Flyingmonkey Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Have had the pee taken by Norman already, but the reality of the matter is... Where do old wings go to die?? -Is one that is no longer airworthy still ground-handling-worthy?? I don't know, you guys do. What seemed to be a really welcoming forum has already got a bit pprune-ish with me. Apologies for any offence, I just want to get back in the air without treading on any toes. Apologies for sounding a little gruff, but if you can help, brilliant, I can always swap you a few hours inside a PA-28 Arrow ®, if not, then enjoy your sport. Would love to be a part of it but I have had enough of people not playing the game.. SW and Norman, over to you............... Maybe we could work things out.?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 David, Pprune'ish Ahhhh! Why? Anyway, for what its worth here is what I think. There are others here who will give you the benefit of their considerable experience. If you really want to get into this sport you will eventually need a wing. Practicing with any wing will help you along with the basics of course, but it is the wing that you fly with that will be the one you need to be most familiar with. That is where I started, I went out and bought one because any money spent on a turkey is largely wasted. When you are done with it, and that won't take long, what do you do with it then? Unless you can get a great deal of course. Get back into the swing David, get a hankie to throw over your head! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Pprune'ish Ahhhh! Why? Is what I say too first off and then, Old wing, remove lines and skip. (make sure that it can not be found by children or similar who would try to jump off stuff with it.) You are welcome here of course as is anyone interested in the sport. SW:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Colin, (Weesplat) is selling an old Action (which is about as cheep as you are ever going to get a wing) Take a look in the for sale section. SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Hi Flying Monkey. Sorry I had not picked up on your difficulty. My old wings get cut up for windsocks, gliderbags etc. I would be wary of letting wings go in case they end up being flown again. Wings lose their shape and their integrity. stitching holes open up and they can tear along the join like toilet paper. Lines can snap and fabric becomes porous (although this is not the major problem). Ground handling a wing that no longer is safe to fly would (in my opinion) be counter productive as you would be learning to compensate for poor launch characteristics and it would make progress quite frustrating. My own view is that ground handling constitutes the major part of learning to fly these wings and using top grade equipment is always the best way to learn something difficult. Once airbourne it is actually quite easy. Getting airbourne and landing are the hard bits. These are the bits that need the most tuition and coaching. To attempt these without instruction on a poor wing , whilst entirely possible, would in my opinion lead to the development of poor technique and potential physical harm. You might say I would say that being an instructor but I do have the best interests of you and the sport at heart. Are you currently in a school or with an instructor? if so they would (should) have a wing in top condition for you to learn on. Most do one or two day intro courses so you would be able to see how you liked the sport before commiting too much money. Finally, to give you all the fredom of choice, you could try http://www.paramotorsuk.co.uk for second hand wings at all sorts of conditions and prices. This is an unregulated marketplace so caveat emptor; you will not be asked what you want it for or what your training has been. Best wishes, Francis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I completely agree with Francis. and one addition to what to do with old wings is to cut them up into about four pieces and make kites. I first started on a PG wing which l had used for freeflying and it had accumalated about 150hrs. Still fine for PG but it was a bxxxxxxd to launch with a motor. I thought it was me doing something wrong. Then when l got the Synthesis, it was a completely new ball game. The wing come up when l wanted it to and stayed nice and stable throughout the launch. So yes get a new wing and practice your groundhandling with that. The rest should come that little bit easier. IMO Regards Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Just to add that if you go to U Tube and type in "Mike taking off" you will see how easy a new wing launches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Or just watch it here SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard1910 Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Hi Flying Monkey.Ground handling a wing that no longer is safe to fly would (in my opinion) be counter productive as you would be learning to compensate for poor launch characteristics and it would make progress quite frustrating. I completely agree with francis here, i was taught by paragliding first then did a 2 day motor conversion course, i spent hours and hours, in fact days practising kiting with the same wing i'd used for Paragliding, then when i started my short conversion course i was given a different wing to fly with, consequently i struggled (that's an understatement), couldn't get off the ground, broke 3 props, crashed into a tree, hit a wall and so on, all due to not getting any ground handling in with the wing i was expected to fly with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_b Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 My first wing was an Eagle genie paramotoring wing (without trimmers so basically a paragliding wing) I learned to paraglide on this up to CP level then went on to the motor and had no problems. When I bought a Reaction I had no problems at all just had to get used to coming in faster and taking off faster. If you can pick things up easy (watching how other people do it ) then I personally can see nothing wrong with learning on a paragliding wing or using an old wing to ground handel. But why would you buy a wing that you cannot fly? if you get one for nothing to GROUND HANDEL ONLY all better. I would suggest that you use the schools wing to learn on or if you are going to teach yourself (not recommended in my opinion) buy a wing that you can fly be it a reflex or non reflex (depends on how much you have to spend). Colins got a action at a very good price and I have the genie for sale both are in the for sale section. No one is being negative or putting you or anyone else down for trying to get in to the sport as cheap as possible we are all here and giving our bits of advise as we see it, you may agree with some and disagree with others. At the end of the day we all want you to enjoy paramotoring and to train and fly SAFELY and with out hurting yourself. If you have any other questions feel free to ask its the best way to get information and advise then you can decide which is the best way foward for you Nough said Pete b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norman Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 So the lessons seem to be:- If there is any use left in a wing, who is going to give it away?If it is shot (porous) , why try and learn to ride on a dead horse - it can't teach you much.The only wing you want really, is the one you are going to fly. You want to grow a relationship with it. Got that - did that help David? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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