Powered Paragliding. A most Personal form of Flight

Flight 1044

Good Flight except that it was another funky take off. The wing came up poorly and I had to waste half the runway getting it settled down. When the road curved I stayed on bearing and accelerated into the grass. It took another 100 feet to launch. Five hundred yards later I overflew a fellow unloading another Trike. It looked like a green eagle.

I flew west and crossed the Gaspirilla Causeways and flew along the beach for awhile before reversing course and returning to “The Meadows”. It took 5 minutes of scanning the area to find the other pilot , he was flying low out over the mangroves. We hooked up and we danced a bit before landing. I didn’t realize it until later but it was not a Green Eagle PPG it was a Legal Eagle PPC. He obviously had a ton of thrust and the big elliptical wing was very maneuverable.

We chatted later, and although we had never met, we did know each other from Facebook. Rob Norland …. well met , I look forward to flying with you in the future.

Flight 1043

It was thin fog between the house and Jobean bridge. On the other side it was thicker and at the field it was thick but patchy. I decided to go for it hoping that the patches would diminish as it warmed up. I set up on a crease road that was wide enough for most of the wing. Unfortunately it was a Funky take off . The wing was all over the place and poorly inflated. I’m not sure if one side was just uninflated or if there was a cravat. Eventually I was able to sort it out but I had used a bunch of my runway and had to finish the run up in the grass. Once up, I hit some sink and dropped 15 feet, almost touching down before climbing again.

Most of the fog was between 250 and 550 feet. I climbed above it briefly and realized that if I continued, I would be out of sight of the ground most of the time. The flow was from the North East and looked to be thickening. I could see where I was on the GPS. I could have easily climbed above where the visibility was great and it was undoubtedly warmer but …. not a good idea. I would have risked landing in pea soup.

So… I landed with just 8 minutes of air time. Plenty.

Flight. #1042

First evening flight in a long time. I arrived at the field an hour prior to sunset. The wind was a steady 7 gusting to 10. I took my time setting up, hoping for the glass off” that never came. The weeds are too tall in the field so I drove around until I found a section of road that faced the breeze. Nice clean pavement. I set up , tucking the forward edge.

Takeoff was messy. Fortunately the wing came up clean, I committed to launch and ran up the motor. Maybe I’m getting my speed cues from the breeze in my face, it felt fast to me. I tapped the brakes and lifted of and just as quickly , I touched down before starting the climb out. Hardly what I expected with a 7 knot headwind.

In my haste I left the GoPro on the runway, which was just as well because it was bumpy everywhere I went. The wind that was coming from the NNW was twitchy and bouncing the trike and I at about a level 6. The Sky was beautiful with the sun setting opposed to the rising of a full moon. Unfortunately there was a marine haze sucking the color and drama from the image, spoiling the photography.

It had started to calm down at 1200 feet but it had also turned cold enough that I was wishing for warmer clothing. 😄

About 15 minutes in, the winds started picking up. I turned back and descended for landing. At 150 feet it was bouncing so much that I changed course slightly so that I would set down in the weeds instead of the pavement. It turned out to be unnecessary because the air settled down at the very end and I greased in for a nice landing.

Good flight.

Tech note…. need anti-slip pads on the ramps.

Mainship photos from Skip Mansfield

Flights 1040 & 1041

Three mornings in a row!

My skills are improving. I’m still not happy with folding the leading center edge under the wing to keep it out of the prop wash but I’m getting used to it. The trike rolls forward about 3 feet before the wash starts to inflate the wing and its abrupt and strong when it catches. This morning I had severe oscillations, probably because the prop wash caught the wing improperly. I was happy to be able to back off the throttle and get it back overhead before committing to takeoff. It helped to be on smooth and clean blacktop.

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Yesterday’s flight was also good. I fumbled with the A’s because the wing was starting to dance as soon as I started the motor. Once up, all was good. I’m getting familiar with the wing again. I started a spiral and was surprised at how fast the wing descended. It’s a little disconcerting to be hanging out so much in turns. Not having a side rail or a seat that wraps is taking some getting some getting used to. I don’t feel like I’m going to fall off but I’m sure it looks that way.

Summerset Regatta Oct. 2nd 3rd 4th

Flight #1039 First flight as a free man.

After 2 No fly days I finally broke the fast.

The wind was 5 to 7 from the west. The field was wet and the humidity was 99%. I found a road that was pointed into the wind, set up and launched without incident. The density of Altitude was obviously higher than normal by the long runout at takeoff. I popped a little brake when it started to feel like there was something sticky holding me down. The climb out was bumpy and slow until I achieved 200 ft where the air smoothed out.

Next time I’m going to pull the wing into a chevron before tucking the front center cells away from the prop wash. This morning the wing came up very quickly but it was strange to have the A’s so mushy for the first few feet.

Once up, all was good . I boated around the patch penetrating into the wind NNW at 10mph and racing back toward the LZ AT 50+.

The landing was fine. The front wheel is a few inches lower than they were on thumper. I’m going to leave it for now but may move the hang points back a bit in the future.

When I got home I opened up the wing in the guest room to dry.

No Fly Days!

It’s been 8 weeks since I had reconstructive surgery on my intestines. The external waste bags have been removed and the intestines have been reconnected. I’ve been anxious to get back into the air but the weather has not been cooperative.

A couple of days ago I went out for an evening flight only to get soaked by a sneaky rainstorm that approached from behind.

This morning the humidity was 100% and the wing absorbed enough water during set up that it was not Flyable. It might have been possible had there been a breeze to launch into but this morning it was nil wind.

It’s a bit humbling after more than 1000 flights to have such a miserable showing. I will dry the wing and watch the weather for another opportunity.

Flight 1038 Placida

It’s all good. This morning the mid summer pattern of calm at dawn with gradually increasing breeze from the NE continued. There was one large storm cell, 20 miles offshore, directly west.

Take off and landing were uneventful. I can feel my skills improving.

Falcon idle needs to be lowered. Today at 3000 feet, after running strong for 30 plus minutes it idled at 1800 and would not go below that. It is not as cold blooded as it was 5, (running), hours ago. I opened the choke at start but needed to start closing it right away. After the oil change, which I plan on doing as soon after the surgery as possible, I’ll adjust the idle again . Hopefully it will run a bit smoother at 1200 to 1400 RPM. If that does not work, I’ll try Terry’s idea and reduce pitch 1 degree.

At full throttle 3600 RPM it climbed at about 360 ft / min. The Humidity was 98% and it was 74 degrees Fahrenheit. I will do it several more times in different conditions to see what happens.

The nose wheel pegs seem a bit too far out. Bring it back 2 inches.

Next flight…. let the trimmers all the way out to full reflex then pull left trim in till flying straight line at power. Evaluate if this setting would be good for cruise mode.