Balloonists Welcome PPG
Another example of how to be welcome is the work of Ed Poccia and Derick DeGennaro, USPPA members from New Mexico. They have worked with organizers of the 2006 Socorro Balloon Rally to get paramotor pilots invited to participate. The Albuquerque based Route 66 Flyers PPG Club will have 5 to 7 members flying and generally representing the sport. A full article appeared in the El Defensor Chieftain newspaper.
Ed reports: Perfect conditions greeted PPGers from New Mexico’s Route 66 Flyers participating in the Socorro Balloon & PPG Rally. The people of this central New Mexico town know how to throw a party. Pilots enjoyed the free motel rooms and food as well as a generous “goodies” bag. Seven PPG pilots launched into calm winds and clear, cool skies to join more than thirty hot air balloons to provide spectacle to the opening of the town’s holiday season.
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Recognition
Much of the time we’re just tolerated. Sometimes it’s a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy with landowners looking the other way in hopes that having never given permission lessons their perceived liability.
So it was a nice change of pace that Texas City took the acknowledgement of fun to a new level. Thanks to Andy McAvin and others who helped pull it off and to the folks of the Texas City Dike who welcome paramotor pilots and their incredible craft.
Photo submitted by Beery Miller.
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Power Soaring
We fly Paragliders–—designed originally for gliding. Soaring, that is, without a motor. But the motor grants airtime when otherwise there might be none as shown by member Phil Russman on a well-known soaring ridge in Mexico. The site requires either a half-mile hike up a 700 foot ridge, enduring an hour-long bumpy drive around the back, or a 4 minute flight up in the paramotor. Tough choice.
Of course these mountain-type harnesses carry significantly more risk due to the lack of back protection, but they can fit in most motor harnesses carrying pouches or be worn while motoring.
Fly to the top, see if it’s soarable by idling the motor, then if it is, land and strap on the free-flight harness. When you’ve had your fill, strap on the motor and go home. Elegant.
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Lazy but Informed
Marty of the Florida Flyers found a way to prevent tired arms while flying and staying informed at the same time. Next we hope to see a flat panel display with rearward looking cameras to keep a vigilant watch on fast movers from behind.
The pilot would launch with this clipped harmlessly somewhere on his body. Then, when safely at altitude, it is clipped to the brake toggles where it is used for steering using the hand grips.
This prototype will not be put into production but does look nice!
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PPG Showing
Dan Kriseler and James Coblents from the Dukes of Windsoar and a few pilots from the Velocity Flyers will be putting on a PPG demonstration at the Martinsburg, WV Balloon Fiesta. They have worked out details with airshow officials and, according to James, will be flying in the same space as some Air Force hardware.
Airshows typically have temporary flight restrictions around and require special permission to fly in. They are planning various stunts such as having one pilot trailing a long ribbon while the other pilot catches it.
The event runs August 4, 5 & 6 and PPG demonstrations will be flown each day.
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Robert & Boyd’s Excellent Adventure
Taking your flying craft with you affords this type of travel. Robert Kittilä tells little snippets about the trip with his friend, Boyd. One place they stayed for 3 days was the 1800-ft sand dunes pictured below. He says “Great Hostel very expensive. $4.75/night. Breakfast (huge) $1.85 Lunch, dinner $2.75. Loved it, great flying as you can see!
Picture of us with the hostel staff. After a day we were family. Guy 3rd from the right is their happy chef Aldo. He kept us fed and with a good supply of libations. Great food, people and town. Loved it!”
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Heavy Iron Meets Nylon
Details were sketchy on this, but it would seem that a group of lightweights (PPG and PPC’s) were allowed to fly from an airport not long after a pair of 727 charter flights arrived.
Lance Marczak of Kankakee, IL pondered how much runway it would take if he were pushing this aircraft with his motor. Our guess is that it would be just enough to get the door closed!
The 40 year old 727s, which are no longer used by U.S. Airlines, still ply the planet in charter service and for airlines elsewhere where noise is less of a concern. It’s nice to have something making more volume then us, just don’t get in their way.
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PPG as Watersport
Thanks to Marty for sharing their weekend. A group of Florida flyers set out for some fun and this is a glimpse of what it looked like.
1) We drove up to Daytona (Ponce Inlet) for an evening session on Disappearing Island. This is a very large Island at low tide but there’s no Island at high tide. None.
2) The boaters that surrounded the island enjoyed our flying there, as long as we didn’t linger to close.
3) Earlier in the day it becomes hard to find an open space to park your boat. Pilot’s here should be aware th
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More Gator Gotchas
Marty Hathaway shared some memorable flights with us in Florida. But be very, very careful where you fly: some of these sites would be most unpleasant with a recalcitrant motor. The site was on the St. Johns River along the Eastern coast. Photo 5/14/06 by Mike Britt.
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Over-Reacting in Austin, TX?
Paramotor pilot Jim King sent us an amusing account of how he became the focus of a false alarm involving two police cars, an ambulance and a fire truck Easter Sunday afternoon after he fell down while trying to launch his craft and
someone called 911.
“A gust of wind pulled me on my back and dragged me a short distance into a shallow ditch, but it must have looked a lot worse to some Good Samaritan,” said King, 63, who was not hurt. He has been a PPG pilot for nearly three years.
“I was setting up to try again when I heard all these sirens,” he said. “Then I saw a fire truck stop right by my pickup. A fire department lieutenant got out and approached me, and at the same time an ambulance came screaming across the grass from the opposite direction. Next two squad cars arrived with sirens and flashing lights.”
At that point the fire lieutenant, seeing that there was no emergency, began waving off other rescue officials. King apologized for the false alarm, but the officers did not appear upset. The fireman told King someone with a cell
phone had called 911 saying “an ultralight airplane had crashed” in this vacant field in far northwest Austin.
The ambulance left but four firemen and two policemen stayed, questioning King about PPG, and one policeman asked if it was legal.
“I told him it was, that we’re covered by specific federal rules, that I was familiar with them and the FAA sectional maps, that I was flying in Class E airspace at that location and I was allowed to fly as high as 700 feet above
ground,” King said.
Satisfied that no crimes were being committed, the six officials remained to watch another attempt. This time King pulled a reverse inflation without falling down and took off into winds that were definitely getting stronger. He made a couple of passes, taking pains to remain precisely above the 10-acre field, while his would-be rescuers watched from below. After they all left, King landed in increasingly turbulent air and fell down again. But this time he jumped up very quickly, moving around to show anyone watching he was all right.
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