Pete's Progress

[bernoulli]

Did my taster day at Airways this past w/e.....well half of it!

I have to say, the staff are exceptional up there at Darley Moor. Can't do enough for you always smiling/chatting/interested. I had a very young (Lorrie) instructor who was years ahead of himself in maturity and his teaching technique was exceptional - thanks L. I got the distinct impression that this company was most definitely a BHPA operator practicing to a very high standard (As a helicopter instructor with 000's of hrs it's easy to spot the cowboys).

Anyway - I digress. Got the hang of this ground handling well enough to get hooked up to the winch just as the wind peaked at 18kts and gusting. It meant the day for me ended just as I was getting worked up!

Another visit is planned to complete the taster day.

I have a question for you 'expert's' though:

To go paramotoring as a novice and hopefully intermediate shortly thereafter, would it be true to say I would need a wind operating band of between say 5 and (max) 15 kts to enjoy the sport? Anything less than 5kts means lots of effort trying to get airborne and anything > 15kts means shutting down for the day.

Second question: How many of you go flying on your own, or do most PM drivers hook up with the local club, other drivers to enjoy the sport?

Third Q: How easy is it to find a suitable takeoff strip within close proximity of your home. Fields / beaches / commons etc.......

Ta in advance.

[bilbosmeggins]

Glad you are pleased with the service that Airways are offering. I'm booked in there myself to do my power conversion course so that's real good to hear. As regards strength of wind, speaking as a free flyer you understand, you need also to factor in gust strength. Big variances in wind speed can be catastrophic for a paraglider wing. I might bump into you soon at Airways as I'm keeping a close eye on any available opportunity to fly at the mo'. But then aren't we all

[alan_k]

Once your technique is good you can lower the 5 kts min, but some wind is always helpful.

As a beginner I would say 10 kts max.

I fly on my own 95% of the time, but I do always have radio comms to home.

Cheers,

Alan

[ptwizz]

I'm glad it's not just me who raves about airways quality of service.

I've not been in the air for a month now. The weekend at Beeston was washed out and subsequent weekends have been poor weather or other commitments. This weekend is my wife's birthday, so buggering off to Derbyshire isn't an option

In my limited experience: I've done a few winch launches in virtually zero wind - I didn't find the forward launches any more difficult than with a light wind - just a little bit faster on the feet and remember to keep running until I'm REALLY off the ground.

I would definitely avoid anything gusting much over 10kts. I've been dragged across the field once and the risk to myself and my kit is not worth it.

When I have my CP rating, I will be flying with my local club. By the time I have progressed to full pilot rating, I expect to be in a much better position to decide whether to fly alone or keep company. This is not a decision I believe I could or should make at this early stage.

My local club is about 20 miles from home, but there is a group of local pilots who have the use of a field just 4 miles away. I am also aware of at least one local farmer who has an interest in flying and would likely allow paramotorists to use his land.

Pete

Bailey 175

Ozone Indy

[bernoulli]

Thanks guys. In the grand scheme of things that wind envelope is marginal isn't it. Being generous it looks like between 2kts and 10kts perhaps and without gusts.

[bernoulli]

Oh well, decision time - sell my M3 and buy a paramotor or not.

Having done my research, spoken to several Paramotorists (?) done the taster day, seen the kit and spent hours observing on the relative forums, I have decided this 'sport' is not for me.

Without doubt the main factor is the 'fun time' when all the factors come together to make it a practical hobby:

Launch / recovery sites.

Time available.

And above all else: weather window (3 - 10 kts) which is ridiculously small for a country like GB.

For all of the above to come together often enough to make the hobby enjoyable - is very very infrequent.

And so, I shall look elsewhere to get my adrenalin buzz.

BUT a big thanks to everyone who found the time to help me with the Q's and A's and I wish each and every one of you a safe take off and landing.

Happy motoring.

[enzo200500]

Enjoy the M3....

[ptwizz]

Finally the planets align, the right kind of goat was slaughtered on the right hilltop and I managed to get back to Airways for a weekend.

Over 2 months of virtually no chance of flying I had been booked in three times, only to cancel each time as the weather turned against me. With this in mind, my expectations were low.

Things weren't looking any better as I had to detour round a flooded road a few miles from the airfield.

On arrival, the weather was looking reasonable so I started where I had left off, ground handling with the motor on my back. It doesn't take long for a 75kg skinny bloke to get overheated and knackered under a 35kg Bailey, so I was very glad that Rick (my instructor) was happy with my ground handling.

After a break to cool off, I got strapped in, started the motor and reverse launched the wing. I have to say I was very nervous about this. Everything I know tells me that spinning props and multiple lines are a poor mix. With the wing nicely placed above me, I spun round to face Rick. The thumbs up and waving told me it's time to hit the throttle and run. A few paces and Rick gave the signal to throttle down and cut the motor. Turning back towards the wing, I brought it down and was very happy to have brought the elements of wing and power together without incident.

Running with the motor on is a whole lot easier with the wing taking it's weight and the thrust pushing me.

The idea of this exercise is to simulate an aborted take off. A few repeats and I was becoming more comfortable with the idea of keeping the lines away from the prop.

On the fourth or fifth run, after just a couple of paces a small gust of wind was all it took to pick me up off the ground. In anticipation of the wind dropping as quickly as it had risen, I held the throttle full on until I felt I was no longer swinging forward under the wing. Easing off gently, I flared, landed, cut the engine and brought the wing down. This was to be my best landing of the day!

Technically, that was my first PPG flight - about 20 yards! I was relieved that I had not paniced or over-reacted when I unexpectedly took to the air.

After lunch and another couple of aborted take off runs, I was ready to go flying. I was briefed to make two circuits of the airfield, cutting the engine half way round the second circuit to glide in and land.

The staff at Airways had mowed a short strip for PPG take off runs, most of the field being covered by grass between a foot and eighteen inches high.

The wind had dropped enough that this was to be a forward launch. With the wing laid out I started the engine and gave her a good warm up, leaning forward so as not to blow my own wing away.

All the confidence I had gained with the reverse launches evaporated and I was worrying about prop and lines again. I paused for what seemed like an age while I checked the location of all the lines by looking back under my arms, concious of the fact that if I turned, I would be moving the prop close to the lines on the other side.

When I had finally satisfied myself that all was as it should be, I stepped forward and brough the wing up. Fortunately, the Bailey on tickover is quiet enough that I could hear the wing. I find the direction of the sound from the wing just as useful as feeling the pull on the lines as it comes up.

A step to one side and a small brake input had the wing nice and straight overhead, so I squeezed the throttle and ran.

I was expecting to get airborne well within the lenght of the mown strip, but I was leaning forward as I ran, directing thrust into the ground. I was several yards into the long grass before I became properly airborne. As my feet left the ground, I swung forward and immediately realised why it had taken me so long to get into the air.

Climbing rapidly, I was soon at the end of the airfield with a good 500ft altitude. I couldn't get myself into the seat, so I had to resign myself to dangling by my leg straps. Not comfortable and not conjucive to proper concentration on the task in hand. Turning across and then downwind I was concious of the rough air (more so when experienced through the leg straps!) and increased windspeed.

As I turned upwind again I was at around 1000ft. The airfield was beginning to look much smaller and the concept of keeping within it was becoming somewhat arbitary. Backing off the throttle to avoid gaining any more height, progress was slow into wind.

Finally I turned across and then downwind again and cut the engine. There was no way I would be landing this time round, so I completed another full gliding circuit. Even then, I was overcautious and began my approach from around 400 or 500ft. Gliding gently towards a landing 3/4 of the way down the field, I overcorrected a lateral oscillation and landed sideways. Not ideal, I thought as I sat in the long wet grass and my wing came down beside me. The landing was gentle enough not to have caused any damage to me or my kit, but my pride had suffered a dent.

A quick break, another bottle of orange squash and a brief from Rick and I was ready for a second go. I had fiddled with my leg straps in an effort to improve my chances of getting into the seat, so I had high hopes for a less tooth-gritting flight.

Another forward launch, this time with more confidence and I rememberd to lean back more as I ran. The wing swung to one side and I had to put in a lot of brake to be able to keep up with it. Just as I thought it was all going to pot it all straightened up again and I was off - and straight back down on my arse.

I had made the classic mistake of picking my feet up too quickly. No harm done, I was soon launching again. This time, everything went smoothly, I rememberd to lean back and I was off and climbing rapidly.

I still couldn't get into the seat and the second flight was almost a repeat of the first. Landing looked more promising, everything remaining straight as I approached the ground and flared. Just as I was expecting to feel my feet touch down, I saw a ripple in the long grass appraoching. I considered letting off the brakes, but by the time I had thought about it I was travelling backwards. I just lost balance on touching down and sat gently down. Unable to turn toward the wing, I pulled as much brake as possible and as the wing came down behind me, it slowly toppled me and my motor backwards, legs flailing in the air like a stranded tortoise. The long grass saved my prop from damage and I unclipped and climbed out of the harness with some difficulty. Fortunately I had landed at the windward end of the field again and nobody was treated to the full spectacle.

Another long walk back to the launch strip and Rick suggested it might be nice to land a bit closer.

I understand there are good reasons for learning to land in the right place, but I suspect there was an element of Rick's dissapointment at having missed the stranded tortoise act.

We took the Bailey back to the hangar and hooked up to the ropes to see what could be done about getting into the seat. A few expert tweaks by Rick and I could get in and out of the seat comfortably.

Back to the field and set up for launch. The wind was up and down, so I could choose either forward or reverse launch.

I went for another forward launch, so as soon as the wind dropped I was off. Rmembering to lean back into the thrust, I was quickly in the air again and at a couple of hundred feet pulled my knees up and slipped into the seat.

What a difference - this was now an enjoyable flying experience

In the comfort of my seat, I could start to think about flying as more than a series of course corrections. I don't know if it was the conditions, or the awesome power of the Bailey combined with the large Indy wing and skinny pilot, but on each flight I climbed at a rate comparable to what I had experienced on the winch.

I had a go at weight shift steering. If it works at all with high hang points, it was obscured by turbulance. I'll try that again on a calmer day.

After the first turn into the crosswind leg, I reduced to about 1/2 throttle and held that setting for a whole circuit. I was still gaining height, but that probably had more to do with the building cloud a little way downwind of the airfield.

I cut the engine at the start of my second downwind leg, but still arrrived at the windward end of the field with a lot of altitude to dispose of. After several 'S' turns, I was low enough for a reasonable attempt at landing somewhere near the take off strip. The approach was smooth, I flared at just the right point to settle on my feet virtually at a standstill and as the wing unloaded the motor onto my back, I sat on my arse again!

The technique for landing with a motor is, of course, a little different to that for a free flying harness. This is clearly something I need to practise more.

The building cloud were starting to look more threatening and wind was picking up. Another student had been in the air for several minutes from a tow launch and as we waited for him to come down, we decided to leave my last exercise (flight out of circuit) for another day.

I've passed the CP written exams, so some decent landings and the flight out of circuit will see me qualified as a club pilot.

The Airways boys and girls will be in Norfolk again in a couple of weeks, so all being well, I should be able to achieve the CP milestone in my home county.

Thanks to Rick, Andy, Laurie, Ollie, Shelly and all the Airways staff for putting up with me. On every visit, I have been the last one hanging around asking questions when they all want to go home.

Time to start swotting up for the Pilot's exam......

'till next time,

Pete.

[alan_k]

Brilliant Pete, such an enjoyable read.

Here"s to the next time

Cheers, Alan

[ptwizz]

Thanks Alan. I intend to keep up the blog to the full pilot qualification.

Pete.

[bilbosmeggins]

Hi Pete

Good read. Shall hope to emulate you tomorrow at Airways (weather permitting). Minus the landing on me arse bit . I did that last time I was there and cost myself £160 for a new cage quarter I shall continue to monitor your blog with much interest

[Guest]

This is a great blog dude

SW

[ptwizz]

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

Fortunately, my backside based arrivals have not resulted in any damage to the trusty Bailey. I think I just need to gain the confidence to support it's weight, rather than trying to get out of it's way!

Pete.

[s1buell_wl]

Confidence will make a world of difference. It's what all beginners need to find. However it's what the experienced need to tuck under their belt once in a while and remain humble and safety conscious.

Great blog and keep it up your almost there. Are you doing no winder's for take off?

I was watching the new guys here thinking of you last weekend. They take off with ease.... lol But only when the nice 5-6kn sea breeze genitally picks them up. With out this grace I was watching them run around like crazy's lol

It really make a big difference when your learning

[ptwizz]

I've not taken off in zero wind yet, the weekend was quite variable but I'd say I had at least 5kn each time.

Once I remembered to lean back on the run, the Bailey pushed me into the air quickly and I would be happy to try a launch into zero wind. At 6' and 75kg I can achieve a good ground speed for my weight.

"5-6kn sea breeze genitally picks them up" - they might want to loosen their leg straps

Pete.

[s1buell_wl]

I've not taken off in zero wind yet, the weekend was quite variable but I'd say I had at least 5kn each time.

Once I remembered to lean back on the run, the Bailey pushed me into the air quickly and I would be happy to try a launch into zero wind. At 6' and 75kg I can achieve a good ground speed for my weight.

"5-6kn sea breeze genitally picks them up" - they might want to loosen their leg straps

Pete.

ah shit lol didn't see that.... too funny

[ptwizz]

With the Airways guys in Norfolk again, I booked one of my few remaining holidays from work to take advantage of the opportunity.

The Beeston site of the Norfolk Hang gliding and Paragliding Club is quite different to Airways Darley Moor site. Paradoxically, the Norfolk site is on a hillside while the Derbyshire site is perfectly flat.

I set up at the west end of the east-west runway, and after watching a few other students making their in circuit flights, I was briefed by Rick to make my first out of circuit flight.

This was my first launch without direct supervision I would be flying to a location I was not familiar with and finding my way back to the site to land on one of the runways which cut through the crop of wheat.

Wind was virtually nil, so a forward launch was in order. With the motor warmed and ticking over smoothly, I started forward and was relieved to feel the wing come up quickly. A little too impatient, I pushed too hard on the A's and the wing collapsed to one side.

I re-arranged my wing (and the scraps of my pride) for another go. This time the wing came up and stayed up as I started running. A quick look up to check the wing was where I thought it was, then squeeze the throttle.

Since making the mistake of leaning forward during the take off run on my first flight a fortnight ago, I kept myself as upright as possible. Even so, the zero wind conditions made for a long run followed by a smooth take-off.

Climbing away from the site, I started making a mental note of places to land in the event of an engine failure. As far as I could see in every direction were large, flat fileds only occasionally interrupted by narrow roads, few hedges and the odd group of trees. Finding a safe place to land out was not likely to be a problem.

I kept the power on until I had identified my destination - Wendling airfiled, now disused with some large chicken sheds on what remained of the concrete runways.

At my altitude there was some wind and I was flying into it. It took some time for me to reach Wendling airfiled and I now had some considerable height. Easing back to about 1/3 throttle, I made a wide turn around the airfield to face back in the direction of the Beeston site.

Scanning the countryside ahead of me (i.e. much of mid Norfolk) It occured to me that I couldn't identify the site. I remembered some landmarks and started back the way I came. Just as I ran out of landmarks, I spotted the Beston site directly below me. I had been looking too far away.

After shutting down the engine, there followed several minutes of circling to lose height. By this time, there was enough wind at ground level to lift the windsock away from it's pole.

I lined up to land on the north-south runway about 30° from directly into the gentle wind. As I approached the ground at abot 50ft, my wing tipped slightly to one side and I over corrected, inducing an oscillation. Hands up and let the wing stabilise - too late! I was at the bottom of a lateral swing when I flared, took a couple of sideways steps and sat gently down on my arse - again!

Suitably reprimanded for failing to stay on my feet, I carried my wing the Bailey to the south end of the runway, where the other students had moved to now that we had a few knots of wind.

Rick estimated that I was at 3,500 to 4,000ft overWendling airfield. I have not yet learned to estimate my height above about 500ft. An altimeter is on the shopping list.

A break for lunch and a short wait for my dear wife to arrive with the spare batteries I had forgotten that morning, and I was ready for another flight.

Despite the very gentle wind, I was in the air in just a few steps. Rick later pointed out that I had kept the prop square to the ground and that it makes a lot of difference. Heading towards Wendling again, I backed off to about 1/3 throttle at about 1000ft (at least somewhere between 500 and 1500ft).

This time, I counted the fields between the Beeston site and Wendling airfield. Rounding the airfield I immediately located the Beeston site and kept 1/3 throttle on all the way back.

Arriving back at the south end of the runway, there was another paramotor in the air, turning to and fro to lose height before landing. I was much higher and it occurred to me that I had been gaining height through the whole flight on 1/3 throttle. The diet pays off!

At the south end of the runway, there are a few trees and a hedge immediately to the left side and the wind was from about 30° to the right. At 50ft I was out of the seat and determined to get this landing right and stay on my feet. An over-cautious attempt to keep to the right of the strip ended with an undignified landing in the wheat.

Rain brought the day's flying to an end around 5pm.

Back tomorrow for some circuits and landing practise.

[ptwizz]

Saturday promised some sunshine and little or no wind. Arriving at the Beeston site, it soon turned into motor problem day.

Airways motor had a broken wire and my Bailey had developed an intermittent lack of electricery. A piece of wire from the boot of my car fixed the Airways motor problem and after some searching I found a loose plug on the Bailey. With these minor issues out of the way, we were flying again.

Already, the sun had started doing it's thing and thermal acivity was giving an assortment of wind directions around the site. After a couple of aborted attempts, I managed a smooth take off and climbed out from the site in the general direction of Wendling airfield.

Rick had said I could spend a while bimbling about before landing, so I took the time to identify the relative locations of some landmarks and begin to create a mental map of the area. Beeston is my local BHPA site, so I'll need to know my way around.

Coming back to the site and lining myself up for a northward landing, I still had plenty of height and there was another paramotor in circuit below. I kept the motor on tickover while I waited to see what he was doing. Still some way from the strip on along approach, the other glider made his final turn into approach ahead of me, so I powered up and went round again.

On the second attempt, I came in too low and caught some rotor from the trees to one side of the south end of the strip. I sqeezed on a little throttle with the intention of straightening up and landing further along the strip. by the time I was straight, I was running out of strip, so rather than trying to make a good landing out of a bad approach, I went round for a third go.

This time I managed to judge the approac just right, passing the trees just above their tops, all was straight and smooth so I got out of the seat and cut the motor. Despite a slightly early flare, I landed and stayed on my feet, turning around to see the wing standing on one tip. A tug on the brake and the wing came down in a reasonably tidy manner. Finally a decent landing!

Rick was evidently overjoyed at this event, as he came running toward me cheering! I felt it would be rude not to join him.

After lunch I made another flight similar to the morning's expedition, but with the added entertainment of some stronger thermals. Clouds were building causing a bumpy ride as I flew through one thermal after another.

Another misjudged approach saw me making one more circuit before getting the height just right and achieving another quite acceptable landing

With two decent landings under my belt, Rick had seen enough and I am now signed off as a club pilot.

Thanks to Rick, Andy and the rest of the Airways staff for a very enjoyable adventure into paramotoring. Thanks also to Pete the Greek for advice and encouragement this weekend.

Time to start reading the syllabus for the full pilot qualification.

[pete_b]

Nice one, you are officially on the dark side now

Very nice blog that a lot of people will enjoy reading now and in the future

[ptwizz]

On the evening of Friday, 31st August, after a long wait, I took to the air for my first flight since passing CP.

Wind was virtually zero at Beeston and there were several hang gliders winching on the East-West strip. Two other paramotoring members of the club had arrived and we set up to launch across the width of the North-South strip.

Since I had earlier commented that I had made a couple of near nil wind take-offs during training, I felt I should set the example.

After warming up the Bailey and waiting for a break in the hangie towing, I pulled my wing into the air, took a couple of step to the side to centre myself under it and hit th power. About 8 paces of spirited running and the ground sank away beneath me. It felt indescribably good to be in the air again

I climbed to about 1000ft and turned back toward the airstrip. I circled over the strip at around 2000ft waiting for the others to launch. One pilot (John) was laying his wing out again - he'd had an aborted launch attempt. I circled for several more minutes, taking the opportunity to take some video (posted on this site).

The third pilot (Darren) launched and climbed to join me. I saw John make another aborted launch attempt, after which he packed his wing away. Darren headed off away from the airstrip, while I decided to stay within gliding distance.

More flying around and more video later, I noticed a slight mist forming in places. The sun was setting and it was time to head back to land.

I had guessed that I could glide to the airstrip, so I let the motor idle and headed back. I arrived back at the airfiled with plenty of height to spare. Curiously, the windsock was showing a slight breeze at 90° to the smoke trails from the various bonfires across the landscape. I made several S turns to lose height before lining up to land from the North end of the strip. The hangies and winch had packed away, leaving the whole field clear.

At about 300ft I hit a little turbulence and it occured to me that the windsock was probably indicating a warm air pocket drifting up the slope from the wooded area at the bottom end.

My landing was fast but smooth and reasonably dignified.

Eagerly anticipating the next flights...

Pete.

[ptwizz]

Since my last posting, I had a very brief flight from Beeston in September. Three of us had assembled at the field for a spot of aviation. I was the first to take off.

Climbing out from the strip, the wind changed from the gentle, staeady breeze at ground level to a rollercoaster at about 500ft. I suspected that it might be calmer higher up, but decided against it and came around to land, advising the other pilots of the conditions.

October was spent in Australia and New Zealand, unfortunately without flying kit.

Saturday, 7th December, I finally got into the air again. Darren (a fellow member of NHPGC) contacted me mid morning to point out that conditions would be ideal once the fog cleared. At midday, the kit was squeezed into my (Triumph) Spitfire, I was squeezed into thermals and a bright yellow overall which has become my flying suit, and I was off to play.

The site was sodden, but we managed to find a reasonably firm stretch heading into the very light breeze. We planned to fly over Beeston Brewery (owned by Mark Riches, who also runs the NHPGC and flys a Bailey).

My wing popped up without fuss and I was off after a surprisingly short run. Surprising not only because there was virtually no wind, but also because three months had passed since my last flight and I was sure I was going to forget something.

I climbed to 1000ft or so and circled the site waiting for Darren to launch. After his first abort, it occurred to me that I might be waiting for a while, so I parked the brakes and tried flying the Bailey on weight shift alone. It works - just. I can keep straight up to about 3/4 throttle, or make wide turns either way at about 1/3 throttle. I feel this is an adequate degree of control for bimbling about.

Darren had a couple more aborted launches, so after 10 minutes or so I landed. I've got a lot better at controlling the wing on the approach, avoiding the series of over-corrections that had characterised my earlier attempts. Landing was as smooth as I could have wished for, with the flare at just the right moment for a two-step touchdown.

Darren had a couple more attempts but was knackered from running through the mud with his full winter gear on and decided to call it a day. However, he very kindly offered to hang around while I had another flight.

My second launch was just as nice as the first. I climbed out and turned downwind (about 3 to 5 mph at ground level) toward Beeston Forge, about 2 miles from the strip. I was over the forge very soon and as I turned back into wind, I realised it was moving considerably faster at 1000 ft than it was on the ground, although still deceptively smooth.

I was making no progress at all, so decided to drop down to see if it was any lighter at 500ft. It wasn't.

There is an abundence of flat fields around,mostly without high crops, so landing out would not be a problem, just an inconvenience.

With plenty of fuel and plenty of time, I decided to climb back to 1000ft and take advantage of the smooth air to experiment with the trimmers. This would be a first for me.

I let the trimmers out a little at a time, stopping between adjustements to make sure I was still comfortable with the way the wing behaved. I was soon at full fast trim and I could see I was making progress. Not fast, but enough (i.e. quicker than walking with motor and wing!)

As I came closer to the strip, I let the motor idle to lose height and pulled the trimmers all the way back in. Progress into the wind halted and I had to keep the trimmers out until I was above the strip at about 300ft. Below this height the wind was barely bothering the windsock and I successfully executed another uneventful landing.

I managed to put the wing into a particularly muddy patch, so tomorrow will involve my occupation of the dining room for some careful cleaning and drying.

Two more flights under the belt and a new trick! - A good day for a wet December.

[ptwizz]

I'm not sure I should be instructing anyone on the basis of a few flights.

I have promised Darren a go with my wing. He seems to have a lot of trouble getting his (Revo) launched smoothly, while my Indy just pops straight up every time.

Ric at Airways recommended an 'easy' wing, because it's better to do a lot of 'tame' flying in the first year or so than to be stuck on the ground. This is a very sound piece of advice!

[mdr2000]

Hi Pete, doubt you'd remember me, we trained a few times together at Airways, I also fly the Bailey and the Indy.. Slow but nice and stable.. Good for gaining the hours but you mentioned the trimmers back there and from my experience not only does the wing travel better with them out but launches and lands better too.. Sure there would be some who disagree and would depend on how you fly perhaps but for me it is a better wing with them out full stop...

Mike

[ptwizz]

Hi Mike,

I've been launching and landing the Indy with the trimmers a little way out (as advised by Rick, particularly for nil wind conditions). My nil wind launches have become legendary (based on a statistical sample of not many).

From some ground handling practise, I'd say the wing is more prone to collapse in light wind with the trimmers out.

I presume this also means the wing is quicker to inflate with the trimmers in, during a low or nil wind launch.

I haven't tried launching with trimmers out, so couldn't say for sure.

Landing with trimmers out would be faster and presumably with better control and stability. This is OK if there's a bit of wind, but I'd still prefer a slower landing when winds are light.

Have you had the speed bar on the Indy yet?

[mdr2000]

Hi Pete,

Not tried the speedbar yet, intend to soon though, may make progress a little more interesting when a bit of wind maybe, to date like yourself it sounds there's been precious few decent days to fly let alone be choosy on conditions when it is.. Love reading your blog though, reflects so many of my own findings. I'm sure as soon as some of the lighter nights come in we'll gain even more hours and with varying conditions, these winter flights are good with the nice stable air, smooth as silk etc but the cold (and my ability to keep forgetting the gloves or worse keeping them where I can't get at them in flight) soon wears thin, some nice long summer evenings are looking more attractive as each day passes..

Keep this up mate, wish I'd thought of doing the same though I've been good and kept a decent flight log..

Mike