Little things are getting better…. getting better, all the time.
I met with Paul Czarnecki at 7:30. There was very little wind and mostly cloudy skies. During warm up I tinkered with the idle screw and brought the RPM down a bit. It is still running a bit rough and floating between 1100 and 1700 RPM but when warm it does settle down enough to live with.
This morning, I set up in the grass so that the launch would start a little slower. I tried Terry Lutke’s suggestion and folded the center of the leading edge under the wing to prevent it from getting caught in the prop wash. My first attempt was aborted when I realized that I had the throttle and the A line but no brake in my left hand. Geez?
The second attempt was magic. I started the motor and because the wing was not in the prop wash, I had plenty of time to get set with the risers and toggles. I added power and for the first time with the new machine I felt the wing pressurize through the A’s. Looking over my shoulder I saw exactly what I expected. This paratrike has a much more open cockpit. It’s possible to tip my head back where before I would hit the frame.
The last two launches I was rushed, as soon as the motor was started the wing would be caught and there just wasn’t time to do anything but focus straight ahead and trust that the wing was coming up clean. In one case I was fumbling for the toggle and only the A Assists were guiding the wing.
I flew for 28 minutes and climbed to 3000 feet. The humidity was high at low altitude but once above 1000 I was easily climbing over 300/ft/min.
Today it came together and it did wonders for my confidence. Yesterday I was wondering if my flying career was coming to an end and now there’s no end in sight.😎
Powered Paragliding. A most Personal form of Flight 