Good Flight. I took my time paying attention to the little details. The wing came up fast…I damped the surge and for the first time in awhile kept the power down and taxied a bit before committing to the launch. I don’t know where I got into the habit of hammering the throttle until I was 100 feet up … maybe with the Thumper … maybe from launching in short fields. Anyway it felt much better. I was more aware of the situation… I could feel the weight coming off the trike and I could tell when I was about to leave the ground. Gotta remember that and keep it happening.
The weather was good … warm enough that I didn’t change after work. Just grap the maching and go!
The flight was 50 minutes of boating over the field and the golf courses. I left the trimmers in and got to know the Eden III 30m. I climbed to 4000 agl and practiced basic maneuvers. Diving turns … mild wingovers … spirals. I was surprised by the trouble I was having at getting a flat turn. It might be that it is just a bigger wing and I wasn’t patient but flat turns seemed far too slow. The real challenge is to time the 4 stroke so that the power is there when I need it. At one point I was diving fast and it seemed like the motor was extraordinarily slow getting up to power so I could climb out. I’m going to have to move the pulleys down so that I can fly trimmers out and still be able to reach the toggles.
Toward the end of the flight the wing picked up and was shifting on a 120 degree arc. Fling a straight ling my speed was vacillating between 22mph and 42mph. I was worried that I might have to land in gusty conditions but once back over the field it was calm. The landing was as smooth as the take off and I was surprised by the huge temperature drop at 15 feet. All in all a good night … I’m glad that I took 7 weeks off. It has forced me to pay better attention and I appreciate the flights more than when I’m flying every day.
Powered Paragliding. A most Personal form of Flight 