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.

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.