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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
