by Jeff Goin | Apr 5, 2019 | 02 Gearing Up
The more you fly, the cheaper it gets. But paramotor may not be as low-cost as we think, although it’s still cheap relative to other forms of flight. I fly other things and find that even at these costs, paramotor delivers more fun-per-dollar than any other form...
by Tim Kaiser | Apr 5, 2019 | Political
Political, Financial & Miscellaneous: Another view of the people and happenings on Earth We Americans are far from perfect. As individuals we have the same variety as people anywhere else on the globe. Some of us are incredibly arrogant and disrespectful while...
by Tim Kaiser | Apr 4, 2019 | Entertainment
This is where we enter the twilight zone of editing web content. 0915 was the time when I added this and it took me several attempts to get...
by Tim Kaiser | Apr 4, 2019 | Log: Enterprise
This year's installment continues. Day one started damp and dreary but finished at room temperature with sun. Tim and I helped with the NGPA.org booth and limited our wanderings to nearby vendors, checking out the various goodies. I'll be checking out the ultralight...
by Tim Kaiser | Feb 1, 2019 | Critical Thinking
This is the wrong question. Einstein was sure that nothing would ever travel faster than the speed of light, but he was wrong. At a certain level, anyway since at great distances galaxies are indeed moving away faster than light. The question is more accurately formed...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 10, 2018 | Log: Airline
The pockmarked path to an airliner’s left seat I get this question a lot: “I’m thinking about an airline career, I’m x years old, do you think its worth it?” The single most important question is “Do you really love flying?”...
by Jeff Goin | May 10, 2018 | Reviews: Paramotors
Miniplane has been building PPG engines (Top 80) and frames since maybe 1996. They make Owner Diego Cecchetto made his niche in the lightweight arena, an increasingly crowded field. It is heavily engineered to be lightweight and quiet. ABM is their weightshift version...
by Jeff Goin | Apr 28, 2018 | 07: Weather Basics, 24: Weather in Depth
Thanks to John Blair, Dayton Powered Paragliding. It’s now super easy to get the local weather forecast using the web, 800-WX-BRIEF, TV, radio or even your VHF radio. Even so, at certain times of the year weather can change rapidly and you should continually...
by Jeff Goin | Jan 10, 2018 | News
The world’s most complete guide to Powered Paragliding just got better. Content This turned out to be a much bigger update than originally planned with nearly every part of the book enjoying attention. As with previous editions, new or revised content reflects...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 16, 2017 | 16: Precision Flying, 19: Risk & Safety
see also Handling Paraglider Collapses Active piloting is the fine control inputs that keep your wing overhead and open with minimum input during turbulence or while maneuvering. The book details how to practice, what to practice and how to know when you’ve...
by Jeff Goin | Aug 11, 2017 | 08: the Law, 09: Airspace
If you have a U.S. event, or do training, or towing where there will be a lot of paramotor or paraglider flights, it’s helpful to give general aviation pilots the opportunity to know about it. That’s done by filing a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM). It starts by...
by Jeff Goin | Jul 21, 2017 | Accident Reports
Read is a paramotor pilot who doesn’t do much free flight but launched from the base of a well known free flight site, Point of the Mountain. He was man enough to post what happened on Facebook and agreed to let me share it. Here is his story. Action and...
by Jeff Goin | Jun 26, 2017 | 08: the Law, 09: Airspace
Pictures don’t do it justice: airflow on exposed skin, the immediate smells, feeling temperature changes, and yes, playing near the clouds like this make open-air flying irresistible for some of us. But is it legal? Can we fly this close to clouds? For sure we...
by Jeff Goin | Jun 21, 2017 | Accident Reports
Power lines are a common cause of paramotor accidents. They frequently incur serious injuries but, strangely, are rarely fatal, possibly because the altitude is very low and the lines touch each other causing the power to shut off before the victim becomes a filament....
by Jeff Goin | Jun 11, 2017 | 18: Advanced Maneuvers, 19: Risk & Safety
Fatalities | Steep Maneuvering Risk Article | Condolences to the family and friends of a fallen pilot. For the third time this year, a paramotorist has died doing steep maneuvering, making paramotoring as risky as paragliding. This reminds me of the effect speedflying...
by Jeff Goin | May 16, 2017 | Log: Helicopter, Log: Life
An Amazing Vehicle Autopilot. I had no interest in a Tesla until reading about autopilot. One day in 2015 they released a software update that gave the cars level 2 self driving capability. That’s where a driver must be immediately ready to take over but the car...
by Tim Kaiser | Mar 17, 2017 | Reviews: Paragliders
Paramania came out with the GTS in 2015 and I test flew it at Beach Blast. But the tips fluttered during certain phases of flight, namely power off, so I didn’t review it. A fix was devised and has been applied, at least to the models imported to the U.S. and...
by Jeff Goin | Mar 5, 2017 | News
Thanks to Kevin Douglas for the note which we verified. Another fraudulent international website has popped up purporting to sell paramotor gear. It was brought to my attention by Kevin Douglas and I checked with one of the manufacturers listed and they indeed they do...
by Jeff Goin | Jan 23, 2017 | 13: Flying Cross Country, 19: Risk & Safety
It seems innocuous. We find a nice flying site, maybe not easily visible from the road, and launch into the coolness. This is one of powered paragliding’s great draws–how easily we can just head off from the most unlikely of sites and be independent. But...
by Jeff Goin | Jan 1, 2017 | About
Boeing 737 The baby Boeing is surprisingly a lot of fun to fly, especially when it’s lightly loaded. More nimble than you’d expect, its roll control is crisp and, although artificial, its feel is well balanced. Once you get used to the speeds and the...
by Tim Kaiser | Jan 1, 2017 | Log: Enterprise
Year five for Enterprise “C.” I know how to drive it now on “Limp Home Mode” so we avoid any more tows, but it did need service last year. I’ll hand it to Tampa Mercedes for being great, though, so I can’t complain. This year is the...
by Jeff Goin | Oct 6, 2016 | 36: Instructors & Tandem, Log: Enterprise
Earning the USHPA Basic Instructor Certification In support of the new book project I decided to go through USHPA’s Instructor Certification Program. I’m writing a book on teaching paragliding, this would be a powerful addition to my experience and improve...
by Jeff Goin | Jul 12, 2016 | Accident Reports
Jupiter, FL, young pilot jumps from Powered Paraglider Video and news reports showed a pilot in a shallow right descending turn. He is seen coming out of a riser twist then hanging from his harness for a few seconds before letting go and falling from his paramotor,...
by Jeff Goin | Jul 6, 2016 | Log: Enterprise, Log: Hang Glider
We didn’t get to fly here last time. What a beautiful place! Wonderful folks, too. Tim and I launched late. Poor Tim got the short end of the wind stick: a tailwind after he setup. His launch was brilliant but, by then, it had gotten bumpy. Not by soaring...
by Jeff Goin | May 7, 2016 | Reviews: Paragliders
Reviewed 2016-03-19, Written 2016-04-24 Gin is one of the more mature paraglider makers with much experience in reflex gliders since they used to make wings for Paramania. I’m 147 pounds and flew a 24 during mellow conditions on an overcast FL morning with a...
by Jeff Goin | May 7, 2016 | Reviews: Paragliders
Flown 2016-03-18, reviewed 2016-04-19 I had owned and competed with an Ozone Viper 1 for at least 4 years before doing this review. I bought the Viper 1 even though a later model was out because Mathieu Rouanet had been competing on it successfully, without...
by Jeff Goin | Apr 21, 2016 | 31: Traveling with Gear
Every time I hear someone tell of their success at taking a paramotor on the airlines it makes me cringe just a bit. Kind of like when someone says they stalled their wing and “it wasn’t that bad.” Maybe THAT time it wasn’t, but in fact,...
by Jeff Goin | Apr 8, 2016 | Reviews: Paragliders
Air Design is a long time maker of paragliders, mostly for free flying (like most). The UFO is their first foray into hike-and-fly single surface gliders and they have done a nice job but I got to try it out on a motor thanks to Marco Bowles. It’s a well-behaved...
by Jeff Goin | Mar 27, 2016 | Reviews: Paragliders
Sun Gliders is a South Korean wing maker that has been imported in the US for the past several years by David Batton of Florida. This is a competition type reflex wing that carries all the caveats that entails. It provides very good performance for less money. I flew...
by Jeff Goin | Mar 24, 2016 | Reviews: Paramotors
MacFly ariose when World champ Alex Mateos helped design a paramotor. It’s what he would want to fly so it reflects his values: good thrust, smoothly tapped, with reliable launching and presumably able to handle high G’s. It’s not the lightest...
by Jeff Goin | Mar 22, 2016 | Reviews: Paramotors
French Paramotor maker Air Conception specializes in making lightweight paramotors of which the Nitro, at 200 cc’s, is their biggest as of 2016 The machine I flew was Eric Dufour’s trainer at Valkaria Airport in light turbulence on a 24 meter Axis. I was...
by Jeff Goin | Mar 18, 2016 | Reviews: Paragliders
This is an updated design on a wing that that’s been around for many years. I flew this on a mellow morning in FL, about 80 degrees, on a Miniplane Top 80 for a clip in weight of about 205. This is about the right size for me and my flying style although I...
by Jeff Goin | Mar 17, 2016 | Reviews: Paragliders
Sun Gliders is a South Korean wing maker that has been imported in the US for the past several years by David Batton of Florida. This is a competition type reflex wing that carries all the caveats that entails. It provides very good performance for less money. I flew...
by Jeff Goin | Jan 28, 2016 | Airline Safety
Seconds are frequently all we have. When things start going bad on a flight deck, pilots may waste precious seconds denying that it’s happening. It doesn’t have to be. Most pilots say that it won’t happen to them but accident data suggests otherwise....
by Jeff Goin | Jan 16, 2016 | News
Paramotor Makes Its Simulator Debut For the first time that we’re aware of Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X now has a paramotor available. It also has been added to Lockheed Martin’s Prepar3D flight simulator. The press release says Franz Luftfahrt...
by Tim Kaiser | Jan 1, 2016 | Log: Enterprise
Year four for Enterprise “C.” The warranty is up and we’ve been towed twice, once for a wheel sensor failure and another due to an improperly installed air filter. Even though that was regular maintenance done by the dealership, the warranty...
by Jeff Goin | Dec 30, 2015 | News
The world’s most complete guide to Powered Paragliding just got much better. Content This is our most important update so far, with large parts re-written, improved, and with better illustrations added. New or revised content reflects current technology and...
by Jeff Goin | Jul 8, 2015 | Reviews: Paragliders
From the July 2015 issue of Cross Country Magazine, updated May 2019 Efficiency is what sets this wing apart. For any pilot, whether competing or cruising, that’s like getting free horsepower. Spend it how you like—on distance, speed, climb rate, or maybe...
by Jeff Goin | Jun 11, 2015 | 20: Competition, Entertainment
Sent by Glen Boyd, Spreadsheet whiz and scoremaster at recent USPPA Competitions One day after a prolonged wait in, appropriately enough, a waiting-room, the magazines strewn across the table took on an undeserved appeal. Don’t misunderstand, the wall-mounted fish...
by Jeff Goin | May 16, 2015 | 20: Competition, News, Ultralights
Sadly, this no longer applies since USUA is no longer the air sport rep for ultralights (there is none as of July 2019). This article is preserved as a record of how it was. Wanna break a world record? Here’s how. Also, there is a great FAQ available...
