JUNE - JULY 2012
EDITION 31
INTERNATIONAL PARAMOTORING, PARATRIKE AND MOTORISED HANG GLIDING MAGAZINE
BeachLife BEACH BLAST 2012 + PACO GUERRA + HANGPOINTS + MEXICAN VOLCANOES
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MICHEL CARNET – NAKED PILOT, THE FLY PUGGY, SETTING UP A CHASE CAM, AEROFOIL SECTIONS AND ALL THE PPG NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
CONTENTS - ISSUE 31
FEATURES Editor & Designer: Marcus King Assistant Editor: Ed Ewing Sub and Online Editor: Charlie King USA Correspondent: Jeff Goin Regular Contributors: Dean Eldridge, Edward Lichtner & Tracey Tarr Advertising & Accounts: Verity Sowden Customer Service: Celine Rodriguez Accounts: Carol Harrison Tea-making: Hugh Miller
06 GALLERY: ON THE FRAME
26 BEACH BLAST The Paramotor Magazine team head to Florida for the USA’s biggest paramotor event
34 LINE OF FIRE Lu Marini flies to 5,000m at Mexico’s “Smoking Mountain”, Popocatapetl
Subscribe at www.xcshop.com/subs Paramotor magazine is available exclusively by subscription. Guarantee your copy by subscribing UK, USA and Europe: £34.95 Rest of World: £36.95 Issue-by-issue and iPad subscriptions also available
42 HANGING TOUGH Sascha Burkhardt takes us through the different hangpoint options for paramotor harnesses
ADVERTISING
48 VIVA PACO
Contact Verity Sowden at advertising@paramotormag.com
Marcus King meets Spanish champion Paco Guerra
CONTRIBUTING Send your articles and photos to editor@paramotormag.com and your news to news@paramotormag.com.
50 THE TOOLBOX Dean Eldridge explores the importance of aerofoil sections, and Airie Sasha gives the low-down on the Chase Cam
CONTACTING US Paramotor Magazine Cross Country International 5 St Georges Place, Brighton East Sussex, BN1 4GA United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1273 256 090 Paramotor Magazine (USPS No: 024-657) is published six times a year by XCMedia distributed in the USA by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville PA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Paramotor Magazine c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville PA. Global copyright laws apply. The opinions in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Paramotor Magazine
WWW.PARAMOTORMAG.COM COVER Cranking at the beach in South Africa with Table Mountain in the background. Photo: Hugo Pretorius ABOVE Above spring rape fields. Photo: Franck Simonnet
56 PARAMOTOR: CLOSER LOOK Edward Lichtner takes ITV's mini tandem Awak for a spin, and despite its small size finds it surprisingly tame, and lots of fun
REGULARS
04 12 18 22 24 60 62
EDITORIAL IGNITION: Global News – Flight for Life – The Fly Puggy NEW PRODUCTS NAKED PILOT: Michel Carnet is the first pilot to have his kit bag unpacked by Paramotor Magazine for this new column READERS' GALLERY XCSHOP and SCHOOLS DIRECTORY TRACEY TARR
Unit Conversions
Paramotor Magazine uses international standard measurement units, but recognises that other systems are in use around the world. So here’s a quick conversion table to other commonly used measurement systems. 1 km - 0.625 miles 0°C - 32°F 1 m - 3.28 feet 20°C - 68°F 1 kg - 2.2 pounds 40°C - 104°F 1 ltr - 0.264 gallons
CONTENTS
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EDITORIAL
The editor taking time out to fly down Panama City Beach. Photo: Ant Green
I
t’s a busy time of the year for us here at Paramotor Mag. We had an amazing time visiting the States for Beach Blast, the first time I’ve been. It was a great trip to this little piece of paradise in Florida’s north west: the white sands and the azure seas are a perfect venue for a relaxed fly-in. It was a good opportunity for us to meet some of our American writers, photographers and readers and put some faces to names. And what a welcome you guys gave us! After a week of filling our boots flying wise, getting sunburnt and making new friends, we left with memory cards full of images, interviews to write up, and a desire to come back next time. If you’ve never been before check out our coverage of the event starting on page 26. I reckon you’ll be sorely tempted to book a place for next year. Back in Europe we squeezed in a bit of work before starting to think about heading off to do it all over again. This year is a Basse Ham year and that means the biggest gathering of paramotor pilots on the planet. It should be a great event. Where else do you get the chance to compare the latest machines, with most of the manufacturers on hand to show off their latest equipment? Not to forget that there is also some great flying to be had in the region – you can actually fly through
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EDITORIAL
four countries in one flight. Plus of course there will be display flying from the aces, while all pilots will have the chance to take part in a world record attempt for the most paramotor pilots in the air at one time. We know pilots from around the globe will be travelling to the party, so make sure you come along and say hello to us at the Paramotor Magazine stand. While we were in Beach Blast I got the chance to catch up with Spanish champion Paco Guerra. Paco has made a name for himself in the international paramotor world since he started flying in the Parabatix events, winning Icarobatix at the Coupe Icare last year. To many he must seem like a wild child throwing his wing around in his low level displays, but talking to him I found an experienced pilot who knows and respects how important safety is in our sport. Having flown since the tender age of eight he has amassed a huge amount of experience that allows him to fly as he does today, but he says it worries him when new pilots try to copy him and his peers without gradually learning the techniques. You can’t beat experience in the air, he says, and that means learning in small steps, not big leaps. Elsewhere in this issue we travel to Mexico with Ramon Morillas and Lu Marini who set out to fly
some of the country’s famous volcanoes. Along the way Lu set his sights on breaking through the 5,000m mark above smoking volcano Popocatapetl. His photos and diary about the adventure start on page 34. We’ve also got a good article on hangpoints by Sascha Burkardt. His guide reveals the many options now available on different machines, and discusses their pros and cons. If you’re thinking of changing your set up, or just want to know who offers what, turn to page 42. Finally, one thing we’re always after here at Paramotor Mag are great photos. It takes a lot to make good images, but ever-improving technology means we all get a chance to create stunning photos and self-portraits. One way of doing that is with a Chase Cam, featured on page 54. If you try it and get some great shots don’t forget to send them in to our readers’ gallery. Whether you’re going to one of the big events or a local fly-in, flying across countries or just your local fields, here’s to staying safe and having a blast. See you in the air! Marcus King Editor
w w w. p o l i n i . c o m
ON THE FRAME 8
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GALLERY
Jukka Juvankoski took this shot with a camera mounted directly above him on the frame, giving the viewer a great idea of what it's like to fly.
GALLERY
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Paramotor Magazine Sales Director Verity Sowden, enjoying the views over the green seas of the gulf and the white sands of Panama Beach with Shell Island ahead
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BEACH BLAST
BEACH BLAST 2012 The Paramotor Magazine crew headed to Florida in May to experience the biggest and best that the USA has to offer. Welcome to Beach Blast 2012. Words and photos by Marcus King
I
’ve been up since some unearthly hour in the morning thanks to the dreaded jet lag but a quick dip in the inviting azure sea of the northwest coast of Florida soon refreshes me. I grab my motor and wing and set up on the white sands of the beach. The constant sea breeze from the Gulf of Mexico makes kiting super easy and when given the go ahead by the launch marshals, I am soon in the air and heading along the beach. Taking care to stay over the water to avoid buzzing the tourists who are enjoying the beach life down below, I head east. Flying above the crystal waters of the gulf I watch
shoals of rays swim past, then dolphins along with the attendant tourist boats. At the end of beach a short sound separates Shell Island. Crossing over allows me and my fellow pilots the chance to indulge in some low flying and foot dragging on the deserted beaches. In fact, it’s mandatory to stay below 200 feet because of a military base nearby. Barefooting in shorts and t-shirt, this is paramotoring at its most relaxed in a true flying paradise. It’s no surprise that this event has grown into one of the largest gatherings of paramotor pilots in the calendar.
BEACH BLAST
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I got to 4,600m and had to connect the oxygen
L Lu Marini flies over ParĂcutin Mexico's youngest volcano which came into existance in 1943
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MEXICO
Line Fire of of Line Fire Lu Marini flies to 5,013m above Mexico’s rumbling giant, the famous Popocatapetl
MEXICO
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BELOW High level suspension system on a Kangook motor. The company offer six different suspension systems in their range. Photo: Kangook
Hanging Tough Sascha Burkhardt looks at the latest approaches to how to hang in your paramotor
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HANGPOINTS
W
hen paramotoring started there was really only one form of suspension: very high and pretty much immobile. In contrast, free flight pilots had been experimenting with different types of hangpoints for years. Back in 1986 Xavier Remond developed a 'steering harness'. The front and rear risers were free to move as an extension of the seat board. The pilot was able to weight shift left and right, but also forward and backwards, affecting the angle of attack. Unsurprisingly the harness was extremely wobbly, and soon earned a reputation for being dangerous too. Just two years later harnesses were going in the opposite direction, with the development of cross-bracing. Designer Laurent de Kalbermatten wanted to stop his Genair paraglider from entering a spiral dive following an asymmetric tuck. He did this by adding straps diagonally across the harness. This X-shaped cross-bracing meant that when the pilot's weight fell to the left side of the seat board, the right side loaded too. Since then these 'seat belts' have earned themselves an established place in free flight, popular with beginners and occasional pilots alike. A disadvantage though is that weight shift is not nearly so effective and the pilot loses feel of the wing, so the system is no longer popular across the board.
MOTORISED FLIGHT On some systems we paramotor pilots use a similar set-up. Some high hangpoint and rigid arm systems use a single cross strap to compensate for the torque of the motor. However, manufacturers are continually working towards giving us more weightshift control. This is partly because more and more pilots come from the free-flight arena, and
want to keep the particular feeling that comes with that sport, but it also makes paramotoring more fun and allows more precise flying. Manufacturers have at least three ways to simplify weightshift control: 1. Lower the hangpoints. The lower the hangpoints on the harness the more weightshift can come into play. Even a dozen centimetres makes a huge difference.
ABOVE A good compromise, which is used by more and more manufacturers. Medium-high, movable bars with hangpoints attached by a short piece of tape. The U-shape is necessary because the suspension and pivot points at each end of the bar are at chest height and the pilot needs room to move his arms. The Adventure XRace in this photo allows pilots to use weightshift while simultaneously offering enough stability. A happy medium! All Photos: VĂŠronique Burkhardt
2. Widen the seatboard or the riser width. This is similar to free flight, where even opening a chest strap from 42cm to 46cm gives much better feedback and handling. The effect on our systems however is usually much lower. 3. Swinging arms. If the arms aren’t fixed, but the hangpoint can be rotated downwards the pilot can use weightshift much more efficiently.
PIONEER PAP The pioneer of swinging J-bars was PAP. Suddenly it was almost possible to use as much weightshift as in free flight. Mathieu Rouanet started flying acro with this system for exactly that reason. However, some pilots felt the system was too wobbly and that in turbulent air too much information filtered through to the pilot.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS Many manufacturers have just been content to bring something with low hangpoints to the market, as that alone improves the handling and precision of the system. Others
HANGPOINTS
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PROFILE
Viva Paco!
As a boy he was born with wings. Marcus King meets Spanish Champion Paco Guerra
P
aco Guerra started flying when he was eight. Yes, it’s true. Born in 1985 Paco started paragliding in 1993 with his brother, Javvi, when both were little boys in Spain. Their dad is a paragliding and paramotoring instructor so it was case of like father like son as Paco progressed through the sport, learning from the likes of Raul Rodriguez, Ramon Morillas and Dani Martinez. Nearly twenty years on and Paco is an accomplished free flight pilot, a flight instructor in the family business in the Pyrenees, an acro pilot on the RR Acro team, and an expert paramotor pilot too. Last year he won the Spanish Championships and Icarobatix at the Coupe Icare, and is now focused on the World Championships later this year. They’re being held in his own back yard in northern Spain, so you could call it a home team advantage. We asked him about himself. How did you get started in flying? I started flying paragliders in 1993. Yes, I was eight years old. Then in 1999 I started my paramotor training and by 2001 I did my first paramotor competition. These were classic competitions but over recent years myself and other pilots have been pushing hard for racing competitions like Parabatix.
You come from a family of flyers don’t you? Yes, my dad is a paragliding and paramotor instructor who has trained most of the pilots in our area of Catalonia and before that also in Andalucia. We have always taught both paragliding and paramotoring and we make tandem flights and fly with the trike. In fact my father was third in the last World Championships. Basically we love flying, we love the sky and always our aim is to make the sport better and safer. We want to make it like a virus that spreads out getting bigger and bigger. But we always want everybody to be safe and to have fun. If you are safe you can enjoy your flights and if you enjoy your flights you can get better and have more fun. We’re very proud of all the students we have taught, for example we taught Karen Skinner and her husband Jason to fly and now Karen is setting new world records, it’s so great for us to see. You’ve become known to the wider world thanks to Parabatix... Yeah, thanks to the event I’ve become better known outside Spain and year by year more people are enjoying my flying. The problem is though everybody sees Parabatix and thinks, “This boy is crazy, making these
PROFILE
Left Paco with Miss Beach Blast 2012 Above On his way to winning last year's Parabatix at the Coupe Icare. Photos: Marcus King
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ITV AWAK TANDEM
:CLOSER LOOK
With their new tandem glider, ITV have shown their commitment to the mini-wing concept. Edward Lichtner puts the 33m2 Awak to the test. Photos : Romain Biégnon and Edward Lichtner
WE LIKED Easy to inflate Really fun to fly Both fast and manoeuvrable DISLIKES Faster take-off speed A bit more motor intensive than larger tandem wings
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WING REVIEW
B
ack to basics‌ Forget about reflex aerofoils, forward thinking riser structures, tip steering systems and carbon reinforcement rods, this glider is as simple as it gets. The original solo Awak was designed by French manufacturer ITV, one of the early advocates of mini-wings, as a multi-purpose tool for everything from speed riding to paramotoring. The tandem version expands on this, and is a straightforward, easy to use, fun and efficient glider that is well suited to both paragliding and paramotoring.
ITV's description The Awak tandem is a light, simple, fast, small sized tandem glider, whose performance is on a par with its larger competitors. Despite its 33m2 size, launching the Awak tandem is very easy. Once airborne, the Awak tandem is easy to manage, accurate and surprisingly fast. The icing on the cake is its excellent landing characteristics.
What ITV manager Heniu Dyduch says Why did you develop the Awak Tandem ? We started working on the Awak glider three years ago, as we were exploring how the miniwing concept could benefit both paragliding and paramotoring. Beyond the strong interest that mini-wings were starting to draw, we had identified a need for gliders that could fly in high wind conditions like those encountered in Australia, New Zealand and some parts of the USA or South Africa. Strong winds during a good part of the year were slowing down the development of the sport in these regions. We wanted to offer a glider that would be fast and easy enough to fly, to help both paraglider and paramotor pilots widen their weather windows.
The Awak tandem's riser structure. Notice the split A's and the C and D rows going up with the trims released
and did not need to be reinforced for the tandem version. Despite its small size, the Awak tandem is well suited to both foot launch and trike use, even with heavy tandem trikes such as those in the Fenix category.
request, in all regions, provided pilots are aware of the risks involved. Having said that, the glider itself is inherently safe and we have never had a big collapse on the Awak tandem, in any trim configuration.
How about certification ? The Awak tandem is EN-B certified up to a load of 180kg and EN-C certified for loads of up to 220kg. However, it must be reiterated that free flight certifications do not apply to motor flight. For paramotoring, the Awak tandem has been declared to the French air authority (DGAC) for a total load of up to 280kg.
Preflight check
How similar is it to the standard Awak ? The tandem version (33m2) is exactly the same design as the standard Awak (supplied in 14, 16 and 18m2). The tandem is a scaled up version with reinforced lines. The canopy itself is very robust
How about trims ? Originally we designed the Awak tandem with a pretty long trim clearance as we were receiving requests from pilots in high wind areas (coastal areas with strong laminar winds, most notably), who wanted an extended speed range. However, in countries where winds are not so high and where turbulence is more of an issue, we have limited the trim clearance for safety reasons. The Awak being a conventional aerorfoil design, releasing the trims increases the risk of collapses in gusty or thermic conditions. On such a small and loaded glider a collapse at high speed could be rather impressive, which is why we prefer to have pilots stay well away from the danger zone by limiting the trim clearance. There is a 7cm difference in the trim length between the two versions. If the short trim version is the most commonly supplied, we can deliver a long trim version on
The Awak tandem's lines are much lighter than on most tandem gliders. Good for the glide ratio
The Awak's black and orange colour scheme really stands out
What characteristics did you achieve ? With the Awak tandem we delivered a glider that is easy to inflate and launch in windy conditions, without assistance, that is fast enough to cope with strong headwinds and that has a convincing glide ratio of 8. In New Zealand we see paramotor pilots flying the Awak tandem in winds of up to 40km/h. It's amazing.
The Awak tandem delivered to my door (I got the standard short trim version) is very compact and hardly fills half of the large ITV-branded glider bag it came with. As I unfold the glider, its smallness makes me feel as if I'm getting ready to fly a regular solo glider. With the risers in my hand, the lines in particular strike me as being very similar in thickness to those of a solo wing. They are far from the ultra thick lines of most large size tandem gliders. The canopy of the Awak is made of 35 g/m² Dominicotex fabric, much lighter that the standard Skytex material most older gliders still use, and with a longer life cycle. The lines are made of different grades of Edelrid Aramid, from 1.2mm section for the higher lines, to 2.7mm section for the lower ones. The riser structure is very simple with no speed system or wingtip steering device.
Starting up I am joined at the airfield by recently trained pilot SĂŠbastien Veillard. Besides being a fun flying buddy, Seb is exactly the right weight to play passenger. At 76kg, he's a perfect match for my own 82kg. We will be flying an Air Conception tandem paramotor with a Vittorazi Moster 185
WING REVIEW
The trim tabs are easy to reach, even with winter gloves
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