Recent
Here is the latest, news, instructional articles, musings, and all manner of goodies. Some is wisdom learned the hard way, and shared in hopes that those lessons don’t get repeated.
Plus, we cover training rules, Federal Aviation Regulations, and understanding of the sport’s changes. And accidents happen. We’ll update material as needed, looking at the causes and cures of our most common ills.
Have a question that would make a good article? Please write to 737jeff@gmail.com. If you would, add “Footflyer paramotor” in the subject line.
by Jeff Goin | Nov 2, 2022 | 08: the Law, 09: Airspace, Recent, Safety
See also: ADS-B Test | ADS-B Out Overview | ADS-B Portable Transponder We tested the UAvionix prototype and it worked. Unfortunately, the market size and regulatory environment is too uncertain, so they won’t be marketing to us. You must have an N-Number. We...
by Jeff Goin | Nov 2, 2022 | 08: the Law, 09: Airspace, Recent
A question was brought to my attention: Can we fly OVER Class E Surface area designated for an airport? These show some examples of where we can and cannot fly regarding Class E surface areas which are depicted with dashed magenta lines. There’s more here....
by Jeff Goin | Feb 21, 2022 | 09: Airspace, 19: Risk & Safety, 28: Accessories, Recent, Safety
Colliding with an aircraft while paramotoring is obviously disastrous. Avoiding airplane flight paths, and keeping up a good scan are currently our best defenses, but that’s hopefully about to change. Most aircraft have cockpit devices — ADS-B¹ — that warn about...
by Jeff Goin | Dec 22, 2021 | Recent
To my knowledge, this is a first. Dec 21 at around 9am a single-engine Cessna 208 (Caravan) flying as a UPS contract carrier, collided with a powered paraglider, killing both pilots. According to this source the aircraft was enroute from Houston’s KIAH bound for...
by Jeff Goin | Nov 2, 2021 | Log: Life, News, Recent
Effective Nov 3, I will be resigning as USPPA president and turning the keys over to Noah Rasheta — an extremely competent pilot, instructor, family man, and all-around great human. Once I’ve resigned, he must be approved by the remaining three officers and then takes...
by Jeff Goin | Jun 6, 2021 | 19: Risk & Safety, 26: The Wing, Recent
We’ve covered small wings, because that’s been a trend for some years, but what about larger wings? Is it dangerous to fly big wings? This is really about wing loading: all-up weight per square meter of flat wing are. The chart in that article shows the...
by Jeff Goin | Apr 9, 2021 | For Sale, Recent
1998 Apco Santana 28, $300 This was my first wing. Likely would not pass inspection on the red-colored fabric. Think “kiting only”. I did soar a ridge with in the last year but that’s because I wasn’t doing anything high G and didn’t fly...
by Jeff Goin | Apr 9, 2021 | For Sale, Recent
Niviuk Doberman 19 m² Slalom Glider for sale, $1200. Probably 150 hours max. Inspected June, 2019. I’ve been flying a 16 meter version of this wing a lot more and figure it’s time to find a new owner. This wing was inspected by 4 winds about a year ago and...
by Jeff Goin | Mar 11, 2021 | 09: Airspace, 34: Cool Places to Fly, Recent
Can you fly the grand canyon? Yes, but with huge caveats. Mostly you can fly over the canyon, WAY over, but there are some airports where you’re allowed to takeoff and land from, climbing to the minimum altitudes within 3 miles of their runway’s center....
by Jeff Goin | Nov 16, 2020 | Log: Helicopter, Recent
We carefully ventured out into Covid Country with Ellie, cruising over to, then down the coast of Clearwater and others. Amazingly enough, we’ve never actually done that in anything but a paramotor. This was a good way to do it, too. Airspeed was a blindingly...
by Jeff Goin | Nov 4, 2020 | For Sale, Recent
Selling it all for charity! We have collected a fair amount of book production goodies over the years, because it’s kinda cool to reminisce. But we’ve decided it’s time to part with it, donating the proceeds to paramotor charity Resurgence PPG. The...
by Jeff Goin | Nov 2, 2020 | Accident Reports, Log: Hang Glider, Recent
There I was, enjoying a little cruise about the countryside, visiting many of my local haunts, including a flyby of runway 4 at Kermit Week’s Fantasy of Flight. Just before reaching the intersection of Fantasy’s two runways, I throttled up to climb. ...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 31, 2020 | 09: Airspace, 10: Flying Anywhere, Recent
How we Know This is True Understanding Class E surface area can be a pain. And is somewhat controversial. The link above handles the controversy part. Above is a control tower airport (DBQ) and its D in dashed blue lines. X’s show what’s off-limits without...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 28, 2020 | Electric Paramotor, Recent
I recently got a question about the state of ePPG. Why don’t we see more electric paramotors? As a big fan of the breed, I’m rooting for its success, but am also a realist. Go to a gathering and you’ll find very few, if any, electric paramotors. Why?...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 23, 2020 | 08: the Law, Recent
Related: Who Owns the Air | Pilot Gets Criminal Violation for Flying OVER Park | Arrested Pilot: Law Enforcement Run Amok A Maricopa county judge completely missed the mark and convicted paramotor pilot Taylor Siljander of violating a county park rule. Taylor, a PHX...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 22, 2020 | 08: the Law, 10: Flying Anywhere, Recent
I get emails. This one concerned flying under power lines or bridges, so I’ll offer up my pair of pennies. There are two common questions: Is it legal? And is it safe? As usual, it depends. One thing: if it looks dangerous to you, it is! Does that opening, in...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 21, 2020 | 08: the Law, 09: Airspace, Recent
See related article Who Owns the Air | Law Enforcement Run Amok | When Judges Get it Wrong In October, 2020, A Phoenix area pilot, Joshua Stanaland, was cited for flying his paramotor OVER a park in Arizona. I was tagged on a social media post, and after looking at...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 15, 2020 | 09: Airspace, Recent
Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR’s) are off-limits airspace. They carry degrees of repercussion, all the way up to getting shot if you blunder in, especially towards what the TFR is protecting. Don’t fly in TFR’s. But where are they? Finding...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 14, 2020 | 16: Precision Flying, Recent
I recently flew my Ozone Viper 4 18m and hooked up the speedbar, something I don’t do very often. Turns out there was a 15-18 mph wind only 500 feet up and I was able to go stationary by pointing straight into it. With GPS speed displayed on my phone, I eased...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 14, 2020 | Airline Safety, Covid-19 Coronavirus, Recent
In most regards, I’ve been lucky during the Covid Curse. Both Tim & I have been. We’re healthy were not impacted by unemployment, and had plenty of options for entertainment. Plus, we saw a few close friends regularly so never felt isolated....
by Jeff Goin | Oct 14, 2020 | Covid-19 Coronavirus, Recent
My industry, the airlines, went into freefall in March. I’m sooo lucky to be a senior puke at what may be the most solvent airline in the world: Southwest—an awesome company to career at. But we were still losing 17 million dollars a DAY as of Oct 14—numbers...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 14, 2020 | 19: Risk & Safety, Covid-19 Coronavirus, Parapinions, Recent
There’s a raging pandemic going on. I get it. Covid-19 is deadly and must be taken very seriously. Once you’re confirmed to have it, you have between a 1-in-50 and 1-in-1000 chance of dying depending on a bunch of things. Those are not great odds. But...
by Mee Too | Oct 11, 2020 | 04: First Flight Prep, Accident Reports, Propeller Safety, Recent
This was a first to me. Thanks to Sam for sharing his experience so we all can learn. After mounting a motor on a frame, he started it on the ground, is the most common practice. At idle and half power it was fine but when he went to full power the prop flexed into...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 11, 2020 | Business & Website, News, Recent
The eBook has arrived! Download Powered Paragliding Bible 6: the Ultimate Paramotor Manual & Reference here. It’s available as a PDF, viewable using the Flux Player Reader reader which can be downloaded onto Android and Apple phones/tablets, Windows...
by Mee Too | Oct 10, 2020 | 01 Training, Recent
I was 39 years old when paramotor consumed me. Nearly took over my life is more accurate. Little did I know how deep the dive would be, and boy has it been a fun run. At first it was mostly older people then some youngsters (to me) started joining in, probably the...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 9, 2020 | 01 Training, Educational, Recent
I recently got a question about whether bruising on the arm was to be expected since it concerned him about training safety. After all, we learn in airplanes all the time and it never involves getting bruised. I had no idea. It happened to me and I always assumed it...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 5, 2020 | News, Recent
The PPG Bible eBook will be made available for download using our online shop at https://sales.footflyer.com/us/ An Audiobook will also be made available for download there, too, and will be available in the near future. It can be viewed on any device using...
by Jeff Goin | Apr 2, 2020 | For Sale, Log: Enterprise, Recent
Update: Sold! A new chapter for at least a while. We’re selling “Enterprise C”, and have created a description (with some nostalgia) video. I know, I probably shouldn’t have included the kiting a paraglider on it (see video), but it’s a...
by Jeff Goin | May 14, 2019 | 08: the Law, 09: Airspace, Recent
Related: Criminal Violation for Flying Over Park? | Law Enforcement Run Amok: Glider Pilot Detained for “Loitering” | When Courts & Judges Get it Wrong Air may be everywhere, but like most aspects of life, it gets regulated. Sometimes municipalities or...
by Jeff Goin | Jan 28, 2013 | 08: the Law, Recent
Related: Who Owns the Air | Pilot Gets Criminal Violation for Flying OVER Park | When Courts & Judges Get it Wrong The vast majority of police officers are conscientious people doing a good job. But occasionally they get carried away which can make a pilot’s...
Here is the latest, news, instructional articles, musings, and all manner of goodies. Some is wisdom learned the hard way, and shared in hopes that those lessons don’t get repeated.