There have been at least two failures on at least one machine of the Tillitson carburetor side throttle linkage used on MZ313 engines resulting in the motor going to idle.  It is difficult to inspect so Ken, the reporting pilot, recommends replacing the arm every 30 to 50 hours. He reported two failures of this piece on his 2005 Blackhawk 313 after 50 hours each time. He suggests keeping it well lubed with white Lithium grease (or similar) which may prevent the wear.

A recent incident points to the value of wearing a helmet, especially on low-rake paramotors. In an effort to move the engine forward some manufacturers reduce the cage rake -- how angled back the radial arms are. That puts the prop closer to the pilots head.

In a fall with forward motion, especially on motors with protruding structure at mid-frame (Walkerjet, Flattop), there is a tendency to drive the pilots head into the ground and the cage/prop forward. In the pictured case, the prop flexed into the cage and hit the pilots (fortunately) helmeted head. It's good reason for a helmet. Photo by Marty Hathaway, click to open larger version.

Gas Tank Fire Risk

There has been an incident where a pilot fell and the propeller sliced into the gas tank causing a fireball. Details here. MANY machines are subject to this risk!

If your prop tip arc is less than about 6" from the gas tank then you might be at risk for this type of accident. We suggest either changing the tank to improve clearance or adding protection to prevent puncture in case of accident. Fire is extremely rare but preventing is equally easy.

Flattop Frame Cracking

There have been cracks reported on at least 4 Flattop frames including complete failure of the newer style frames with a reinforcement insert. These failures are occurring on the vertical main frame tubes near the center. Other cracks and failures have been reported on at least 2 other machines of the comfort bars.

Flattop Harness Chafing and Failure

There have been numerous reports of harness wear and one complete failure of a leg strap on a newer Flattop. The failure happened during moderate wingovers on one side which cause the pilot to go into a severe weight shift. Also there have been several reports of chafing lower (leg) harness straps against the seatboard, both on a newer harness. According to one pilot who reported it, the manufacturer blamed it on "too many butt landings."

The verbatim report, made to the manufacturer, was "The Flat Top harness broke a seat strap on the left side while doing a wing over. Further inspection shows the other side also chaffing thru and the legs straps are also chaffing into the strap." No responsive action was offered by the manufacturer.

Immediate inspection is strongly recommended as this is an potentially critical failure. If any wear is found, either send the harness back or have it repaired by a shop that is familiar with paraglider or parachute harness designs.

Apco Force Speedbar Pulleys

We have been notified recently about 2 cases where the accelerator pulley on the paramotor wing’s riser (Force) damaged the pulley retaining webbing due to having sharp edges of the slot not properly blunted. These remained razor sharp, gradually cutting through the webbing.

It's easy to cure if caught early: file down the raised edge.

Kudos to Apco for issuing this safety bulletin. Here's hoping all manufacturers are willing to point out defects as soon as they become aware of them. Apco makes quality products but sometimes something gets through. It happens to all manufactured goods but not all are willing to issue such bulletins.

Headless Trike Pilots

Any wheeled craft where the head is exposed carries the risk that, in some situations, lines could be pulled into the prop and across the pilot's neck. The cure is to have a bar that runs forward and above the pilots head such that any lines getting pulled into the prop during a failed launch will not pull tight across the pilot's neck.

One high-time pilot experienced a line burn from this exact scenario and was saved because the line broke before cutting his heck open. He acknowledged that , had the line not broken it could have been dramatically worse.

Such bars, inherent in a few some designs, are easily added after the fact on nearly all machines.

Whether or not you have good neck protection, the problem is abated by having an easy-to-reach kill switch, in good working order, and be extremely quick to use it!

This style of machine is most at risk.

This style has middling risk because frame and harness parts provide some protection by virtue of giving the lines something snag on besides the pilot's neck. A line could still cause injury if harness webbing is the only protection although it's better by virtue of being attached to an over-arm frame part.

This style of machine has the least risk for neck-line injury. Lines would be more likely to run up the frame instead of snagging the pilot's neck. Machines where the pilot's arms are below a metal frame part are best.

Machine 1 (far left) has the most protection, followed by 4 (far right). Machines 2 and 3 have the least protection from this particular issue.

Agama Straps May Be Reversed

2009-July-2

2008-June-7

During inspection of some Gin Boomerang Sports with 100+ of hours of use, it was confirmed that some gliders have lines that have changed length and are no longer within the 1-2 cm tolerances. Some gliders with 100 hours+, experienced shrinkage in the middle lines constructed of "LIROS DC 120." The changes were seen mainly on the D and brake lines.

This line shrinkage can be easily detected during the normal line length check as part of the required 100 hours or 1 year inspection.

As a precaution, Gin has decided to offer replacement middle and upper line sets, free of charge, to all owners of Boomerang Sports and Yeti 08s that are fitted with LIROS DC 120 and DC 60. Please take time to inform any and all Boomerang Sport and Yeti pilots about this notice.

Paul Lundquist shared this picture taken by a pilot after he landed at Point of the Mountain. After unclipping from the wing, the pilot's carabiner "crumbled in his hands." Such a failure, had it happened in flight would have been catastrophic and would almost certainly be fatal.

Ken Johnston, Green Country PPG, shares that the new Tiny Tach Commercial model may be causing problems with paramotor kill switches. It has been confirmed on 3 separate paramotors using the Black Devil 172.

If too many wraps are made around the spark plug wire (using the red antenna wire), the kill switch will cease to function. The solution is to use the minimum wraps necessary to get a good rpm reading, often 2 will work. Then test the kill switch at several different rpm levels to insure its proper function.