Paramotor enthusiast, and visual story teller. Flying out of North Carolina.
My name is Ben and I have found myself completely infatuated with all things Paramotor. I trained with Mojo's Flight School in Maiden, NC in 2020. And I routinely fly out of Indian Trail, NC. I fly an Ozone Spyder 3 paraglider pushed by a Vitorazzi Atom 80 on a Fresh Breeze frame. Shoot me a note with questions at paramotornc@gmail.com.
Hey, do you know anyone in the Wilson area that can teach me how to fold my wing? No flyingvor anything, I'm just trying to get started and the instructor is in Florida. I have a good wing but the last guy gave up and just balled it up in a big bag. I want to pull it out after all these storms pass by and make sure everything is good and use this wing for ground handling and learning how to fold it fir storage and to make it last as long as I possibly can. I have to get a ground handling harness when I get up with the instructor. If someone can help with the proper way to fold the wing it would be very helpful.
If I were closer, I would show you myself. But one of the best ways to connect with the local flying community is to join the North Carolina powered paragliding group in Facebook. Out the exact same question out there for the group, and someone may be willing to give you a hand. You can also learn by watching some RU-vid videos on the topic
@ParamotorNC thanks, I appreciate it. I just had an old friend that died in a crash, George Hoffman, and it put a damper on my plans. Plus my family is now "concerned" , but I was a flight crew on a forest service aircraft... and I successfully survived a parachuting crash. I sort of stoked about learning to fly PPGs.
I've always wanted to do this since the late 80's when I first came over to the US. I see these for sale on CL all the time. I would probably get the trike attachment with my knee injury.
Hi Ben - you are lucky to get to fly in such a beautiful place. Much better than the scenery we have here in west Tennessee. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the safety of the sport. As a beginner pilot it is something I wrestle with every time I go up. Each time I have to remind myself there is imminent danger in many of the activities i take part in - riding the motorcycle to work, caring for livestock, even martial arts. Gotta be as safe as is possible and reasonable, don't take unnecessary risks and carry on. If it doesn't feel right, don't hesitate to abort, go around or call it a day.
Ben we take risks everday in life,even crossing the street.Why not take those risks doing something we love? "Paramotoring".This sport is as safe as you make it,never force a launch.We grew up in a time where dangerous toys actually existed and we made it through just fine.I dont want to go through life in a protective bubble wishing to myself that I should have done this or that.We only have 1 life and I say live it to the fullest!!!
Great video, its always the right discussion to have on safety while flying. Any closely known injuries (even by people known only by video) make you start thinking about the risks. Hopefully its a way to keep more people acting and flying safer. I've flown a LOT of random LZs, yet have had to turn down a couple places that others have flown just due to not likely the safety at an LZ, trees or lines, or hilly, etc. Its important to make your own decision as a solo pilot, regardless of what others are doing.
doh.. sh*t happens. Risk vs Reward! So ironic, I was eyeballing that spot a few weeks ago. I just assumed the proximity to camping would be a no-go. I'll have to drop in and speak with the head cheese. Beautiful flight! Love that area. I def prefer flying 'near' the mountains, rather than 'over' them. I think the risk is worth the reward. One can always stack the deck against themselves, but the inherent risk, seems worth it to me. I'd venture to say I prefer the RR ratio of ppg, vs driving on the interstate.
Think the risk is worth the reward! When it comes to love people don't hesitate. Been through a bitter divorce but still willing to date again..spin the bottle or better yet the prop! Full send!
Beautiful area to fly in. Wow! I may get another dual-sport motorbike sometime so I can combine trails and backroads with flying. I tried to force a bad takeoff once and learned a lesson not to do that again; luckily I just ended up in the soybeans. Managing risks… I fly a safe wing and always have an out in case the engine fails… so I can enjoy the sport for a long time.
Another enjoyable video Ben, thanks for sharing. I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be in the sport myself. Several of us in my area used to get together and fly, but that's no longer happening for various reasons. When I do fly local these days, I'm alone. That's fun of course, but probaby not a good idea. Nice motorcycle, I had a simular one (Honda CL-360) many years ago, tons of fun! Hope your friend gets well soon!
Incredible place to fly, I hope your friend recovers soon... Was he wearing boots? Or regular shoes? Like you, I also seek to promote safety above all else. Greetings from northern Mexico!
Enjoy watching the video. Kind of mixed feelings, when heard someone get injured in this sport, immediately talk to myself am I doing the right thing? but I still believe those risks can be avoided if we treat safety as the priority and have strict self-discipline in all aspects related to paramotor flying.
Always good to re-evaluate. I attempted to launch my Maverick trike set-up last week in almost nil wind, after warming up my engine the wind shifted to a very lite downwind situation. I should have reset but I failed and thought I would be ok. Glider did not load correctly during launch and I tried to save it instead of aborting. 1. Failed to reset. 2. Failed to abort. Result: destroyed prop, destroyed net and about 8-10 lines on the left riser. I’ll be getting a new line set and new risers a little earlier than I was originally planning on. Thanks for a great video.
@@ParamotorNC I’m ok, never left the ground. When I rolled on throttle while holding A’s I felt no pressure as normal. So Glider was apparently following me without being pressurized and I should have aborted then. I decided to go full power but the glider shot left and I thought I could save it, steered left as the glider pulled upper left quadrant of the gage into the prop, net and line all in 1-2 seconds. I was on a dry lake bed and I had lots of room so I thought I would be ok. Very hot morning also so probably unstable air as the little wind that was available was changing directions and I was at that point rushing to avoid a reset. Dumb move on my part. It was nice meeting you and Ripman at the southern Utah Fly-in last year.
At this point in my life, the risk is worth the reward. That may change at some point, similar to sport bikes. I gave that up when I felt the risk was not worth the reward. The time may come for paramotoring, but for now... Blue Skies! Also, love the bike.
Im exact same place. Sold my sport bike, the risk to even get out my dead end road, made it not worth it. Traffic is so excessive. I kept a drz400 to just have one bike, but have been paramotoring for the last few years. Risk vs Reward for sure!
Appreciate that. I used to have so much trouble with the GoPro on the Chase cam that I started using a 360° camera on the Chase cam. It created a lot of work, but at least I could frame the video perfectly. Mostly recently I tried to go GoPro 11 and I was able to use super wide setting to see the wing. I’m not sure about earlier versions of the GoPro.
A lot stricter here in Germany. You cannot simply start or land anywhere you want, no matter how spacious. You need a license and an official airfield or private meadow that has been licensed under strict conditions with annual/semiannual renewal, as well as a semiannual inspection for your wing. A reserve parachute is mandatory, as well as radio for any potential flight control checks. And you need to be strictly aware about the abundant no-fly and restriction zones in the area you want to fly in. EDIT: speaking of privately owned meadows, in most german states, you won't get them licensed even if you fulfill all the requirements as the states won't permit it. And the airfields rarely tolerate paragliders
The next school teaching paragliding on foot is 2 1/2 hours away from me. The nearer ones teach on trike but that ramps up the cost, despite shorter travel time
I'm planning on doing training this winter. Of course it'll be a long time before I consider tieing in tip steering. Did you make a mark where they were originally tied in to the tip steer toggle? I'm wondering why they ended up so short right away?
i think a major portion of the video you left out in paramotoring is what are the requirements and weight limit n stuff. i dont think i would be able to do paramotoring since i weight 310-315lb which is over the limit for indoor and outdoor sky diving so i kinda assume it the same for paramotors
You can fly at any weight. You just get a bigger wing for a heavier pilot. Remember, they even fly tandem flights when instructing. If you have trouble running, you may want wheels.
Lol i can only imagine if motorcycles were recently invented how everyone would treat them just like this. It's super dangerous, very a super expensive trainer. Thanks but no thank you
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Cool Scouting Mission! I love how you make the most of it, despite the poor flying conditions. The hiking looks incredible, I'll add that to my list this summer!
Most points of failure statistically lie with the pilot. Get your license, act on it's teachings, be aware of weather, gear, personal wellbeing before and during the flight and your limitations and you've erased 95% of failure points of every paramotor crash
Wow! I don’t live too far from there, and drive by that airport on my way back to Ohio sometimes from NC. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to fly from there. I may soon find out for myself! So beautiful there.
