Paramotoring - a Grassroots sport? If so, impart your knowledge.

So this..

attached to glider like this:

is a grassroots motorsport? It's very cheap (grassroots) and has a motor (motorsport).

Since we've established that..what do you guys know about it? Any knowledge to impart?

My uncle had one in a tree for a few days. The pilot was not hurt until the fire department "rescued" him.

Is it grassroots?

Only if it has any of the following:

1. It is LSX powered.

2. Has a miata sticker on it some place.

3. You can race them.

I've been looking into it. I can't afford it, but I'm one of the less affluent GRMers.

If you are brave enough to buy used, Barnstormers.com has sections for paramotors and parawings
http://barnstormers.com/cat.php?mode=listing&main=

The problem is that the wing wears out fairly often....you need a new wing/chute thingy every few years. That makes buying used a somewhat dicey proposition. I've also heard that lots of people unload rotax engines when they're nearing rebuild time because it is almost cheaper to buy new than to rebuild. Hopefully one of the flyboys here (paging PilotBraden and aeronca65t) can weigh in here with facts instead of my rumors...

BTW, enter the drawing

It's really hard to fly those things in anything but dead-still air.

Even a 5 mph headwind can make for tough going (or more likely, standing still 1000 feet up).

I've flown a 200 lb ~Weedhopper~, and even those things are pretty dicey except in dead-calm air.

Some of the sport pilot planes are pretty nice, but otherwise, if you want to go flying on the cheap, get a regular license and then rent a Cessna 150/152 once in a while.

I went to a couple meetings of our local EAA chapter....they tend to refer to anything FAR-103 legal as an "ultrafright"

pilotbraden wrote: My uncle had one in a tree for a few days. The pilot was not hurt until the fire department "rescued" him.

That's funny for all the wrong reasons.

dean1484 wrote: 2. You can race them.

Challenge accepted!

JoeyM wrote: I've been looking into it. I can't afford it, but I'm one of the less affluent GRMers. If you are brave enough to buy used, Barnstormers.com has sections for paramotors and parawings http://barnstormers.com/cat.php?mode=listing&main= The problem is that the wing wears out fairly often....you need a new wing/chute thingy every few years. That makes buying used a somewhat dicey proposition. I've also heard that lots of people unload rotax engines when they're nearing rebuild time because it is almost cheaper to buy new than to rebuild. Hopefully one of the flyboys here (paging PilotBraden and aeronca65t) can weigh in here with facts instead of my rumors... BTW, enter the drawing

I have no idea if I can afford it either but I've always wanted to fly. Renting planes and taking lessons is time and cost prohibitive right now. I was thinking this might be the easier way to get in. Thanks for the link to the sales sites!

I did some research and found two firms that offer lessons in my home town. I'll investigate those. See if this is an itch I need scratched. Also, I'm learning that renting for a sporadic hobby is cheaper than owning for a sporadic hobby. Hence the reason why I rent time in Chump Cars instead of building my own.

aeronca65t wrote: It's really hard to fly those things in anything but dead-still air. Even a 5 mph headwind can make for tough going (or more likely, standing still 1000 feet up). I've flown a 200 lb ~Weedhopper~, and even those things are pretty dicey except in dead-calm air. Some of the sport pilot planes are pretty nice, but otherwise, if you want to go flying on the cheap, get a regular license and then rent a Cessna 150/152 once in a while.

Thanks for the info. I would imagine they get blown around a bit considering they weight the same as dandelion seeds.

JoeyM wrote: I went to a couple meetings of our local EAA chapter....they tend to refer to anything FAR-103 legal as an "ultrafright"

Is it wrong of me to think this makes it sound more appealing?!

As long as you have a good chute, I guess it's relatively safe.

Paramotor lessons link #1

Paramotor lessons link #2

Video of paragliding in VA link #1

I do not have any advice about operating one of these aside from getting some good training. I will describe the mess at my uncle's farm. Some of the names that I use are changed to protect their privacy. My uncle, Neil, and my grandfather, Bob have adjoining farms. Neil sold a corner acre to his cousin Denny. Denny has a friend, Jim, with a paramotor type ultralight. Jim's was a three wheeled cart with the engine mounted behind the pilot's seat. He took it to Denny's early one morning for a flight. Denny's yard stops at Neil's 40 acre hay field, so Jim has plenty of space to takeoff and land on Denny's freshly mown yard. They get everything rigged, warm up the engine and Jim pours the coal to it and lifts off just before the hay field. The hay is knee high and wet as it had rained during the night. As Jim crosses into the hay field his wheels are dragging through the hay, slowing his acceleration and his rate of climb. He keeps full power on and eventually starts to climb. However he was flying at the row of 70' sugar maples that grow between Neil's fields. Jim tried to fly between the trees but his lines connecting the cart and the parachute got snagged in a tree halting his progress in a relatively gentle manner. Jim is unhurt but hanging, upside down, 30' up the tree.

At about this time Bob is pulling into Neil's barnyard and sees a big, colorful parachute hanging in a tree a 1/4 mile away. They are trying to figure out what is going on out there and getting a tractor out of the barn to go investigate when they hear sirens approaching. The village fire department comes screaming down the road with every machine that they have. Instead of using the lane that runs around the perimeter of the field the firemen begin to drive straight across the field, line abreast. The two heaviest trucks made it about 100 yards before getting stuck. The others are leaving deep ruts and destroying hay. Neil and Bob go out to the tree line to try to prevent further damage and see what is in the tree. The firemen are setting up a ladder in the tree next to the one Jim is hanging from. The "genius" chief has directed Jim to attach a harness and line to himself. The other end of the line has been run over a limb on the tree with the ladder on it. The chief then instructs Jim to unbuckle his seat belt and the firemen will lower him to the ground. Jim unbuckled and, predictably, swung into the tree next to him breaking his arm. They left the machine in the tree for several days as Jim did not want those experts to get it out of the tree. It turn out that Jim had never flown anything before, but he had been a paratrooper in the Army 25 years earlier. He thought that qualified him to fly a powered parachute.

pilotbraden wrote: It turn out that Jim had never flown anything before, but he had been a paratrooper in the Army 25 years earlier. He thought that qualified him to fly a powered parachute.

You mean jumping out of a plane doesn't qualify you to fly one? WTF DUDE? What kind of world is this?!