Paramotor Training Eleventh Day 10th, 11th, & 12th Flight

Eleventh day training with Dan Decker of PPGTennessee.com.

Three great flights and a touch and go. An awesome evening! It was cold but worth it.

I wasn't able to use my finger toggles with gloves on. I didn't realize how much I like using them. The first two flights I went up and did patterns flighing straight down the run way without touching down. Lower each time. The repair that I did to the throttle has really helped with control.

Dan had another pilot in traing there that was ready for his first flight. After he lanuched for his second flight I launched for my third. While Dan worked with him I just flew around the field at a higher alltitude. It was a blast to just fly around and relax. I watched the other pilot while I enjoyed the view. I flew in behind him and followed him in for his landing. A great landing too.

Then I was ready for another fly by followed by a touch an go. The touch and go was not great but I managed to save it and launch back into the air. It's a great feeling coming in with the motor still running. Feels lke you have options.

So, that's flight numbers 10, 11 and 12. And better weather is coming.

Filmed these with the Sony Action Cam AS30, Flip Cam, and iPad Mini. Used iMovie to put them together.

Paramotor Training Tenth Day

The tenth day of training started out great, but ended with me not flying or even taxing.

It was a cold morning in December so I was dressed the part and ready for it. Had the trike and paramotor all assembled and ready to go. Even got the engine warmed up before Dan got there.

As soon as he arived we laid the wing out on the runway and lined up the trike. That's when it starting going wrong. First the pull start acted up but we got it started. Then, the throttle was acting sluggish. That ended it.

It's just not worth pushing forward when things are stacking up against you. As the saying goes, it's better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than in the air wishing you were on the ground. It's not always the funest taking down your gear after a flight, but it's even worse when you didn't get to fly.

Paramotor Training Ninth Day 8th & 9th Flight

Ninth day training with Dan Decker of PPGTennessee.com.

Flight 8 and 9 today. I'm starting to get comfortable with the launches and being up in the air. Landings are just going to take time for me to get the hang of.

Filmed these with the Sony Action Cam AS30 and iPad Mini. Used iMovie to put them together.

Paramotor Training Eighth Day 6th & 7th Flight

Eighth day training with Dan Decker of PPGTennessee.com.

This is my first early morning launch and the first time at a new field. Two more flights. I was hoping to finish up training but we started to get a cross wind.

Did a quick taxi run and then set up for a launch. The dew was spraying me from the front tire. The first launch was good... The second, not so much. It was a great save though.

Both landings were a mess. I'm still having issues with throttle control and overcorrecting.

Isabella finished the morning by running the trike up and down the runway, getting soaked in the process from the dew off the front tire.

Filmed these with the Sony Action Cam AS30 and iPad Mini. Used iMovie to put them together.

Paramotor Training Seventh Day 4th & 5th Flight

Seventh day training with Dan Decker of PPGTennessee.com.

Had a slight breeze this evening so started out with some taxing. I managed to turn 90 degrees from one taxi way onto the main runway.

Two more flights with the landings getting a little better but still not as good as my original landing. I got some oscillation going on the second landing approach. I'm over correcting instead of just letting it fly. I also think I'm focusing too close instead of at a distance to manage direction.

Filmed these with the Sony Action Cam AS30 and iPad Mini. Used iMovie to put them together.

Paramotor Training Sixth Day Flight 2 & 3

Sixth day training with Dan Decker of PPGTennessee.com.

After tightening my drive belt and replacing an exhaust spring I was ready for my next flight.

We managed to get two flights in today but they were shorter flights. Take offs were good but my landings were not as good as my first.

The first landing of the day I didn't flair enough and ended up off sideways on the runway. The second landing I flaired better but come in off course again. Great flights though. I got to practice some turning in both directions and got a better idea of how much I can pull on the breaks to get it to turn.

In order to loose some altitude on the third approach Dan had me do four 360's. It was enough circling to get me slightly dizzy. I will definitely need to work on adjusting my senses to handle that.

Filmed these with the Sony Action Cam AS30 and iPad Mini. Used iMovie to put them together.

Paramotor Training Fifth Day and First Flight

Fifth day training with Dan Decker of PPGTennessee.com.

Today is the day for my first flight!

I got my wing back and it passed inspection. Paratour was great and took good care of my wing.

We started off with a few taxi runs with my wing. Oh what a difference it was. My Edel Power Atlas inflates and comes up so much easier than the practice wing. It felt like I was barely moving to keep the wing up.

After some good taxis Dan said I was ready to go up.

The plan was to fly a couple of patterns around the field and then land and get ready for a second flight.

Taxi with the wing… go full throttle… and… lift off!!! The feeling is both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Totally awesome! The take off was pretty smooth. My first turns were slow and cautious. I didn’t really know how much you can pull on the breaks. Taxing and flying are a bit different. I didn’t want to collapse the wing or turn too tight or go into a spin. Slow an cautious keeps you safe. The patterns went well. The landing was almost effortless. It felt great.

Once I was down, we looked over the machine again to be sure it was ready for another flight. We found that one of my exhaust spring bolts was missing. So much for the second flight.

Couldn't ask for a better first flight. It was awesome. It was awesome to have my kids there to experience it with me. They all want to fly.

Filmed these with the Sony Action Cam AS30 and iPad Mini. Used iMovie to put them together.