stuartasutherland Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I was sent SuperDell's latest youtube video yesterday. I found it difficult not to comment on him instructing ground handling and PPG flights with the student not wearing a helmet. [youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo]I said "For a man who goes on about other equipments failings in safety - I find it strange you send a student away without a helmet on! Nice vid though." Dell Said "Yes there are many many many extremely important factors to paramotor design that people need to know as their life depends on it. Helmet use with a Flat Top, on a beach, near water is not one of them. That's why it is important to train with true experts that know what is and isn't extremely important to your safety." Someone else said "I am sure that you are a very good intractor to be with, I can see you running around your students and helping them all the time. This way they are going to learn very fast..!!! Just one question, why dont you give them a helmet? This dune must be between San Francisco and Los Angeles right?" Dell Said "A helmet has very little importance in this scenaro. Certainly not enough importance to even waste a comment about. I could explain in great detail both sides of that but the bottom line is that it is not important enough to even discuss. People making comments about helmets are only those with very limited experience and knowledge in this industry" The oracle has spoken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugald Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 In Scotland you have to wear a helmet just to stay warm! I guess you could make the same argument about a squashy green hillside being safe enough that you don't need a helmet, but there is always something hard (other people's heads, walls, the occasional rock) so its best to be on the safe side - especially while training. Even if you are using frikkin' awesome gear! Must be annoying wearing a helmet in a hot country though, at least until you get up into the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmouse Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 this guy just seems like a complete monkey . for someone who thinks he is the best with the best kit in the world I would be expecting only the highest standards . And safety to be the main priority. There are old pilots, and bold pilots. There are no old bold pilots.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyfreefly Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I am sure he doesnt wear a helmet when training is because of the heat.........and as he has proved time and time again.. hes allready got a Hot-Head..... yaaaaa huuuu....fruckin...whhaaaa..hooo and the equipment he is using is the best and so would never hurt anybody because it always behaves impeccably Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer_Dave Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I dont get it atall. Hasn't he heard of being sued for damages ???? Freakin stooooooppidddd IMO ! Dave (flattopflyindellbashincoolpilotwhoalwayswearsahelmetanddontfloutthe500ftrule) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Possible risk + no helmet = tosser. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartasutherland Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 In the original land of "where there's blame..." And, just as an aside, he is sending his students on their first flights right out over the sea!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 (flattopflyindellbashincoolpilotwhoalwayswearsahelmetanddontfloutthe500ftrule) Love your new nickname Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer_Dave Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 Thanks Alan...bout right really...you know me...'least I 'ope's ya doooo. Stuart...yeah.....spotted that too.....over water+zero experience=drowning waitin to happen (or stoopid therefor) I gonna disappear now 'fore I get slammed for spottin all these errors ! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquatix Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 just as an aside, he is sending his students on their first flights right out over the sea!! Thats no problem - Dell can magically part the waves if they fall in ...... It kind of makes you wonder where his brain resides when he is so proud of the FT's crumple zone to protect the ass, but is indiferent to head protection .... Anyway his immense skills also exempt him from needing seatbelts for his children or safety catches for his handguns (or at least until he was caught) !! His blog clearly demonstrates the effects of not wearing a helmet, which is the best possible reason to wear one !! : http://dellschanze.blogspot.com/2009/09/dell-schanze-hero-once-again.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPK21 Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I have looked about and talked too many people that all wear helmets when flying. My question is how many people manage to land on their head from flying or have been saved by wearing a helmet? but to land on your head. this to me, seems like some bad luck. I get the broken ankles, legs, and back, has a high chance of happening. Does anyone here have videos of 1st hand stories of people that were saved by a helmet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 There are a number of helmet 'save's on Youtube. One guy was struck before he took off, by another guy taking off. Huge dent in helmet. The most common injury is when ending by on your side and then getting face planted into the ground. If you ever had to throw a reserve then you could end up any way up and landing anywhere! I fell off my bike years ago on ice and went hard onto my side. Without the helmet I would be dead - the helmet was split and I was knocked out. The problem landing on your side is you can't stop your head hitting the floor. An inquiry into a paragliding accident in the Alps debated whether the pilot would have survived if his helmet had stayed on his head. This is one of those things where the probability of whacking your head is small, but if/when you do, the risk of serious head injury is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 Always wear a helmet whenever you start your motor, even for maintenance. It's not worth the risk, people can get caught with kickback as shown recently on this forum. Also if you have a slip on wet grass (ground) you can get a smack on the head from the paramotor frame. There is an argument for always wearing your helmet as a trainee was dragged into a stone wall when ground handling when a gust made him lose control. Having his helmet on prevented injury, apart from his pride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilzy Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 My helmet still has the scar from my early years I landed downwind and was dragged a number of yards to be stopped by a set of steps no doubt would have been a serious injury if I had not been wearing a helmet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
custom-vince Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 for someone like D... to have a student die in training, not flying a paramotor still just training on a beach, ground handling upwind of rocks where the poor guy died of blunt force trauma to the head. You would think D... would be very strict on helmets when teaching. You think his super skills would not allow ground handling upwind of obstacles. He will argue that someone else was instructing under his guidance. I would argue if you have had any bad experience like this, you would be handing out helmets to everyone. There is lots of information on google, I will not link here or name the unfortunate student. simply Google for it. Accidents can happen, but then we change and adapt as to not repeat. We learn from it. That shows super skills, what I see is super stupid. I have flown without a helmet at times, I understand the risks a student does not. Majority of the time I fly with a helmet. It is somewhere to mount my gopro and my headphones are attached to the helmet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 Whilst sometimes tempting, I always wear a helmet - got a bang on the back of the head from the cage once, the lid made the difference between it being a problem and it being a non-issue. Why wouldn't you wear one? I always wear a lightweight helmet when ground handling too. It's just not worth the risk. I see people on YouTube without helmets but I always just think that they've never had an accident or witnessed one. It's the same with people I see riding a motorbike in a t-shirt - you just know that they've never come off and experienced gravel rash (or worse). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsquared Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 One thing people have not mentioned, is that it is surprising how little force it takes to sustain a head injury, granted our craniums are designed pretty tough, but even if you fall backwards from a standing position and the back of you skull hits a solid object, you will not get up in a hurry. Now add the momentum of a failed launch or tripping and falling while doing what we do into the equation Broken legs, arms, feet, hands will mend a broken brain normally does not, that is our "engine room" or "hard drive", you break that and your life will change forever, a helmet may be that difference between being a vegetable, to being able to fly another day 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 Yes, how many times do you hear in the news of the "single punch" that killed. Someone throws a punch and the receiver, who is knocked out, falls to the floor and suffers critical head injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
admin (Simon W) Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 On 9/28/2017 at 23:05, MrPK21 said: I have looked about and talked too many people that all wear helmets when flying. My question is how many people manage to land on their head from flying or have been saved by wearing a helmet? but to land on your head. this to me, seems like some bad luck. I get the broken ankles, legs, and back, has a high chance of happening. Does anyone here have videos of 1st hand stories of people that were saved by a helmet? it's not about landing on your head... It's (as 1 example) about landing and falling forwards and a 30 KG Paramotor smacking you on the back of the head. And yes, I have seen this happen. SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPK21 Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Thank you all for your replies. Would still be good to get some links to the related videos. I do have, and wear my helmet when flying. But I am also a biker, if I had my choice I probably wouldn't wear my crash hat all the time. If I intended on riding stupid and taking more chances then I want my hat and full padding. I think as my confidence grows, my want to wear a hat will become less. but I do intend on videoing most of my flights and don't think I could put up with the earache that would go with not wearing one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollyfox Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 isn't the guy in the video ("superdell") the guy who kicked an owl while paramotoring? (relevant just because if so, i'm not so sure he's the guy whose lead to follow.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 Yes he is. He might have good piloting skills but he is an arsehole. Very poor training safety and continual rule breaking, There are plenty more who are worth following. Check out Tucker Gott if you haven't already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PPG7G Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 (edited) I know I'm late to the party, but why would you need a helmet just to kite a wing? These are new students learning to kite and ground handle. Rest assured that Dell puts a helmet on everyone that straps on a motor. Edited October 11, 2018 by PPG7G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 It is easy to be lifted off the ground when kiting. It is also easy not to land back on your feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noddyc Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 I allways wear a helmet , was kiting when I yust started and having fun , got lifted off my feet about 4 feet , by a gust and got slammed on my side into the ground. I hit my head so hard with that I was shaken up :: without my helmet on it would have been a lot worse. Stay Safe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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