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While looking for information on products that are getting reviewed I
came across something that made me laugh. A sad laugh, though. It
highlights why internet claims are so suspect. I heard one marketer
explain that "everybody else does it, if we don't, we'll get left
behind." Many websites, of course, are pretty reliable but you must first
determine that on your own. Google is the first place although mostly it
tells you how long the site has been on the air, not the validity of its
claims.
If a site claims "first this" or "most that," etc, etc, put up your guard.
The bullship light should be lit. Brightly.
The example that I stumbled on was particularly funny when you realize
that, for several years, I've not seen a SINGLE one of this company's paramotors during visits
all over the country, even in their back yard. In fact, I thought maybe they were out of the PPG business. Way back when I did
encounter these folks at a Florida gathering (they've never been back), forthright
information was scant.
The company is BP, aka Spartan. One of their machines was the subject of
an Ultraflight article I wrote called "The Internet Machine." It
was nearly unflyable. The instructor who's student bought it, sight
unseen, from the internet suckered me into flying it—a
challenge I regret accepting. It was awful. I never could get in the seat
and flew the whole pattern Gumby style.
So now, in March of 2007, I stumble upon their website and find this. At the bottom of their paramotor home
page, the company who's product I haven't seen at a major fly-in or visit
for at least two years, said:
"#1 selling backpack in USA."
Yup. Number 1!
A few months later, that same website, hawking a Fly Products
knockoff, claimed: "The most powerful 28 HP Back Pack
Powered Paraglider." The picture shows a Simonini with a 48" or less
2-blade prop—highly doubtful that it's as
powerful as some of the 3-blade models I've flown using the same motor.
It may be a fine machine, but such claims bring all their other
statements into question. The Fly Products version is a reliable machine
backed by a reliable company (Aerolight) whose service I can vouch for.
So browse the internet's wild west of words. Learn but beware—it's a jungle out there.
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