Shop and home of Air Paramo
We pin the machine to a rack on the back of the van and it's 5 min drive to the airport area.

Tell me what you want me to do!
Here's Dave getting ready to assist Pilot Mo with preflight and wing setup.
 

Tricycle Paramotor
We drove to a one acre square gravel pad adjacent to the Ak-Chin Regional airport  frequented by the enthusiasts of this sport. We met several.
 

T
Here was another guy with a strap-on motor paraglider.
...more pix of this guy and his flight
 

Getting the wing ready to go.
Important check: observe no sticks or twigs fouling the lines..

 

It is nearly sunset.
When inflated, this becomes a perfect shaped wing that forms to generate a lot of lift from very little wind

Making sure the wing is free and all shrouds straight. The thing has two handles that are the pilot controls.
Pull on on left handle, you go left. Pull on the other-- you go right.. Engine rpm changes pitch.
 

Getting everything into position

Final alignment of wing and tricycle

We keep an eye on the windsock.
Nothing above 14 mph
One key to flying these things is to be aware wind speed/direction at take off and during the flight. Pilots especially learn the behavior of wind flowing around mountains and hills.

This evening we saw some 14mph gusts which would make it a no-fly. When the sun got lower, the wind settled down and it was a Go Fly!

Powered paragliders usually fly between 15 and 45 mph at altitudes from 'foot-dragging in the grass' up to 18,000 ft although most flying is done under 500 ft AGL.  Due to the paramotor's slow forward speed, it must not be flown in conditions of high wind, turbulence, or intense thermal activity.
 

All shroud lines are laid out and the wing connected to the paramotor. Powered paragliding, also known as paramotoring, is a form of ultra light aviation where s a motor is mounted on a lightweight tricycle frame. The motor provides enough thrust to take off using an adapted paraglider or paramotor wing.

In many countries, including the United States, powered paragliding is minimally regulated and requires no license. The ability to fly both low and slow safely, the 'open' feel, the minimal equipment and maintenance costs, and the portability are claimed to be this type of flying's greatest merits.

Preflight
Check all lines, gas, tighten prop bolts and briefly start and run engine.

 

Safety briefing and intercom check
 

Buckle in and final check.
Mo's golden retriever, Rose wanted to go with us.

He has a setup where the dog straps in the passenger seat and the dog loves it, hates it when Mo flies without him!

Note the two RV's in the background. Both have motor paragliders in trailers and the owners just park there in the winter for fun in the sun. A guy in a house around the corner has one and takes off from his driveway. We circled his house and he was jumping up and down.
There's a whole cult of paramotor paraglider enthusiasts in the Maricopa area.
 

Increase engine RPM, wing inflates and we begin to move forward chased by Mo's barking Golden Retriever.
 

Off and climbing into the sunset    View Movie of flyby
 

We circle around and do a touch and go. View a movie of the takeoff
 

We head off the to the NE and circle this mountain a few times. We took advantage of the wind blowing over the top of the mountain to gain more altitude. The flight was smooth and I felt safe suspended below the huge inflated wing.
We observed some large raptors were also having fun using the mountain air currents right next to us. They only offered a passing glance at the giant bird next to them.
 

Sunset landing. Great fun!
 

Winter/Maricopa AZ  2014-2015


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1/11/15