PatPux Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 No experience, personally, sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_b Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 What do you want a ground adjustable for ? Sent from my iPhone 6 prototype using PMC Forum mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatPux Posted April 1, 2014 Author Share Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) Day 30 and 31 29/314 & 1/4/14 Flight 14 So a bit of a break from my last disastrous outing, but I have to admit to yet another broken prop last Sunday. So desperate was I to get back in the air I rushed things and committed the cardinal sin of sitting down before the wing was flying and there was that horribly expensive sound of splintering carbon meeting extruded aluminium and turf! This time I really went to town and did the netting in two quarters and another line! All completely avoidable and inexcusable. I had already identified Tuesday as a flyable day and I knew if I didn't get the thing fixed and " get straight back on the horse" I was in danger of canning the whole thing. So, luckily I had another prop, and a spare emergency line, so that was sorted before I left the field. What to do about the netting? Well you may gave seen another thread about what netting to use - no pun intended! Well a quick call to George Holmes to see if I could scam some of the 200m reel he had bought! No problem, he'd just got in so a quick detour to Yate, where best flying plumber in the West not only gave me the netting thread I needed but restrung one section while I was there. Top Man, thanks , mate. So by the end of the evening I had a machine ready to fly again and ready for Tuesday. But was I? That was a serious issue, two very expensive pranged launches and I was without doubt suffering something of crisis of confidence. So I was pretty nervous as I drove to Membury this morning, and with the fog not lifting till around midday that was a state of mind that persisted through the morning. In every sense I could not afford to fail again! I thought I would go right back to basics and get Col to take me through the launch with the radio, just like a first timer. As it happened that turned out to be no more than a comforter, because I couldnt actually hear a bloody thing! Needless to say , you have probably guessed by now , from the fact that I'm writing this rather than loading my gear into a skip and taking up needlepoint that I actually did get back in the air ! In the end it was a textbook forward launch with no drama and to put the icing on the cake I managed a two step stand up landing on my return from a 25 minute bimble around the Membury mast. Others there today were George getting back in the air after his argument with the barbed wire fence and having a nice little local flight, Chris getting airborne again, David preservering through a few fluffed launches to get his third and fourth flights in. Good to meet Mike, too, an example that you do reach a stage of "not forgetting", back to it after a year and flying like he'd never been away. So thanks for getting me sorted Col, and hopefully that'll be an end to me trying to use a paramotor as an agricultural implement rather than a flying machine. Edited April 2, 2014 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Good news Pat, well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richfromwilts Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Well done Pat. Couldn't get up today because of work pooh but well pleased you got off the deck clean. I don't know if it's relevant but I've noticed the harder you pull up the wing with physical effort the more likely you are to starting bent slightly face down with the motor trying to turn you into a rotavator. Let that motor take the strain of initial inflation. how do you do this......only kidding good job. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paramotormike Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 The very nice bunch of chaps at Membury today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 It was nice to see you mate. SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmouse Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 well done Pat. Glad to see you got back in the air again . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatPux Posted April 2, 2014 Author Share Posted April 2, 2014 Thanks for the encouragement, guys. Just hope I don't need it again, soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatPux Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share Posted April 13, 2014 13/4/14 Day 32 Back to Membury this morning after a little spin out there yesterday afternoon to watch a Spitfire displaying nearby. WeatherPro promised 7 to 8 mph early on but getting too strong later, so I knew it was a case of being ready to go early, if there was going to be any chance of getting in the air. Turned up at 8:30 and already it looked a bit livelier than promised, but I wanted to get the wing out anyway to replace the temporary D line I had in for the previously damaged one. So out it came for a bit of kiting, which I did. And then tried my ground handling harness, which hadn't been out for a while. Had a few decent reverses in the ever increasing breeze I didn't take me long to realise that , while flying was going to be possible, because the air was fairly laminar,you were just going to be hanging there going nowhere. And pretty soon it strengthened a bit more. So I made my decision not to fly and was gratified to know my judgement had been endorsed by SW by the time I got back to the car. I hope it's not tempting fate to say, but I'm pretty confident that I can read flyable conditions, now. Probably on the conservative side, but , hey, that's the right side to be. So , I replaced my line,- by far too much of an expert at that , now! Kited a bit more to dry the dew off and packed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatPux Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Had an interesting approach from the local Estate Manager whose field I have permission to fly from, that might either lead to payback for permissions on flying sites already granted or a good lever in seeking permission. He asked whether the next time I flew from there, I could take some photographs of the fields down by the Thames which were flooded and now will not crop in large areas where the water laid for 2 or 3 weeks. All for insurance purposes, I suppose. So maybe something to offer, if you know your farmers fields were flooded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Indeed it is a very valuable thing for a farmer to have at the moment. We have photographed out local landowners / councillors land a few months ago (for free of course) they were over the moon!! A good point, well made at a good time. People should exploit this if possible. SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilzy Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 We had a similar request from our farmer want some footage of drainage channels etc good to keep them happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatPux Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Days 33&34 Flights 15&16 May Bank holiday weekend was looming with promise of fair weather for the first part even if Monday was looking a bit blowy. It was a beautiful day which brought everybody out, so it was pretty busy on the airfield https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_ ... 5854994168 Before talking about any flying a bit about the weather on the Saturday. WeatherPro was showing a North Easterly 2mph gusting 9 , now that was the first time I had seen such a low wind speed with such high gusting speed. And it definitely felt like strange weather with what looked like high streets of wave cloud ( but I thought you needed Mountains for waves to form?) Anyway as has become the norm recently the wind was a little stronger than the forecast and although was variable in strength it was quite predictable with long spells of next to nothing and then long spells of steady 6-8, so by waiting you could choose to either reverse or go forward. Flight 15 I went reverse and got the wing up nice and easily, turned, with time for a quick steady up overhead before a smooth application to full power. No signals for direction correction from Col, who was spotting, so off I ran. With some major cock ups in the recent past I now have a pathological fear of sitting down too soon, so I try to NOT take off for as long as possible. On this occasion I wasn't feeling the love, so I just kept running, which with the wing taking the load isn't really a chore, but I was reaching terminal velocity for my harness trussed legs, so I tested with a little brake to see if it wanted to unstick and got a bit of a tug, a little bit more and away I came. Not with a spectacular climb, but enough to be safe, nevertheless I was glad I had given it that extra running. I find with my weight ( 16&1/2 stone) with the Macro V2 and the Synth 34 I will keep the throttle absolutely nailed to the stop for the first 2 or 3 minutes to make sure I give myself decent height. I had a nice little 20 minutes around the local area before coming in to land. It was quite bumpy aloft, certainly the most bumpy flight I had experienced. I have landed on a few occasions to hear other pilots say how uncomfortable they had found it, whilst I had noticed it, I hadn't found it disconcerting, this time it was quite pronounced, but at no time did I feel unsafe. I did an intentional low pass on the first run went round and set myself up to land but found I was getting a lot of lift on the approach, either from the berm alongside the runway across which I was approaching or maybe the field, so I was way too long. So I went round again, this time I came in fine , but quite fast , but actually telling myself ....wait.....wait....wait ......for the flare, but I was still a touch early so I got a nice level off but just too high still, so I landed on my feet but crouched to my knees, but I count that as not an arse landing! I've just got to hold on to it even longer, I'm convinced i should be waiting till my feet just about touch the grass before giving I a nice firm deep brake. Still the flight was a good confidence builder, and so with the wind changing to Westerly for Sunday I decided I would prepare for another decent XC and fly from Membury back to Pangbourne . Flight 16 http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=2764998 There was a nice steady 6 or 7 breeze so after my pre-flight check of all the gear.....2gps,camera, chest mounted GoPro, tank mirror, glasses, phone, I was ready to go. Though I say so myself it was text book reverse launch, which was a good start, so with a steady climb out to 500ft ( what would we do without the Membury mast?) I turned NE downwind, let the the trimmers out full ( still not managed that smooth throttle transition after you've parked the brakes) and set off for home. Opened up the flight deck and Turned the GoPro on for some footage, having remember the card this time, but ........oh no .........this time the battery gave out after about 30 seconds................one day! But at least this time I got a few photos. It's only a little Lumix point and shoot which I put a shutter trigger on so you can operate it with gloved hands. But I find it impossible to frame a shot in anyway because the display is just not bright enough to see, so it poit, shoot, hope, take lots and delete lots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba1 Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 Well done Patrick.You should have hung around for a second flight on Saturday.After waiting ages for the thermals to drop off I took off into the worst conditions I have flown in .On the ground it looked all good but once in the air it was terrible ,was getting bumped around all over the place.Just rode it out and came into land pretty quickly.Good job some of the newbees failed their launches as they wouldn't have enjoyed their 1 st flights. Shame I couldn't make Sunday I would have joined you on the flight to Reading.Maybe next time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_k Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 .......and well you should be chuffed Pat, you're doing some proper flying and taking some good pictures Alan PS Gis the boxter, I'm sure your wife could do without it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatPux Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 .......and well you should be chuffed Pat, you're doing some proper flying and taking some good pictures Alan PS Gis the boxter, I'm sure your wife could do without it Thanks, Alan. About the pictures....I can't see the screen on the back of the camera, it's just not bright enough. I just point it in what I think is the right direction, hope and take lots. What does everyone else do? I can't believe people like Gordon, who takes some great shots manages like that. On the Boxster...if you think you're man enough to come and suggest that, drop by..........but I'm not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatPux Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 Well done Patrick.You should have hung around for a second flight on Saturday.After waiting ages for the thermals to drop off I took off into the worst conditions I have flown in .Shame I couldn't make Sunday I would have joined you on the flight to Reading.Maybe next time Sounds like I did the right thing NOT staying for another flight. Defo for the next home run, though. Although Andy Bexx is planning an XC to take in all the different White Horses in the area......I like the sound of that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatPux Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 Blimey, Andy! I've just googled White Horses of Wiltshire and there's at least 15 entries.........I think I'm going to need a bigger tank or air to air refuelling http://www.wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppgwings Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Lol, I wasn't intending to do them all in one go Patrick! But sounds like a great competition! Also would be good to fly over the crop circles when they start appearing, so that's another one on my list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingreed Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 (edited) Nice one Patrick, I always enjoy reading your posts and these were no exception. Sounds like you continue to make similar progress to me; two steps forward, one step back maybe, but always learning learning learning... Made up for you Edited June 4, 2014 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatPux Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 ppgwings said: Lol, I wasn't intending to do them all in one go Patrick! But sounds like a great competition! Also would be good to fly over the crop circles when they start appearing, so that's another one on my list This is what doing them all would look like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ppgwings Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 What software is that your using Patrick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 Its an Iphone app called RunwayHD. Its free to download and then you can opt to pay for the mapping for your area. I / we have a discount code for the mapping (ping me if you want it) SW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatPux Posted May 6, 2014 Author Share Posted May 6, 2014 What software is that your using Patrick? Andy Yes, Runway HD ,as Simon said. As luck would have it, the demo air charts in the free version are centred on our area, so you can try it out before purchasing to see if you like it. All my flights have been in the demo area so far! You can customise it to your cruise speed and fuel consumption . I use it for planning only, ie input my route and use it to estimate my flying times and fuel load. The only thing I wish it did, is to allow you to input a wind speed and direction, rather than use the real time wind data. Whilst I realise that you need to run it just before flying to get the real data, you can't really plan in advance. Ie to see which routes might be flyable in certain conditions. You should get it and have a play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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