Nov 22/09      Doruk added 2 more flights to his log book - Sat Nov 21/09.

Tentative plans were made to meet at the field on Sat around 10:30 am weather pending. Winds were low but there also was a heavy dark cloud cover and light drizzle here and there. Not the best day to go flying. Oh well. We started at 11 am with basic forward inflations to refresh Doruk's memory. He actually did not forget anything at all. Soon I was getting ready for quick flight to see if air is calm or not.  There was just enough wind to do a running reverse inflation and in several steps I was airborne. Calm air and after I landed I have noticed that wind has picked up even more. This is good. OK, let's give it a go. We first tried inflation with motor off not planning to fly. It was perfect. We then moved the gear back and soon enough Doruk was up there enjoying smooth but cold air. Great take off and even better landing. He lasted about 20 min which is remarkable given the lack of gloves. We took a short break and tried again. Perfect inflation, great take of run, no tendency to sit down - that is the way I like it! On his second landing Doruk forgot to flare up to C position so there was a bit of a stumble on landing but motor was off so not a big deal. Well done Doruk, when I came to the field it did not look like we will do any flying at all.

Nov 13/09      Great XC flight on Sunday Nov 8.

Short video

Nov 12/09      Great XC flight on Sunday Nov 8 - write up by Mark.

For November the weather was insanely hot. When we arrived at the field it was a scorching 18 degrees! The sun was out and there was a calm breeze blowing from the south. It felt like summer had paid us one last visit before the end of the season. Crazy Ralph was there with his camera crew. Jason and Roy turned up for a flight and Chris Miller also came along for a season finale. Chris had been having some difficulties inflating his wing. It had been hanging back on launch, so Andre had suggested a new set of risers. We spent 20 mins disconnecting the old set and connecting the new risers. They seemed to make a big difference and Chris was soon buzzing around the field. Meanwhile Ralph was busy being crazy for the camera and his upcoming documentary.

Roy and Jason were tinkering with engines and generally getting ready to fly so I had the chance to nip up to 1300 metres for a quick flight. It was 16C even up high. This weather really was bizarre for November. After landing, Jason and Roy were soon in the air and Ralph had a couple more attempts at take off. Soon three wings were cruising around the field and the day was going better than could be expected. As is usually the case, it didn't last. Ralph managed to clip the prop on the ground. I heard the now familiar 'phwack' of a breaking propeller and knew that Ralph wouldn't be flying that machine again today. As ever Ralph was good natured and shrugged it of :- all part of the sport. With Ralph's flying abruptly cut short the rest of us decided to take a little trip to Crystal Beach. We all fuelled up, made our checks and started getting ready. Within minutes four of us were in the air, circling the air field, waiting for Roy. He was having a little difficulty with his launch, so after nearly 10 minutes we headed off for Crystal Beach. Four of us flew out from the airfield. This would be Jason's first serious excursion from his take-off site.

We each weaved our way over the Niagara countryside, dipping down low to play over large open fields, climbing again to hop over built up areas. We soon saw Roy in the distance, making an effort to catch us so we circled some more and took the opportunity to investigate a huge cloud of dust thrown up by a combine harvester. Roy was soon with the group and the five of us continued on our way towards Crystal Beach, racing to beat the sunset. Roy and Jason turned back early. With no previous experience of a long flight they were concerned about fuel levels and made a start back to the airfield. Jason had only shorts on and must have been getting bloody cold too. Chris, Andre and I pushed on, keen to see the beach and complete our goal. It was a great site to see th lake come into view as we approached the beach. Small fires were creating a hazy layer close to the ground and two layers of air were not mixing at all, causing a weird inversion at close to ground level.

The sun was illuminating the beach front properties with a magnificent orange glow that only happens just before sunset and we cruised up the beach following the shoreline and enjoying this privileged perspective. Andre and Chris dipped down below tree level skimmed the water, only inches deep at places and crystal clear.

I remained a little higher and scrambled around with my camera trying to capture some of what I was enjoying. I decided to head back and, noticing that my GPS was going faster as I climbed, ascended to 1000 metres. This gave me a groundspeed of 70km and I soon caught Jason. Roy had landed out a few km short of the airfield with engine problems and had hitched a ride back to the airfield, arriving before me. It was now almost dark and Andre was next to arrive. Last in was Chris Miller who made a few circuits before landing fast in the nil wind conditions near the ground. Unknown to us, Ralph had followed us throughout the flight, snapping photos on the beach and racing back to meet us all at the field. We shared stories, cracked open some beers and packed up the gear. This was a great flight so late in the season!    

Nov 9/09      Update from past student Mike D.

From: Mike D.
Sent: November-08-09 9:34 PM
To: zemanandre@yahoo.com
Subject: Strobe on my RR

Hi Andre, 

I recently added a strobe light to my paramotor. Over the summer I had a few of the ultralight pilots that fly in my area advice me to add a strobe and make myself more visible. Feel free to post this so others can see how easy it is to add some safety to our flying. 

The pictures below show the mounting I made up and the switch I added. I made the mount swivel and lock so I can rotate it down and make it less prone to damage when I am moving the paramotor in and out of my trailer. 

I used a Kuntzleman SC103 12 VDC that runs off the battery/alternator system. It pulses 42 times a minute and can be seen in daylight for 1.5 statute miles. It can be bought here in Canada at http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/elpages/kuntzsc103.php for about $ 102.00 Canadian. They accept online and phone orders. They recently moved their store from Mississauga to Brantford (Brantford Airport). I drove there and picked it up.

The strobe can also be bought on line at http://www.kestrobes.com/cat5.htm.

The additional wiring, switch, connectors and hardware were about $ 25.00. The light comes with an inline fuse. I suggest using it and buying the fuse holder. Make sure it is the right size, some are for smaller fuses. I used the tap-in connectors that tee into an existing wire. It made the wiring quick and easy.

Anyway, take care. I check your news often and always like seeing what is going on with your training.

Regards,

Mike

PS: If anyone would like to get one, I bough one couple years back but never ended up mounting it and using it. It is up for sale for $ 90 + taxes. Call or email me if interested. Andre

Nov 6/09      Great flight on Wednesday Nov 4.

No wind, relatively warm air... I decided to do some hop in for my own pleasure + I needed to test couple of things.

It was great flying in very smooth air. I only lasted 40 min - I am turning into a sissy when it comes to cold air...

Nov 5/09      More training with Ralph on Sunday Nov 1.

Sunday was a nice day so me and Mark went to the field to meet Ralph for more training. He brought his film crew with him to get some footage for the up coming documentary called the Beauty Day. It was over a month since Ralph flew last time so it took couple of tries to get in the air. On first attempt he did not apply full power and on the second sat back too early. After that we managed two good flights. First flawless, the second with bit of a stumble on landing. Mark was test flying one of our units and filming Ralph air to air. Arthur showed up later on with his trike and showed us some quite wild take offs. Bit of a PPG rodeo.

Good day. The beer at the end tasted like honey...

Oct 27/09      I can still run PPG course.

Even though there is no more courses scheduled this year I can still run one based on date agreement. The weather is very unpredictable now so this would only work for someone wiling to drive down for each training session. Please email me at zemanandre@yahoo.com if interested.

Oct 27/09      Two students started PPG course on Oct 17, 2009

Martin and Zsolt

Martin has some experience flying hangliding trike and Zsolt is PG instructor with over 100 PPG flights. Ground school went well. We went to our field for flying where Zsolt demonstrated his skills and flew 5 times. Martin was working on his ground handling skills and Valentyn came down for visit as well.

Oct 9/09      Wayne goes to 8100 ft on WJ - new XC and Sky Fides 26.

Andre,

Just though I would share some of my fun! - Please look at the attachment.

Wayne G

Wayne was in PPG course that started June 7, 2008 - See news June 9/08  and also June 7, 2008 where he manages to foot launch 10 times in 2.5 hrs. 

Oct 8/09      September PPG course with Steve - Tuesday Sep 29/09 - video.

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