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Paramotors aren't fast, they take a lot of effort to launch, they
require an associate degree in two stroke mechanics and don't allow you
to carry much. So what's the bid deal?
It's nothing short of the most amazing way to fly ever devised.
A surprising number of airline pilots, with access to about any type
of flying machine, pick the lowly PPG as their most fun type of flying.
Don't get me wrong, the other stuff is great, too. Even hot air
ballooning is a blast, although it's pretty limiting. There's just no
comparison to running aloft from a field that was, immediately before,
just a field. Now it's a launch site. How cool.
The year 2008 is my ninth for flying paramotors. And I still learn.
That's another thing--the seeming endless amount of nuance there is to
be learned, to be mastered. And you don't even have to have a motor for
a lot of it, just a wing and a harness.
The Joy of Anywhere
We can launch these things from a space whose smallness is mostly up
to the pilot. You need 40 feet wide or so to bring up the wing and about
400 foot of climbout space but that's a lot of places.
Humans are always building. While we may sometimes lament the
inexorable paving of paradise, it does have one positive affect: before
they build it, they clear it.
The fact that you can carry a paramotor, full assembled, in a minivan
offers incredible versatility. Even better is how they can be shipped
around with relative ease. Try FedEx'ing a weight-shift ultralight. Not
likely.
Maintenance
Yes, there is a downside—motor problems.
I'll readily admit to not liking the maintenance end of it. There is
some strange satisfaction in a well repaired part, or a nice-looking,
safetied exhaust system. But that pales when compared to the trauma of
pulling the cord only to have it come out in your hand as your buddies
fly off into some beautiful vista that you'll now only see in pictures.
There is truth to how preventative maintenance can prevent lots of
teeth gnashing, but I've been dumped by nearly brand new machines on
several occasions. Demos no less, where the doting seller is wanting his
ware to make a good impression. You'd think that such a machine would be
in top condition.
And please don't ever tell me that "oh, this motor is bulletproof."
That's true only if its being used to stop of high-speed lead projectile
but certainly isn't in the case of reliability.
I get this question a lot. "Jeff, I'm tired of working on my
____ (fill in the the brand of your choice), what can I buy that's
reliable?"
My response: "a car."
Lets face it, we're asking a lot from these little engines. Almost
all paramotor engines are based on some Italian scooter that rarely
demands more than about 7 horsepower. Then we come along, strip any
possible extra weight, and wind the poor little thing up to 15
horsepower for a half-minute at a time. Can we really be surprised when
something goes pop? Most experienced pilots acknowledge that if you get
30 trouble-free hours from a brand new machine, you're doing good. Not
that the troubles will be big, they probably won't be, but they'll stop
you from flying no less.
I've bought probably 5 new or nearly new paramotors and all have had
some problem within the first 30 hours. Nearly every pilot I know has
had a similar experience. Brand is irrelevant, too.
The bummer is that there aren't dealerships around where you can take
these things to be fixed. In fact even some small engine repair shops
are reluctant to work on them once they realize it's for flying. The
American bugaboo: liability.
Thankfully, paramotors are usually about the easiest thing to work on
you'd ever want to have to. So, in all likelihood, you'll become a
mechanic once you take up this incredible sport and part of its price of
admission.
Overall, the trade off is an easy one. I'll gladly work on my
paramotor when needed, gripe about it appropriately then take to the
skies.
The reward sure is worth the price.
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