Well, we ain't flying this Easter week-end! (Unless things improve on Monday??) Remember our time at Fan Gihyrych last Easter - in that
HEAT!?Please, please, please - watch this TV programme : MISSION EVEREST, ON Easter Monday at 9.00 pm on Channel 4 .......... OR ............... 10.05pm on S4C.
I know that it seems it's only Gareth Pawan & myself that are showing an interest in paramotoring in this flying club at present, but this programme might sway you all a bit about this superb addition to paragliding. (I can already hear the "Bah Humbugs!!!" coming from the likes of Chris Dusgate!)
The film is about the attempt by Gilo Cardozo and Bear Grylls (of Discovery Channel fame) to fly paramotors near the summit of Everest in May last year. (They failed to get official clearance to fly directly over the summit.) I read a lot about this in "Paramotor" magazine which started up last year - published by the same people as Cross Country. Bob Drury explained all the effort that went in to it. I had a chat with Gilo at last year's paramotor nationals held in Gloucestershire. He doesn't look much older than about 15, but is an obvious genius. His technological achievements are incredible! He has his own company producing the Parajet paramotor power unit, but the motor he produced for this attempt was brilliant - employing a rotary rather than a piston engine, & somehow designing a fuel injection system to work at those amazing altitudes - totally impossible for our little lawn mower engines.
For my part, I'm just getting in to this branch of the sport. I spent a week in Spain with Paul Williams of Paraventure in January and got the elementary qualification - to at least go and do some flying by myself.
It's great to fly for an hour or more just because you feel like it, - go down low if you want to see something better, & then flap your wings to gain altitude again! Have a look at
http://www.paraventure.co.uk/ for some of Paul's comments & photos. One of the pilots - Pete from the Forest of Dean took a whole lot of pics - as seen on :
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/eaglegenie/SpainJanuary2008.
Enjoy the programme, & post your comments / reactions here afterwards! GRON :mrgreen:
