The following are ideas to make the flying of Powered Paragliders
easier, safer and more fun:

If you fly from a grassy area in the early morning the ground may be wet with dew. Use the warm up time on your motor to blow dry the area where you will lay out your wing. While this will not actually dry the area, it will break the water drops loose and allow faster drying to occur.

Don't like rolling or folding your wing at the end of the day? Buy a 40 gallon rubber tub to store your wing in. Always put the back side (trailing edge) of the wing in first so that the trapped air can escape out the front cell openings. Another great way to put your wing away quickly is to use a cinch sack. This is a round flat sack with a cinch string, just put your glider in the middle and pull up the string for a fast clean packing of your glider.

Having problems standing up after you put your motor on? Instead of sitting it on the ground and then sliding into your harness try setting the motor on top of a small box (how about the rubber one you put your wing in?). You can then put the harness on like a jacket and need only bend at the waist to pick the motor up and fasten your leg straps. Another idea is get one of these new light weight paramotors from Black Hawk that make it a lot easier to get up and stand.

Are you starting to notice wear on your steering line where it passes through the pulley? Apply a coating of bees wax - not candle wax. The wax will seal the line's sheath and act a lubricant reducing wear. This works well on the starter pulls cords as well, but apply a smaller amount so as not to gum up the cord receiver.

What would you do if you were in flight and found that your kill switch malfunctioned? You could land with power on but what if you still wanted to be able to kill your engine first. How could you? If you have a foam air filter on your carburetor you could reach back and crush the filter down on top of the carb. If you can find the fuel line you could pinch and hold it cutting off the fuel flow to the engine, or if your have a primer bulb a good squeeze will flood the engine and kill it. These are only a few of several possible solutions. You must find the one that will work with your motor configuration

No wind or light and variable wind forward launches are the most difficult. Even the slightest breeze can aid a launch if you take off directly into it.How can you tell what direction the wind is coming from under these conditions? The smoke from a cigarette works great as does a handful of grass thrown into the air.

When flying in close proximity to other pilots it is a good idea to use hand signals to alert the other pilots when you are about to turn. Just stick your arm out in the direction you are going to turn. You do not even need to let go of your steering toggle. Another way is for all pilots to use the weight shift leg indicator, in which a turning pilot indicates his turn by placing one leg over another and turn his head towards the other pilot and waiting for that pilot to do the same prior to turning.

Put a bottle of clear nail polish in your field repair box. The polish is great for temporary repairs to nicked props. The nail polish dries quickly, is very hard and holds well. Plus you can put in on in layers to build up a deep nick. Lastly, it sands out very easily when you are ready to make a permanant repair.

If you are getting a layer of slime on your prop from the exhaust, use a little baby oil on a rag, as this will clean the slime right off quickly.

When flying without a wind sock or flags in view you can use many items to indicate wind direction from the sky:

1. Birds- they always take off and land into the wind.
2. Smoke- this will travel down wind and give you a good idea of wind strengths as well.
3. Trees- many times you will see trees that are leaning in one direction indicating the typical wind direction for that area.
4. Water- wind will leave ripples in the water showing down wind direction.

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