Monday, May 30, 2016

still obsessing...


I am still obsessing over getting back into the air again.  Still no decision on a cart but as my leg keeps getting betting I am beginning to think I might very well be able to foot launch again.  Now I am considering selling my paramotor and trading up for a lighter unit.  My Fresh Breeze beast is a 200cc unit that weighs 80 lbs. with 2 gallons of gas and puts out 145 lbs. of thrust.  This fairly new paramotor from Air Conception is a 200cc unit that weighs 54 lbs. with two gallons of gas and puts out 165 lbs. of thrust.  I am also considering getting additional training at AviatorPPG in Florida.  Anyone interested in house sitting TFL for a month in the fall?  Update at 7:40 PM - got hammered with an inch of rain.   78,91,68, 1.02",B
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17 comments:

  1. mikeMay 30, 2016 at 8:13 PM

    did you ever fly solo?

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  2. Mike SilviusMay 30, 2016 at 8:15 PM

    As a fixed wing pilot I am biased, I say go get some fixed win training. LSA or part 103 UL. You can go single seat UL under 254lbs and you don't even need a license. And out there no one know if you are a fat UL anyhow. You do have the space for a runway. Much easier on the mended landing gear.

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  3. AnonymousMay 30, 2016 at 9:44 PM

    I guess when you have the hope of a resurrection your life here on earth becomes less important. I'm former Air Force so I have been up high a few times. We had a saying back then, "only fools and bird poop fall out of the sky" You ain't bird poop! so ........Good luck!

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  4. Margery BilldMay 31, 2016 at 12:46 AM

    Agreed Mohave rat.

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  5. Larry GMay 31, 2016 at 4:09 AM

    I agree with the fixed-wing idea - it's a surer path to you getting up and flying without having to continue to worry about your leg or the rest of your body relative to running and carrying weight.

    Fixed wing does not mean you give up the para-glider - it actually could help you once you get the basics of flight down and know more about what you have to do get airborne with the para-glider.

    Perhaps try out some ultra lights at some point.

    But - I'm not you - and you certainly have to do your thing.

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  6. LECMay 31, 2016 at 6:53 AM

    Stay away from the foot launch. You will be able to do it a lot longer with cart or fixed wing.

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  7. UnknownMay 31, 2016 at 7:22 AM

    The earth is a beautiful place ... when you're not falling toward it. :-)

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  8. John WellsMay 31, 2016 at 11:21 AM

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uh1njWjWgA

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  9. Larry GMay 31, 2016 at 11:35 AM

    the cart is a good way to go also.... just go for cart - not foot!

    would be curious to see what your plans are once you achieve your goal.

    just fly around and look see - or go to Terlingua for grub of Alpine for supplies!

    ;-)

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  10. JMay 31, 2016 at 12:29 PM

    I would consider flying with the cart, but not without.

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  11. THORNWALKERMay 31, 2016 at 6:36 PM

    Three words come to mind when thinking about the last two years of flying paramotors..passion, inspiration and obsession. Your plan makes sense.

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  12. Margery BilldMay 31, 2016 at 8:25 PM

    Why not just fly a small plane?

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  13. JMay 31, 2016 at 10:18 PM

    Even the smallest plane would be much more expensive.

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  14. Mike SilviusJune 1, 2016 at 10:22 AM

    By the time you are done with cart, motor and chute, not that much more.
    http://www.ebay.com/sch/Ultralights-/63722/i.html

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  15. MountainManMikeJune 5, 2016 at 4:13 PM

    Seems like the paraglider has an advantage in that if the engine totally dies it might be better to get to the ground than the fixed wing. Or is that a misconception?

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  16. Mike SilviusJune 5, 2016 at 4:57 PM

    A para glider is a big airfoil, just a big floppy one. A fixed wing aircraft is also an airfoil, but a much more clean and efficient one. They both create lift by the same mechanism. Don't know how far a paraglider can glide without an engine, but I bet it is pretty much no further than you can toss a brick. A fixed wing aircraft typically has a glide ratio of 20 to 1. So at a thousand feet altitude you have about a seven mile radius to choose your landing spot.

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  17. Larry GJune 5, 2016 at 5:38 PM

    I'd have the same curiosity. my impression is that ultra-lights can glide and in open spaces like John's place probably a fair chance of making it down in one piece.

    Para-gliders look less "glideable" but maybe that's a wrong impression and they can.

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