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 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 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.

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!