Considerations for New Paramotor Pilots
As you get involved in motoring there are some
important considerations that are somewhat different than normal free-flight.
Being in close proximity to gasoline engines of any
type can be potentially harmful or fatal especially if the unit is strapped to
your back. Flying/kiting/standing with gasoline strapped to your back can result
in burns or smoke inhalation because the wind may blow flames and smoke into
you.
It is possible for carabineers to break in flight. Any
component to a paramotor can break or fail at any time. A paraglider that has
been tested to withstand as much as 12g's can fail with less force than that.
The tip of a prop is moving over 370mph and if it comes
apart at any time can cause severe injury or death.
Reserve parachutes can fail to open or operate
correctly even if deployed properly.
Here are problem areas that everyone has even after
being well-informed:
| Being paraglider pilots they are
used to leaning forward when launching so the trust is vectored up
pushing them into the ground. They either fall down or run and run and
can't get off the ground. They need to arch their back into the thrust
of the motor and remember to run upright. Keep your chin up.
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| As soon as they leave the ground
they tense up and instinctively back off the power and immediately land
again but at full speed without flaring. Of course since they think they
are flying they pick their feet up and land on their fannies at high
speed. No matter how many times you tell them not to do this a large
percentage of people still do it anyway. |
| They fall down or screw up a
launch and forget to instantly kill the motor in which case they will
break a prop, damage the cage and or suck their wing or body parts
through the motor. They need to know exactly how to shut off the motor
and it has to be instinctively the first thing they do if they land or
abort a launch. |
| Torque steer is very new to
everyone, especially free-flight paragliding pilots. They need to know
not to try to turn hard against the torque steer because they could
possibly stall or spin the glider. It would be the same as if you weight
shifted all the way to one side and then tried to turn the other way.
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| They also have to make sure they
climb straight out and not let the torque steer turn them with the wind
close to the ground. Stay on heading. |
| Another thing they have to be very
careful of is being smooth on the throttle. If they go full throttle,
rip off the ground and then 10 foot up take their finger completely off
the throttle they could potentially swing into the ground. |
| Bystanders are another big
concern. When someone falls down the first thing bystanders want to do
is catch them or run to their aid. This is a very bad plan. Everyone
around should be instructed to stay clear and to not attempt to help
because if a PPG pilot turns to one side, even slightly, their prop can
move a long ways and catch unsuspecting people standing even 5 foot
away. Someone that falls down should be approached very cautiously and
only by their instructor. |
| Anyone with a motor on their back
should never be approached by anyone other than their instructor and
then only from the front after eye contact has been made. If you're
launching where there are spectators make it a point to tell them that
if you fall down not to attempt to help you unless the motor is
completely off. |
| Another big danger is starting,
warming and tuning the motor. Extreme caution needs to be exercised by
all pilots to ensure the safety of everyone around them. You don't want
anyone within 20 foot of you, minimum, if you're about to fire up your
motor and at least 50 foot to the side of you in case the prop blows up.
You should also discourage any helpers other than an instructor because
it is so dangerous. There will be time for teaching and learning about
how to get a motor ready but when we are helping a pilot get ready to
launch that is not the time to ask questions or stand close to try and
listen in. |
| When you preflight your motor the
first thing you should check is that your prop is tight, all the bolts
are torqued correctly and that it hasn't been damaged or cracked and
that there are no lines, strings, straps, or dangling things that can be
sucked into the motor. Next check the muffler to make sure it is tight
and there are no cracks. Then check all bolts to ensure nothing is
coming loose or damaged. Prime your motor while doing that check.
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| Check electrical to make sure
wires are not frayed, melted, loose, cracking, brittle, dirty or in
disrepair and that all my switches are working and are in the correct
positions. Then you inspect the frame and cage to make sure there are no
cracks at any of the stress points and that the cage is fully assembled
properly. Look specifically for obvious cracks or distortions in the
paint that can give clues to possible stress fractures. |
| The main thing you look for on the
cage is that all the Velcro is very tight and that it is fastened neatly
and securely. Check for dents or loose netting that could possibly end
up in the prop. Finish by fully checking your harness, carabineers,
reserve, gas cap and gas level right before you strap in and hook up.
Last after you're all hooked in you do a motor run-up by leaning all the
way forward so the thrust is straight up and revving it up to full
throttle numerous times to make sure it is running smoothly, has instant
response, and Ithat you can feel the appropriate amount of thrust as it
pushes down on your legs. You can immediately know if there are problems
if you don't feel enough thrust. Remember that if you are launching at
high altitude you won't have as much power and therefore need to have
more runway than usual. |
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 | Air, how is the air, do I see any virga,
thunderstorms or signs of possible weather threats and is the wind
at a constant pressure or is it gusting a lot |
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| How am I? Am I ready to fly? Do I have a
cold, sprained ankle or am I severely pissed off or have any other
mental issue that could impair my judgment? |
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| Pull the chinstrap on your helmet to make
sure it is fastened correctly. |
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| I have 2 carabineers, are the risers
hooked in correctly and do I have my trim tabs or speed system in
the correct position and setup properly? Is the throttle positioned
so that I won't accidentally throttle up or hit the kill switch?
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| Pull on your harness straps to make
sure the connections are all fastened correctly and are
adjusted properly. |
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| If I'm doing a reverse which way are my
lines twisted? Which way will I have to turn to untwist?
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| Is my wing laid out correctly and or did I
build a wall and check all my lines are free and clear of brush,
weeds and obstructions? I also like to do this as I'm launching and
immediately after launch to make sure no lines are tangled, no
brush, grass or other objects are hanging from them and I don't have
any cravats or obvious dimples in my wing that would signify a
problem. |
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| Landing or kiting in higher winds
with a motor unit can be different, even a little difficult, than with a
standard paragliding harness. In higher winds paraglider pilots are
trained to lean forward into the swept back wings position to be able to
really dig into the wind and prevent themselves from being dragged over
backwards by the wing. This is not as easy on a motor unit because of
the weight, lack of flexibility, and the cage. You can lean forwards a
little but not near enough to prevent higher winds from dragging you
over backwards if you aren't prepared. If you are kiting a motor unit in
higher winds you need to have the power on to push you forward and use
the power to prevent you from falling over backwards or you need to turn
around into a reverse position. Motors with higher attachment
points may make it easier to turn around but they are near impossible to
kite in high winds because of the high hang points. On machines
with lower fixed hang points, which you'll find helps prevent riser
twists in the air and gives you a lot of stability in flight, it is
difficult to turn around to a reserve position in higher winds while
kiting because the comfort bars hold the risers apart so they don't come
together as easily as on a free flight harness. Kiting any of the motor
units is slightly harder than in a normal paragliding harness but as
long as you remember to put some effort into your turn around you won't
have a problem. If you land in higher winds or are kiting in higher
winds you really need to throw that motor around to get the desired
twist in your risers. You will also untwist very quickly if a gust
should pop you off the ground so don't even try to kite in super high
winds without becoming completely confident in milder conditions.
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| It can be awkward to run backwards
because your legs can hit the gas tank. You can walk backwards easily
enough but running can cause you to fall over backwards. This is only a
problem if you are trying to do a reverse launch in no wind. You may
consider only doing a reverse if there is enough wind to pull your wing
over your head without needing to move backwards very much, if at all.
With wind less than ideal for reverse launching you should seriously
consider a forward launch. Practice your forward launches with your
paragliding harness until you can do at least 10 in a row effortlessly.
Learn to stay under the center of your glider as it comes up, to keep
moving, and to dampen the surge if the glider tries to accelerate past
your head. |
| Here are basic instructions for
making a smooth forward launch: |
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You want to explode out of the hole like a
sprinter. Messing up launches is no fun at all so you want to put 100%
effort into every launch to make sure you nail it first time. Make sure
you are lined up into the wind, even set streamers down your launch line
to confirm you are straight into the wind. Start with the engine at
idle; then walk backwards into your lines so you're only about 6-8 feet
from your wing. Make sure you move the lines out to the side of your
motor so they are fully clear and won't get caught on the skids when you
run forward. While holding your "A" risers sprint to the end of the
lines hitting them hard but still with the motor at idle. Lean forward
while doing this, which not only helps with your sprint but by leaning
forward it holds the skids out of the way of your legs so you can take
nice powerful strides. This should rip the wing off the ground and over
your head very quickly, but remember to consider surge control if it
feels as though it's going to fly past your head. If the glider is
coming up slowly be prepared as the wing locks in above your head to let
go of the A risers and hit full throttle. Now is when you'll transition
your run from leaning forward and sprinting to standing upright and
letting the motor push you forward. It is important to make this
transition without any hesitation or any pause or stop in forward
momentum or speed. If you feel as though it's not going to happen keep
moving forward and hit your kill switch. By still moving forward you
will reduce the risk of dropping lines or canopy into the prop. It can
take a few seconds for the prop to stop spinning after using the kill
switch so keep the glider and lines behind you during an abort.
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It is important to get your body upright
before you nail the throttle or the thrust vectored upwards can force
you to the ground. With the motor full throttle and your body upright
simply keep your legs in front of you. Let the motor do pretty much all
the work pushing you along the ground and take fairly short but fast
strides. At this point your hands are on the brakes but all the way up
to the point where you're only pulling enough brake to be able to feel
what is going on with the wing. The power of the motor, should get you
up to speed very quickly. Once you reach the point at which you can't
run any faster, start adding a little brake but only to the point of
optimal lift over drag, "minimum sink", which is generally no lower than
your chest. Never try to flare before you get full speed or you'll stall
the wing and it'll fall right back behind you, even if you're at full
throttle. If you apply too much brake you can stall the glider before
you leave the ground, if you don't use any brakes you'll have to run
just a bit faster but you can still make a successful launch. Always err
on the side of not having much brake applied. As you take your last few
steps and are just barely leaving the ground you'll slowly let your
hands back up to trim and focus on feeling what the wing is doing. It is
important to get off the brakes smoothly and up to trim position as you
leave the ground to make the risk of "power stalling" as small as
possible. Power stalling would be a combination of excessive brakes and
the high angle of attack the thrust of the motor creates. |
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As you leave the ground smoothly back off the
power just a little, depending on how powerful the motor is, so that you
make a more gradual climb out without an excessive angle of attack and
torque steer. As you climb out start adding brake to the side that will
prevent the torque steer moving you off course, unless, of course, you
want to have a slight turn. Torque steer is the effect of the thrust and
"P factor" of the spinning prop and makes the glider want to turn more
one direction than the other. This is more or less an issue on some
machines than others and goes away when you throttle back down. The
faster you climb the more brake you have to pull on one side so you can
climb at a smooth, steady, straight, but reasonable pace. On the other
hand, you'll find you can simply let the glider turn with the thrust and
just make circles as you climb out. Under no circumstance should you try
and turn opposite of strong torque steer. Severely backing off the power
or letting off the power completely anywhere during your launch can
really screw you up. Think "let the motor push you, stay on heading,
soft brake usage, and smooth throttle use". |
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"The faster you get your speed up and the more
aggressive you are at making the launch happen, the more successful you
will be. If you hesitate at all then you should probably fully abort
because pausing and then trying to start again is a bad idea. You really
need to hit your launch with the attitude that you are going to make it
happen. If you have even the slightest attitude of just feeling it out
to see if launching is possible, thinking you will just build up to it
slowly, then you will really have trouble. Either launch and get off the
ground or don't. There is no try, you either do or you do not."
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"The next problem area is right after you find
yourself off the ground. This is the worst time to take your finger off
the throttle. If you cut power after you are a few feet off the ground
you will immediately land but at full speed with almost no time to
flare. If you kill power 10 foot off the ground you could pendulum to
the ground. Make sure you are very smooth on the throttle. A
positive and confident attitude is very important, if you are unsure of
your launch and can't really visualize making it happen then you should
work on forward launches with just a paragliding harness until you
absolutely know you can launch. |
Exercises for New PPG Pilots
Test kite your wing. It's also a good idea to learn to
kite your wing without a harness, to simply hold your risers in your hands. This
way you make sure there are no lines twisted or debris in the lines or wing.
This also helps you build a proper wall and lay your wing out in the most
optimal fashion so as to make launching as easy as possible. It's very important
to launch directly into the wind and kiting your wing before hooking in can also
assure the wind direction or alert you to changing wind directions. Obviously,
this can be more difficult in breezy conditions. One thought on safety is that
if your wing is getting thrashed around too much for you to easily kite it for 5
minutes you shouldn’t be launching. Sometimes rotor and turbulence is difficult
to discern and with the ability of the motor to take off pretty much anywhere
you will often be flying from new untested launch sites. Launching and landing
is by far the most dangerous time to take any type of fold, so get a feel for
the air prior to flying.
Right before launching lean all the way forward and rev
my motor up to full throttle until it is running perfectly smoothly. By leaning
forward vectoring the thrust up in the air you can also feel in your legs how
much thrust is being applied. Very weak thrust is a definite indicator something
is not right with your motor. Leaning forward allows the seat board to slip
fully under your rump making it much easier to get in your seat after launch. If
you don’t get the seat board under your rump it may be impossible to get into
your seat after launch. This is an uncomfortable and possibly dangerous
situation so make sure you get the seat board under you right before launch. If
you can’t get into your seat after launch just climb to altitude, go around and
come back in for a proper landing. The last thing you want to do is take your
hands off the toggle and thrash around violently to get into your seat. If you
have to let go of your toggles I might also suggest you snap them into the snaps
or magnet attachments to further prevent them from flailing around.
The correct way to hook your risers into your
carabineers or d-shackles for both forward and reverse launches is also very
handy to know. This is something you really need to have your instructor show
you and double check before you fly.
Motoring also brings up a new danger of prop wash. If
you paraglide you are probably familiar with being waked by someone flying in
front of you. Being waked is nothing compared to what prop wash can do to you.
Make sure when another pilot is flying in front of you that you stay above them.
Don’t attempt to launch or come in for a landing directly behind another motor
pilot either. Don’t fly around in tight circles either or you can severely wake
and prop wash yourself. If you do fly in tight circles make sure you are
climbing at the same time.
Source: http://www.eagleparagliding.com/?q=node/102
