morgy Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I didn't see it as a dig That issue has now been resolved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 I'm under no illusions as to the reliability of modern 2 strokes. It's just the sound that is evocative of all the wrong emotions. I don't mind tiny 2 strokes (model aircraft engines). That sound reminds me of happy days and accidental inhalation of more than enough ether! Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgy Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 model 2 strokes turned me toward 4 strokes after my first 4 stroke RC i never looked back. But i do still have my 2 stroke weston magnum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzo200500 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Did someone mention a two squeek?.... Now this is a proper noise!! Swarbrick pipes and not afraid to use them. Got rid of the diesel last year - ZZR1400. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Can I have a go? SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzo200500 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 If you want Simon. Certain conditions apply..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 FIFI Understood. SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Dragging this thread back to the training blog.... My third weekend at Airways begins with a gusty Saturday morning. Too much wind for flying, so I had a small wing out for some much needed ground handling practise, then back inside for for some instruction on meteorology and rules of the air. Again, I cannot emphasise enough the value of good teachers. I have previously read all the information, but the meteorology only really came together in the interaction with the instructor. The unflyable weather allowed the opportunity to sit the EP exam, which was duly passed. I can now proudly boast of being a slightly qualified pilot I took my Bailey with me and spent some time dangling in the hang test rig. A bit of adjustment was needed to get the thrust line correct. The harness feels very comfortable and I have no problem reaching the master switch, pockets, adjusters etc. Under the supervision of an instructor, I went through the paramotor checks, got the motor on my back and started the engine. I had done this when I bought the motor, but under circumstances which limited me to a brief run at low RPM. This time, in a clear field, I was able to give it some beans and get a feel for the thrust and torque. A few exercises running around with power on showed how powerful the torque effect is. With a bit of thrust on (as much as I felt stable running with) the torque was enough to make a left turn virtually impossible. My feet were pointing left, but everything else just kept on going forward A little more practise and I learnt two things: 1) How to counter the torque effect and maintain control of my direction on the ground. 2) I need to be fitter. Sunday brought more reasonable wind speed, but shifting around. After some shuffling, the tow was set up across the width of the airfield. With a short tow in little wind, there wasn't enough height for any new exercises. On releasing, I had to turn back into the airfield and with little height, I was unable to get back into wind before landing. I mostly coped with this OK, except for one full frontal slide along the ground Back to ground handling with the full size wing and a lot more running about. See (2) above. Not much flying this weekend, but a lot of catching up with stuff I'd missed on previous weekends with constant good weather. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernoulli Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Pete, why didnt you do the course in one foul swoop?You must be progressing 2 fwd and 1 back? Still happy with the Bailey? I have booked a taster day with airways - waiting for better weather! Keep up with the blog. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzo200500 Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Sorry Pete.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 Enzo - no probs, just don't darken my blog with any more of those shameful 2 strokes Bernoulli - I had originally intended to do the whole lot in one or two blocks, but I was warned off the idea by a few pilots who said I'd soon be too knackered to learn properly. With hindsight, I'd add my voice to theirs and recommend that if you're not a picture of youthful vitality, you shouldn't expect to do it all at one go. I don't feel like I'm losing anything in the spaces in between. Every weekend picks up where the last one left off and I've had a chance to review what I've learnt and re-read some of the literature in the light of my new experience. As for the Bailey, I can honestly say it's the best paramotor I've had. (100% of a sample of 1 paramotors featured in this survey) I don't have any basis for comparison, but I'm happy with the characteristics I've observed so far, i.e. easy starting, smooth running right from cold start, smooth build up of thrust in response to throttle, acceptable vibration, comfortable harness, easy rigging, dismantling and access to evrything that needs checking. If you're going to book a weekend taster day, let me know when and I'll try to co-ordinate. It would be good to meet up and you could get a good look around the Bailey and the school motors. Cheers, Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernoulli Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Very kind Pete, I'll do that. Remind me where you live? I thought the beauty (or one of them) at Airways was the winch launching?? What's all this running around malarkey??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 What's all this running around malarkey??? Practice for the real world SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Bernoulli - I am in Norfolk - it's written under my name on the left The Bailey is residing at Airways until I've got my CP. It makes no sense for me to cram it into my Spitfire every time. Running about is required to get used to the weight, thrust and torque effects of the motor on my back. Ground handling also involves a lot of effort until you get reasonably good at it. The winch makes the flying exercises straightforward, but there's more to it than that. The vast majority of problems encountered by pilots involve the ground, so it's a good idea to get good at all the stuff that happens there before I think about trying to manage a wing and a motor together. One might consider the process to be similar to learning to ride a motorcycle. Much better to learn to ride a bicycle first, then deal with the engine and gears without falling off. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 After four weeks I finally have the right combination of domestic commitments, weather and the gods of opportunity to do some more training. This time, I decided to travel from Norfolk to Darley Moor on the bike on Saturday morning. Setting off into thick fog at 05:30, I just made it for a 9:00 start somewhat mentally drained. The fog didn't clear until just before lunchtime, so more ground handling practise was in order. This weekend was Airways 'New Products Weekend', so there was a lot of traffic with visitors trying out various aircraft. This coupled with the wind direction limited the extent of flying through the rest of Saturday, but I did get a few more circuits in. Sunday started much brighter and less busy. The wind direction allowed for a good long tow and I had my first experience of thermals. To one side of the airfield is a Shire horse farm, with a long stretch of concrete adorned with a huge pile of detritus. Over that area was some turbulent lift, very bumpy, but if I kept off the brakes and steered by weight shift, I could actually gain some height! I had switched from the medium size Element to a large size Indy wing. I will be flying the Bailey on the large Indy, so this was a good opportunity to try it out. Despite being well under weight for free flying, the Indy responded just as well as the more heavily loaded Element. The large Indy allowed stationary landings in virtually nil wind. Later the wind shifted round again and was up from the earlier 4-6kt to 10-12kt. I took the opportunity to do some ground handling with the Bailey on my back. This is where the extra weight is really felt. Normally one would get the wing in the air, run and power up and be off the ground. I was getting the wing in the air, running (or more often standing still and trying to keep control of the wing), putting the wing down and starting again time after time. It really takes it out of an old git like myself. Another 170 mile ride home and I was very ready for a good nights kip or three. While the busy traffic of Airways 'new products weekend' probably slowed the progress of training, it did offer the opportunity to watch a number of seasoned pilots flying an assortment of wings and motors and to hear their comments, which adds to the experience. Looking forward to the next session and getting the Bailey in the air. Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1buell_wl Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 What did you think of the thermals? From your description there where really small and possible broken. I fly on the shores of Brasil quite a bit, we have a black almost volcanic like rock that kicks off thee "bullet thermals" I like to call them. wow they hit you hard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 It was my first experience of any kind of thermal. It was definitely not a smooth increase in lift, but a series of distinct bumps. I've no idea of what a large or small thermal feels like. I didn't have a vario so I can't give you any objective data. Cheers, Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outkast Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 It was my first experience of any kind of thermal. It was definitely not a smooth increase in lift, but a series of distinct bumps.I've no idea of what a large or small thermal feels like. I didn't have a vario so I can't give you any objective data. Cheers, Pete. spring thermals are always more punchy than summer ones, as they are travelling through cooler ambient air, so the tempreture differance is greater in the spring. summer thermals wil still give you tons of lift but in a smoother way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1buell_wl Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 It was my first experience of any kind of thermal. It was definitely not a smooth increase in lift, but a series of distinct bumps.I've no idea of what a large or small thermal feels like. I didn't have a vario so I can't give you any objective data. Cheers, Pete. Yea those you cant really call thermals. They are more like small areas of rising air. The rising air is not big enough for you to enter and "core". A real thermal is big enough you can enter and fly in circles always listening to the rate of your Vario allowing you to flow with the core of the thermal as it drifts with the area wind direction. So the bumps you feel are when you enter the rising air pockets then leave soon after or even move between different intensities of these pockets of rising air. But when you hit a nice big "juicy" thermal its great! You just need to enter and exit right if it's a 5+ per/sec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 Hi S1, I assume 5+/sec means more than 5m/s climb rate? Why do you need to enter and exit right? Do thermals rotate due to Coreolis? or is this so that other pilots are circling the same way? Cheers, Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1buell_wl Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 yes 5 meters per sec. Well its physics really (For every action there must be an equal or opposite reaction) As the surface of the earth is heated it creates a heated air mass (thermal), As this bubble of air becomes bigger and begins to move around or can be pushed with the wind until it hits something. This something is called a "trigger" here is a good link http://www.aviationweather.ws/095_Thermal_Soaring.php If a thermal is strong it creates strong wind shear. This is where the physics comes in. You have a large air mass moving up something must fill the void. So outside of the thermal and its core the air is flowing down "sink" As you enter/exit the thermal you will experience this change of air direction, so you much enter and exit fast because as you can imagine at some point half of your glider is going up while the other is going down! You will also some time feel your glider leading edge being pushed back as you try to enter the bubble, then it will "bite" into the bubble (grab those brakes!). Then enjoy your elevator to the clouds! Have a read hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Ah, I see, 'enter right' = enter correctly, not enter in a right turn. Thanks for that, I'll have a read later when I have more than a tea break's worth of time (MOS) Pete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 Another weekend of borderline flying weather was predicted, but it had been a few weeks since my last foray into the skies and I decided to risk a trip to Darley Moor. Saturday morning was bright and sunny with a cold northerly wind around 8mph gusting to 12mph. A bit of ground handling with the large Indy wing and I was expecting to struggle with the wind on the tow line. As it turned out, tow launching with that much wind was considerably easier than I expected. I had not performed reverse launches on tow before, but all went smoothly and I shot up like a kite, getting a good high launch, enough to make two circuits before landing. Somewhat over cautious of the wind, I landed at the north end of the field and had a long walk back to the launch gate. By my third flight of the morning, the sun had heated various patches of concrete and a plie of tyres in an adjacent field, creating a bunch of thermal activity and making things more interesting. Having gained some confidence with regard to windspeed and groundspeed, I managed to land a few feet from the launch gate. Wind and thermal conditions picked up quickly and a few spots of rain were enough to drive us inside for some theory. Predictions for Sunday weather were not good enough that I was likely to be making my first powered flights, so I returned to Norfolk to wait for a better day. Before leaving Airways, I bought a wing. The Indy that I have been training on since last month is now my own! It was just after I had done the deal that I was informed of Airways Norfolk training weekend with FlyNorfolk at Beeston. I was not going to miss the opportunity of some training closer to home, flying from a different field and the chance to meet my local club. My motor has been stored at Airways since I first took it there and now I had a wing to shift as well. If I was to fly at Beeston, I would need to get the whole lot back to Norfolk. Did I mention I drive a Triumph Spitfire? I can now show that it is possible to get a Bailey, a large wing, a tent, sleeping bag, airbed and a 6' bloke into a Spitfire. Looking forward to a weekend with Airways at FlyNorfolk's Beeston site and hopefully some powered flying. Pete Bailey 175 Ozone Indy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernoulli Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Keep us informed Pete - got my taster day at darley moor this w/e?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwizz Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 Hi Bernoulli, I'm away at a motorcycle rally this weekend, so I won't be flying. Looking at the forecast for Darley Moor you might not be flying either. I assume Airways have advised you to call in at the latest opportunity to check. No doubt our paths will cross sooner or later. Pete Bailey 175 Ozone Indy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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