Author: JoeO

Powered Paraglider pilot since 2005

940 Shell Creek

Flight 940   One hour and fifteen minutes.  Clear skyStrong breeze above 50 ft, calm at the surface.

This is the first launch without A assists since the shoulder surgery 3 1/2 years ago.  It came off  ok  but I need to move my shoulders back from the hang points.  During the beginning of inflation my arms are pulled back to an unnatural position that could re damage the shoulder.   It also effects normal flight but is only uncomfortable, not a danger.  I’m wondering if the solution would be to change the hang point assembly to a power loop configuration similar to the trike buggy.  The nice thing about the power loop was that I could have my arms behind the beaners.  I’m afraid that major changes would have to be made to make it work.  (Like removing the bar behind my head and reworking the cage bracing and cutting some square tubing and re bracing the hang point bar.

As to the change in the angle of the frame.  Thrust is more horizontal, there is a significant improvement in climb rate. However, cruise RPM is only slightly lower.  With such a difference in climb I would expect cruise would also be dramatically better.   Go figure?  The landings are different in that I burn off energy for a long way before touching down and when I do touch, the Rig is slow enough that there is barely any roll out.  I noticed that toward the end I was putting tremendous pressure on the brakes before touching down.  Prior to this, the back wheels would touch down and the rig would roll a good distance with the front wheel at chest level.   

Beautiful Sunset Flight

#941 Shell Creek Airpark
Winds 5 mph from east
30 minutes

Took out the memory foam from the back of the seat but leaving it on the seat to lift me another inch.
Much better position and I still have plenty of room behind my head.  It’s easer to see the trimmer setting and it certainly feels better.
I reinstalled the A assists.  They are easer.  I will see what it feels like in this configuration and decide which way I want to go.

Great Sunset.

Repairs and Reconditioning

#939 Shell Creek Airpark

50 minutes clear skies …. Light breezes
This flight was the first after several modifications.
1) I raised the back of the seat and lowered the front.  I also put 2 inches of memory foam under the seat cover.  I’m trying to reposition my body so that the helmet will not contact with the cross brace (above the motor) and make it easer to reach the wing tip toggles.  
It worked but I’m not sure that it is the final solution.  The new seat position is a few inches forward of where I had it, putting more bend in my legs.  It’s not a problem when taxiing but it feels strange when I’m flying.  It has also reduced the size of the seat and its configuration.  Where the original seemed to wrap around me, this one feel likes I’m sitting on top.  I suspect it’s more perception than reality because I was just as exposed before this change….. it just feels like I’m, “hanging it out there”.  I think that I’m going to try it no pad and with the pad cut into two parts, seat and lumbar.
Never the less…. It worked.  My head was plenty clear of the crossbar and it was easy to reach the toggles.  Its definitely a step in the right direction.

To get a perspective, the back of the seat was touching the air intake pipes behind and below.

2)  I made was a new set of line keepers.  Over the last couple of months I’ve been having problems with lines being chopped.  In one instance for sure it was an outside wingtip line that was sucked in through the cage.  The other prop strikes … I saw lines below the keepers as the wing was inflating.  I don’t understand how slack lines were getting kicked out.  Even when I took care to position the lines in the keepers, in the same order that they would  leave, lines were being kicked out prematurely.  

The double loop is a bit artsy but the second loop puts a bit more pressure against the lines.  Hopefully this will keep slack outside lines under control until they are tensioned.  Aluminum tape covers the parts of the frame that the lines slide against including below the keeper in case one does go stray. There is electrical tape in the portion that hold the lines prior to inflation, it’s  slightly tacky and should protect against lines going slack between the hang-point and the keepers.
3) Belt has been replaced.  It was still serviceable but after 600+ hours, but what the heck?  I didn’t think it was slipping much … I could hear it squeal during take off and climb out occasionally but it never lasted long and the belt was never hot…..  I was wrong.  There is a noticeable increase in thrust and it is certainly quieter.

The flight was great.  I think the new configuration has moved enough weight forward that the front wheel is lower and the thrust line is more horizontal.  I will have to test it but my climb rate seems better and cruise RPM is lower.  This could be a huge improvement in efficiency.  It makes sense that a more horizontal thrust pushes me farther forward under the wing, increasing the angle of attack.  To think all these years I’ve been doing with a mediocre climb just so I could have my nose wheel a few inches higher.

Back in the Air … Flight 938

I layed out the Apco and launched.  The new belt is noticeably better.  It might need to be tightened a little more but it is not slipping at all.  When you start the engine there is a noticeable jolt as the prop starts turning.  There was no wind at the surface but I launched into where I thought it was and was rewarded with tremendous climb as soon as I left the surface.  The wind was pulling hard to the left because I had not set the trimmers correctly.  No Excuse….  I noticed that the wingtip steering was not threaded through the loop at the tip.  It still operated fine but it was not cupping the wing in the same way.  The seat needs to be changed.  I’m leaning too far back and my helmet is touching the cage frame.  It’s very uncomfortable.

When I got home, I lowered the front of the seat and fixed the wing.  I’m farther forward in this configuration.  My knees are more bent and it might have changed the balance so that the front wheel is lower than I like.  I don’t think it is likely to wheelbarrow but I’m going to have be careful.  A nose wheel landing isn’t a disaster but it would be tricky.

Tony’s First Flight

Today was a milestone.  My first student got his first flight 🙂
Arrived at the Placida LZ at 6:30.  Winds were 7 from the NE, cycling every couple of minutes.

Tony set up and launched perfectly.  He flew for 30 minutes at 500 ft.  The winds were strong enough at that altitude that he was just barely penetrating.  Landing was excellent.  

Notes:
His belt needs to be tightened.  It was slipping a little and made his climb-out too slow for my taste.  I could hear it squealing and possibly slapping although I don’t know how it could slap with a pulley on the slack side.
He needs to practice with the kill switch … He had a little trouble finding it and killed the engine late.
I’m going to encourage him to transition to trike.  The rig was bobbling too much for comfort.  I think those big wheels up front are catching the air.  
I’m glad this phase of training is over.  He’s finally popped his cherry now and can start gaining experience.

Almost my last flight! Flight 937

During my last two flights I noticed a shift in the frame as the wing started to load up.  I did post flight inspections both times and inspected the main spar by lifting the front wheel and eyeballing the frame from the bottom.  This time I was launching at Shell Creek for the first time since returning from the road trip and the shift was a noticeable shrug.  Once up, I decided that whatever it was … probably wouldn’t reappear until I landed, so I put it out of my mind and enjoyed a nice long flight.  The landing was uneventful.
Back at the house I the post flight exposed the problem.  The main spar is made up of two one inch square tubes.   From the bottom they looked fine but from the side I could see a crack.  I took off the seat and discovered that both tubes were cracked on the top and both sides.  With a little pressure I could make the cracks open slightly.  When I lifted the front wheel and rocked it up and down I could see that there was very little holding the rig together.  Conceivably,  if it didn’t collapse during take off, the spar could have let go with me on the breakaway side, only connected to the wing and motor by the seat belt.  I suppose its possible I could have stayed with the rig and landed but more likely, I would have fallen through the seat belt, completing my last flight.  Wow!  It was obvious that the cracks had been there for awhile but I hadn’t seen it.

It probably started when I had the crash at Bubba’s.  The trike came down hard and bent the frame downward, behind the seat.  I didn’t worry about it at the time.  Actually I liked the new configuration because it moved the prop wash slightly upward and lowered the seat and center of gravity.  I joked that it was more like the geometry of the trike buggy.  Well… the top of the tube is were it crimped the tubing and thats naturally where the crack would form.  The side cracks probably opened up recently. At least I hadn’t noticed them and I think I would have.

It took Mike Lange no time to repair the spar.

 While I was at it I balanced the prop and installed some bullet proof line keepers.  I also raised the seat about 5 inches and padded it with 2 inches of memory foam.

Memphis

Two and a half hours out of Conway I saw the glass pyramid that I remember from previous visits.  I pulled off the highway and turned onto Bass Pro Shop Drive.  Huh?  It turns out that, “The Great American Pyramid has been sold and is now a Mega Store.  The tourist welcome center is next door so I stopped and got my bearings.

After getting a city map, I drove to Beale St and found a parking place.  Sunday morning is a quiet time on Beale St.  There were just a few tourists window gazing and enjoying a beautiful day.  I went to the Memphis Jazz Museum and was sorely disappointed when I discovered that it was a privately owned exhibit with a poor selection of exhibits.  “The stuff I saw at the welcoming center was better than this.”  After an hour of wandering i heard some jazz and strolled into BB Kings nightclub where a trio and singer were performing.

An hour later and full of BBQ ribs I walked into the sunshine to find the truck and hit the road.  Birmingham Alabama was a good place to spend the night.  The next morning I got up early and drove to Punta Gorda.

Conway Arkansas Flight 936


The drive from Woodward to Conway was 450 miles.  I checked into another Indian operated Motel.  The area looked a little sketchy and I was worried about the rig.  Fortunately I was able to back the truck right up to my door and there was a super market just across the street for dinner.  I’d selected this hotel because it was just a few blocks from the municipal airport.
The next morning I was out and rolling an hour before first light.  I planned to launch as soon as I could see my boots on the pegs.  Following the GPS, I arrived at the airport in 8 minutes … but … it wasn’t there!  Instead it was a pile of rubble and muddy pits.  I got on the internet and found that there was a brand new airport a few miles out of town.  Back on the road.
The Dennis Cantrell Field is a gorgeous new airport. When I arrived there was nobody around.  I unloaded the rig and waited.  I was beginning to think that there wasn’t going to be anyone to ask permission so I started the motor to warm it up.  That woke em up.  A fellow came out of the formerly locked terminal and he quickly gave me a thumbs up.
I rolled around to the back of the terminal and laid out the Eden III.  Perhaps it was the smooth tarmac that allowed the lines to be sucked into the prop.  Maybe I missed something during lay out.  Whatever it was, the Eden III was out of the game with all the B and C mains on the left side damaged.  I was bummed but smiled at my spectator and said… “Time for Plan B” but I also said as I was laying out the Apco, if that happens again, my trip is over.  This launch was flawless.  I flew around the area for about an hour and landed on the apron behind the terminal.  This was the first time I had flown the Apco since Albuquerque.  I found it hard to reach the tip steering toggles and the brakes felt stiffer than I remembered.  It should have been a very comfortable flight but it just didn’t feel right.  When I landed there were a couple of new guys watching and I don’t think they had ever seen a PPG,  they might not have even seen a PPC.  We chatted for awhile and the first guy I talk to told me that he really enjoyed watching and said I was welcome back any time.  I don’t know who he was but I’m beginning to think he was the airport manager.  Thanks Conway!

Nightmare in the Country Woodward Oklahoma

The trip from Colorado Springs was long and without much scenery.  I arrived “Nightmare in the Country”, just as the sun was setting.  I was hoping to fly the event but the wind was howling.  Kenton was very busy getting things ready.  He has 100 actors employed as Zombies Vampires and other scary monsters.  It is a first class production that sports 6 separate feature rides and fills his entire property.  
Another piano man who’s life has taken a radical turn in another direction.  After the show closed at midnight we dragged into Kenton’s house and crashed.  The next morning we went out for breakfast and I hit the road.