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.

Paramotor Trike Line Guides

I started my training with some temporary line guides made out of zip ties. They did the job but I wanted a better solution.

PVC pipe has come to the rescue before and I thought it would be perfect for this as well. I used some electrical grade PVC and started by cutting it to shape.

After I got to use them on a couple of taxi runs I noticed that my design need a bit more updating.

They turned out great and are easily removable.

I used my iPad Mini to film and iMovie to put it together.

Paramotor Training Fourth Day

Fourth day of training with Dan Decker of PPGTennessee.com.

Since my wing is still out for inspection we used the practice wing again.

My throttle control was better and that meant I had better runs per inflation. I even managed a full 180 degree turn at the end of a run.

Filmed these with the iPad Mini. Used iMovie to put them together.

Paramotor Training Third Day

I headed back out to the first place we trained to contiue my training. This was my third day of training with Dan Decker of PPGTennessee.com.

My Power Atlas wing is out for inspection so we used one of Dan's practice wings for more powered taxing. The practice wings is almost 30 years old and is a brut. I wore my shoulders out pulling the A risers for the launches.

I really need to get a better feel for the throttle controll. By the end of the runs I was doing much better. This wing comes up with a totally different feel than my wing. It was great practice.

Filmed these with the Sony Action Cam AS30 and iPad Mini. My daughter Ashlyn used the iPad and I tried a new mounting location for the Sony Action Cam, let me know what you think of it. Used iMovie to put them together.

Paraglider Finger Break Toggles Add-On

After trying to learn to manage break toggles, throttle, and A risers all at the same time I decided to try something a little different.

I saw these Finger Break Toggles on Ebay and decided to try something like them.

I added them directly to the original break toggles so I could use either option. They are great for training. It's a lot easier to just have my finger controlling the break lines and the rest of my fingers to handle the throttle and A-risers.

I used my iPad Mini to film and iMovie to put it together.

Paramotor Training Second Day

Got out for my second day of paramotor training with Dan Decker of PPGTennessee.com.

Switched up the location to T-Top Airfield in Eagleville, TN. This location has much longer runs that we were able to take advantage of.

Started out with more taxing by towing but using the longer runs. I was able to get more used to catching wing issues and correcting them. I also realized that I was paying far more attention than necessary to wing and not where I was steering the trike. To the point where I ended up with a good sun burn on my face since I was starring up at the wing so much and the sun was right there. Considering that the Sony AS30 Action Cam was pointing into the sun it produced some great videos.

By the end of the day I was doing better focusing on both direction and wing. Enough so that Dan thought I was ready to power up the Fresh Breeze Monster paramotor and try taxing without the tow. My final run was a solo taxi using the paramotor engine for the first time.

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

Paramotor Throttle Palm Rest Add-On

Here is a little add-on I created for my Fresh Breeze Monster paramotor throttle. This should work for any round handled throttle. I was having problems with the throttle control twisting in my hand. It would twist enough that my fingers couldn't reach the control.

I had some flattened PVC left over from another project. (You can see how I get flat PVC from drain pipe on my other channel here: http://youtu.be/dWgqGPs9oPM )

I formed it around the throttle handle and secured it with zip ties. It lines up with my palm as I hold the throttle and keeps it from twisting. It works great!

Paramotor Training First Day

I was finally able to catch up with Dan Decker of PPGTennessee.com and start training.

We talked about the way he wanted to train. He explained that he like to minimize equipment and personal damage as much as possible. Sounded good to me.

Since I have a trike to mount the paramotor on, we started off with him towing my trike with his quad. It’s a great way to practice taxing and wing control. This also helps to reduce equipment damage and allowed me to focus on just controlling the wing.

Dan is great and has a good supply of patience and humor. He also has some great experience and teaches well.

13th & 14th Day Kiting / Ground Handling Paraglider

Out kiting with the Edel Power Atlas paraglider. I’m getting better with plenty of room to grow. I'm also a bit behind in posting these updates. I'm working on my training videos and will be posting them soon.

Day 13 kiting. Had some time in the evening, so ran down to a hill my friend had found for his RC Versa Wing. He ended up meeting me there and flew his wing around while I kited mine. Some good wind but it died off.

Day 14 kiting. Took the family down to Destin FL. Where there is a beach, one should fly kites, especaily big ones. Unfortunately, there were a bit too many people and I was having a hard time keeping sand out of the wing. I did get in a few minutes fo kiting though and had a fellow paramotorist fly by.

For what it is worth, I filmed these with the Sony Action Cam AS30 and iPad Mini. Used iMovie to put them together.

9th, 10th, 11th, & 12th Day Kiting / Ground Handling Paraglider

Back out for more kiting bliss... Or is it more like challenge... Err character building...

Day 9 kiting. Got out for some quick kiting. It was slightly windy, mostly gusty. Not the best inflations or kiting but I still learned some.

Day 10 kiting. Took my daughter Isabella to a park near home. It was pretty windy. I end up getting pulled around quite a bit. At one point I end up in a mud puddle and end up falling. wrapped the wing around a pole too.

Day 11 kiting. First time kiting with my daughter Ashlyn. She did the filming. Started at the normal hill near my home but there was only gusty wind that kept switching up. Left there and went to a park south of home and tried again. Windier and got a couple of good inflations. Got pulled around some too. Ashlyn's enthusiasm is great.

Day 12 kiting. My best kiting yet. Good winds and with good wind direction and consistency. Some great pull and fun. Oh my, it's fun. You can kite just about anywhere at least once. A nice gentleman from the nearby business politely asked me about my big kite and then ask that I not fly there. I was polite back and thanked him for letting me know.

6th, 7th, & 8th Day Kiting / Ground Handling Paraglider

Out kiting / ground handling the Edel Power Atlas paraglider again.

Day 6 kiting. Out with the harness again. Only had a few minutes.

Day 7 kiting. Decided to just kite by hand today. Went well enough. Got a couple of good inflations with several not so good ones. Had an audience of kids to watch. The kids really get a kick out of it.

Day 8 kiting. After hand kiting for a bit I put on the harness and tried running down the hill with a forward launch. Tried to get some lift... just enough to land on my butt. LOL

5th Day Kiting / Ground Handling Paraglider

This was my 5th day out with the Edel Power Atlas paraglider wing kiting / ground handling it. Actually it was more like a dance.

This field is a little more open but is lower and surrounded by houses and trees. I'm getting a little better but it took a bit to get a feel for it today. I haven't had that much time kiting yet, about 2 hours so far.

4th Day Kiting / Ground Handling Paraglider

Found a great overlook near my home that is higher than the surrounding area. Not the biggest area though. I need to get better at handling the wing to be able to work in such a confined area. Almost ended up in the trees. Strong winds are fun though.

When I got back to the house I decided it was time to try the motor on my back and get a feel for what it was like. The thrust is addicting! Still haven't taken it to full throttle yet.

Paramotor Training, What I Looked for

Wow! There are a lot of options when it comes to training. And then again, not really.

Unless you have plenty of time and resources it might be kind of daunting trying to find training that fits in your budget or time constraints. If your lucky enough to live near a trainer, that certainly helps.

Once again, I used Google to start looking. You can find all sorts of stuff using Google. Good and bad, and even crazy. YouTube is great too.

The first training I came across was in California and Mexico with Dale Shanze. He has some awesome videos and is quite the character. He boasted of being the best and is pretty clear that his is the only way and his is the safest equipment. It was also expensive on top of the cost of getting to California. He also touted that the only legitimate pilot rating system was one from his organization (WPPGA). Or that the wrong rating was from the other organization (USPPA) (more on this later).

The next one I found was slightly closer to me and offered free training if I bought equipment from him. Capt. Kurt Fister has some good videos and demonstrated why his equipment was the only type to get. He also boasted of being the best and down played the pilot rating systems of any organization. I already had equipment and I still had to travel or pay for his travel to get the training.

Next was Blackhawk Paramotor in California. They have some great package deals at good prices. They also have some great videos. Once again I would have to travel to get the training. They didn't even really talk about pilot ratings although they mention that they are USPPA certified.

So what is the deal with pilot certification? I started looking into it and this is what I found. The sport or activity of paramotoring falls under the FAA regulation 103 for ultralight vehicles. In a nut shell, we don't need any kind of license to fly the paramotors or paragliding. There are certain rulles we do need to abide by to keep from getting fined. But other than that, nothing. You could buy your gear and be in the air the same day if you were so inclined. Now, it that safe? Not likely.

So, what is the fuss all about? I tend to fall in line with Capt. Kurt when he talks about not regulating a sport that doesn't require regulating. However I understand why the USPPA started the rating that they use. They saw the desire to be able to demonstrate through a rating how much experience and knowledge a pilot had. This could be used for insurance purposes, training, and other areas where having a rating gives clout to the sport and the pilot. I think the beef comes from the idea that the only way to get a rating was from already rated trainers and there is a cost associated with the training.

Personally, I'm not too concerned about a rating. I'd rather show you a flight log demonstrating my experience. I do see the benefit in it though. If someone told me I needed a certain rating to participate in something I probably just wouldn't participate. But, if an airport that I wanted to fly from required a certain rating I hope that I already had the rating. What a catch 22!

Ok, back to the training...

I guess I'm looking for inexpensive training form experienced trainers. Close enough for me to get to easily. I found Souther Skies who sell the Fresh Breeze and Edel equipment that I have. They were a little closer and offered daily training prices that were enticing. It would still be an overnight situation which would incur more costs. I was looking at upwards of $300 a day for training. Not too bad, but it could add up quick.

I kept searching. The interesting thing I found from a couple of sites when they talked about their training was that it was important to them that you got local training. I could appreciate that. Not only would this start a relationship with someone near by that you could always bounce things off of but it would also allow you to train more regularly with the same people.

Frustration. Now I wanted to find someone nearby and I had already searched and wasn't having any luck. Then I started looking in some PPG forums to see if there were any trainers in TN. Even better if they were in Nashville. I found one guy that was at least flying in my area and contacted him and he put me in touch with Dan Decker of Tennessee PPG. I contacted Dan and started the conversation about training. He offered a one time price for training that would get me well trained in trike and foot launches with follow up training if needed.

Now I'm just waiting for the weather to cooperate! Can't wait!

2nd & 3rd Day Kiting / Ground Handling Paraglider

I was able to get out and get more time with the wing.

The second day was out at the field near my home.
Drake was with me again. It was the first time trying the harness with the kite for ground handling. My friend Chris gives it a try and Drake gets more time under the wing as well. The wind was choppy and I only get one good inflation that lasts.

On the third day my buddy Gawain found this spot early in the day while flying his RC Versa Wing. It was slightly windy and it's the first time I got to experience the wing in some wind. I got pulled around good.

So much fun!

Powered Paraglider Flight Log

I wanted to keep track of my kiting (ground handling) and flights so I started looking around for a flight log for powered paragliders. So, I Googled it.

I was surprised to only find a couple of them. One was an older app that only ran on PCs. You can find it at USPPA Resources page. Click here to get the page. It looks good but it wasn't what I was looking for.

I found one on Southern Skies paramotor site on their Training page. Click here to get to it. It's an Excel file and a good one but a bit too sparse for me. I wanted to keep track of more data.

The last one I found was just a blog post like this one telling about how they made one of their own by using a commercial flight log and converting it to record their data. Click here to go to the blog. He was collecting more data but it wasn't digital.

So after looking through these I decide to use Google Docs to come up with my own. That way I could access it from anywhere and could share it with my trainer when I got one. I could also create one that could be copied by others to use. I have a link to my personal one in the right navigation under links. Or click here. I also created a template that you can use to start your own.

You can use the template a couple of ways. You can start a new spreadsheet in Google docs and then click on File -> New -> Template. Then enter 'ppg' in the search box to find the template and apply it. Or you can click here to get it.

I would love any feedback you have for the flight log and I'll update the template with the suggestions.

Paramotor Trike Go-Kart

I figured out how to mount the paramotor to the trike.  And what could be more fun than karting around on the ground with a big fan strapped to your trike.  It was a blast even if I didn't go anywhere near full throttle.  Good thing too since the trike didn't have brakes.  Ruined a good pair of Crocs

Check out the video.

Who needs brakes?!!

First Time Starting a Paramotor, Fresh Breeze Monster

Finally got everything together tonight to try starting my Fresh Breeze Monster paramotor. I wasn't sure how easy or hard it was going to be.

Picked up some non-ethanol fuel and mixed the oil.  Since this was a used paramotor, the first thing I did was make sure that all the old fuel was out of the system. Once that was done, I added the fresh fuel and checked for any leaks. The inline shutoff valve was leaking just bit when it was in the on position. I turned the valve off and the leak stopped.  There was still plenty of fuel already in the carberator so I figured I could get it started and just run the gas out. 

The first couple of pulls on the starter and nothing happened other than turning it over.

Then, eureka! Holding it back on the trike is not the easies thing to do.  My son Drake and I were having a blast.

First Time Kiting a Paraglider, Edel Power Atlas

The day after I got the Edel Power Atlas paraglider I took it to work with me so I could take it out at lunch.  There is a small park near my office that would work for a first time inflation. (Inflation is when you get the wing (paraglider) filled with air in order to fly it.)

The weather was great and not too windy.  For my purposes the small park worked great.  It's a bit small to move around much with the wing. There are too many trees to get good steady wind. The wind was choppy and too light to do too much other then just get it in the air and let it back down again. Boy does it pull though!

After work I went to pick up my kids at school. They were running late so I got the wing out again and used the field next to their school.  My son Drake was done so he went with me and got a chance to inflate the wing. The wind was so light that he could never quite get it to stay in the air.


From my flight log:

First time kiting a paraglider! Little wind. Inflated great. Not as easy as it looks to control. I can see why it's good to take a lot of time practicing this. Also first time my son Drake tried kiting.

This is going to be a blast!

Unboxing Fresh Breeze Paramotor, Eldin Power Atlas Wing and Trike Buggy

I found a great deal on a paramotor package. Now to see if I can get it into the budget. I figure my bride would be my first line of defense to see if this was a bad idea.

Me, "So, I found this great deal on a paramotor..."

Precious, "Well, you've always wanted to fly".

Woohoo! I was blown away. I had asked God to use her to shut this dream down again if the time wasn't right, and He went beyond just a yes, to affirming my life-long dream. I hadn't even realized how much I had communicated that dream with her. Obviously, more than I thought.

I videoed the unboxing of the equipment. The Eldin Power Atlas wing was the first to unbox.

It was in great shape. A little dusty and I may look into cleaning it. All the lines were in tact and in good shape. The risers had trim, but no speed bar set up.

Next was the Trike Buggy.
Well packed and in great shape. I was surprised at how light the parts were.

The harness and paramotor were last.
Once again, great shape and well packed.

I'm so excited about this. More to come.

So, you've always wanted to fly?

Same here. Ever since I can remember, I've dreamed of flying. Being able to soar like an eagle (funny how it's always an eagle). I've always wondered what it would be like to just spread my arms out and take off. I would imaging landing on high areas and being able to see everything.

I've lived in some windy areas. I can remember as a kid holding my jacket out into the wind and trying to get some lift. Or as we would drive along sticking my hand out the window making it move up and down depending on how I tilted it.

My father and I used to go to the hang glider launch sites and sit there all day watching them. The expense seemed out of reach and I was too young at the time.

Kites were the next best thing. I eventually found dual string stunt kites. They were great. You could feel the power of the wind in the strings. Being able to do loops and turns is great fun.

Then I found power or traction kites. Now these things can pull! You can even use them to power you around on trikes or surfboards.

I looked into ultralights several times but the expense, and size of storage once again killed the dream.

Paramotoring is a different animal altogether though. In the last few years, the safety of these massive kites, parafoils really, have come a long way. The cost is reasonable as well. And the size of storage is minimal.

So, here begins my journey into soaring via paramotoring (powered paragliding), paragliding, and paratriking (paramotor mounted to a trike).