596 .... 597 .... 598 .... Vance Brand

This was another good one.  Dawn and I got to the field by 2:30 and the gang was already there.  Robert's new student Patrick was going for his first flight and Marek was going to try out the trike buggy for the first time.  The wind was moderate from the North East and cycling between 3 and 8 mph about every 5 minutes.  I kited for awhile and Dawn played with Beau.  Robert worked with Patrick and we all waited for the air to settle down.
Marek was the first off and reported good air.  I set up behind Patrick and after a couple of attempts he was off .  My first launch was clean.  I had not flown the Eden III since the accident at Titan last fall.  Michelle had done a nice job repairing it and today the conditions were perfect to transition from the Power Play.  There was just enough wind to keep the wing from doing a frontal if the trike was slow to get rolling.  I set up with a slight chevron and the launch was clean.
The second flight was the same and so was the third.
Marek almost didn't get off with a 24 m reflex and his climb was slow but he got a taste of trike flying and I won't be surprised to see him flying with a friend on board real soon.
Patrick's second flight was cut short when his throttle went into the prop while he was getting into his seat.  He landed out without further  damage or injuries.  When I spotted him and Robert in the field to the North I did a slow circle for the video.
Returning from the south I had to loiter a bit while a large stick of sky divers descended on the field.  It was too far out to make good video but in real life it was great

Powered Paragliding #594 &. #595 Vance Brand

This was a great day.  We had a party last night and I woke up this morning feeling 70 years old.  Every joint hurt like I had spent the week bucking bales of hay.  I knew Robert was going to Vance Brand and wanted to go but had a hard time motivating.  BUT .... I managed to drag my butt of the couch and get out to the field by 2 pm.
The wind was 5 mph from the ESE and Robert was getting Zach (Mindy's son) ready for his first flight.   Marek and Ty went up for a short flight and reported moderately bumpy air.  I set up by the swoop pond, to give myself a little more runway.  The wing came up clean and I carved it up for 20 minutes until my hands started to go numb from the cold.
The next  hour was spent trying to get Zach off the ground.  The wind had come down so the reverse that he had beem practicing was out.  I'll give him credit for perserverence,  Zach wore the motor for 45 minutes and 8 or 10 attempts before he finally go up.  At first he was having a problem getting the motor up to full power, I'm not sure if it was a motor problem or his hand got between the lever and the grip.  Eventually that was straightened out and he had to deal with several attempts where the wing came up crooked.   I'm not going to second guess Robert but maybe it would have helped if he had him take off the motor after two aborts and reset the wing very carefully.  I'm not sure but I think if he did that and placed the motor where he wanted to be standing when he started it might have come up a little straighter.  It would also make each attempt " THE ONE".  It's great to have a guy reset for you when you abort and it saves taking off the motor but it is hard to get positioned exactly right when the wing is pulled into position without the pilot seeing exactly where it is.   It just seemed a little rushed.  Never the less , he got off and landed well with the "first flight grin".  I wasn't able to get any stills but did video his first launch.  If I can get it on IMovie I'll send it to him.