Drifting-
find a spot, fence or line on the ground and ease your throttle
down to an idle, watch your drift in relationship to this
spot as you drift towards it, this will tell you which way
is down wind. Sometimes you need to make two pass’s
both direction to make sure of your drift.
Props-
Keep them level & horizontal when storing them to keep
them in balance. You can buy a inexpensive prop balancer from
companies like Beres/herst for around $30.00 to check and
repair the balance. An out of balance prop will not only make
your flying experience less enjoyable, but it will also cause
many items on your engine to start breaking especially your
exhaust.
Empty
your pockets prior to flying and tie away anything that may
come loose like a cell phone. When you fly out in the open
like we do, anything you loose will generally go into your
prop.
When
flying for any significant time period most pilots will get
thirsty from the constant wind in their faces. A easy solution
is to put on a gatorback water carrier, this give you access
to a drink without loosing your brakes and acts as an additional
cushion for the harness.
Tuning
of your paramotor can be treacherous. I have found that tying
the paramotor to a tree or deck to ensure the unit can not
move, can greatly increase the safety during the tuning process.
Make sure all items are clear of the moving prop, as many
a new pilot has lost a prop due to a harness strap/rock being
sucked in the prop during tuning.
When transporting a clutch based paramotor behind a truck,
make sure you tie the prop to keep it from free spinning and
being destroyed.
A
closable fishing pole can be used to hold a wind sock and
can be carried in the harness of your paramotor for ease of
transportation.
The
carabiners we use on our paramotors are very safe and strong,
but it is a good idea to replace them every two years, as
this is cheap price for peace of mind.
It
is a good idea to inspect your paraglider often. One way to
do this is to place the lines in between your fingers and
use your feel along with your eyes to find any faults in the
outer casings or the lines themselves.
When
unsure of the wind strengths and whether it is a good idea
to fly, try ground handling the paraglider without a harness.
This way you do not risk being drugged if a gust comes in
hard you can just release the glider for your safety. If you
are unable to control the glider without a harness you may
want to rethink flying at that time.
When
getting ready to start your paramotor use extreme caution
in securing the
paramotor
in more then one place, such as with your hands and with your
knees placed firmly in the harness against the frame (never
hold a cage part). It is also a good idea to yell out clear
prop and check your surroundings for people, animals etc.
before starting the paramotor.
When
priming the paramotor lean the carb towards the ground so
any excess gas flows away from the engine as opposed to towards
it and flooding the motor.
Often
many pilots fly alone and it is a good idea to tell someone
when your launching, where your launching, which direction
you intend to fly and what time you will call them by after
landing. This ensures someone can send help in the right direction
if you do not call when agreed upon.
If
in the event you launch and have found a problem with your
brake toggles (twisted or locked up), don’t panic just
reach up and take the rear risers (make sure they are the
rear risers closest to the trailing edge) at the links and
use this as your method to turn and to flair.
If
you find you are flying in wind with such strength, that you
are flying backwards in relationship to the ground, don’t
panic just reduce power and lower your altitude. Then you
release some brake tension to speed up the glider and look
to see that your intended landing area is clear of obstacles.
Continue to descend, if your are still flying backwards close
to the ground release the trimmers on your risers (at the
same time) to add extra speed and try adding a little throttle
to give you forward motion but not lift upwards, grab your
rear risers to use to collapse the glider when touching down
(as this is more positive then the brakes in super high winds).
Never
get near your glider with the paramotor when it is running,
as they can suck the glider in and do a lot of damage fast.
Remember they are vacuums along with air pushers.
Use
a cooler to carry your gas and funnels in if transporting
the paramotor within your car, as this will seal the fumes
inside the container.
A
plate form can be added to the back of cars to carry a paramotor
with very little hassle. These can be purchased at harbor
freight tools for as little as $50.00 complete and they just
slide into your trailer hitch coupler ready to use.
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