so because other wise why would

so many manufacturers use this engine.

I would also consider the fresh breeze if I were you.

PS how much do you weigh?

Simon

[theguy]

OK, so i went and saw this guys stuff. what he has for sale is a 2007 fly products Race C deluxe for 4800, and an epsilon 4 wing. the fly products he bought new, and put 4 hours on it, the wing he bought new and put about 40 hours on it. the wing was manufactured in 2004. He has a TON of PPG type stuff, and what he;s been flying the most the last few years is his powered parachute, and ppg trike. this is one of the reasons the fly products motor has hardly been used, and is willing to part with it. He also has a 3 blade carbon fiber prop for this unit he'll give me for free, and he said he'd work with me on ground control to give me a head start on getting licensed.

so what i get:

2007 fly products race C deluxe with 2 blade wood prop and 3 blade carbon fiber puzzle prop - $4800 (it also comes with the suit case)

2004 epsilon 4 - $1000

head start on lessons - free

My big question here is on the carbon fiber 3 blade. how much more thrust can one gain from going from the stock 2 blade to the CF 3 blade? is there a gain at all, or is it just more efficient?

my second question is the hang points. im 6'4 170 lbs, nice n skinny, but can someone explain to me this whole active hang points thing? i feel like i understand hi and low points, but not active points. what does that do, and are there benefits?

Here is some background on the guy. He lives here in my town, a super small town of 1300 people in utah. He's 62 years old, flew F4's in Vietnam, went back to the armed forces as an aircraft mechanic, moved to utah to go back to school and decided against it. he became an aircraft mechanic, and then fleet manager for a large comapy here, then retired and opened his own auto repair shop. that's acutally where i met him, and kept going back as i too was a mechanic once and he is as honest and no BS as they come. he got into hang gliders, then para gliders and eventually the powered stuff about 20 years ago, he has a powered hang glider, and powered parachute, a trike that he uses both with a paraglider and hang glider. the trike has a walker jet with Simonini 200 in it, every now and again when he does foot launch stuff, he uses this ppg instead of the fly products.

Now here;s what im thinking. i was able to strap this unit on, and really liked it, plus the goodies i got for the money. i think i may buy this paramotor from him, then buy a new wing. i'm still really liking the cima K2.

thanks again you guys.