Aviation thread!

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SMITTY
Member
Posts: 12520
Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
Location: West-Central Mass
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler

Post by SMITTY » Wed. Nov. 30, 2022 10:05 am

Figured I'd share my new hobby with some of ya! It's a friggin BLAST! It's a paramotor trike setup. Most guys foot-launch these things, but me and exercise don't jive, so the trike it is! :lol:

Bought it from Blackhawk Paramotor out in CA in 2019. Didn't fly it until 2021. I was attempting to self-train, but it wasn't going very well. With the help of a fellow coal forum member, I found an affordable training outfit in Wauchula, FL called Florida Flight Sports. Rick Davies is the owner. Great dude. His dad works with him, along with a few other great guys. Was well worth the cost of getting down there (fuel was MUCH cheaper then!!). I spent 2 weeks down there, even though he had me flying on the 4th day there. FL is paradise - I didn't want to leave! Was in the low 90's every day ... in April! :yes:
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In October of last year, I started to develop this bad habit of glancing up at my wing during takeoff, when you really should be WATCHING the wing to make sure you steer in the direction the wing wants to go. It always goes INTO the wind, no matter what. Whatever way the wind is coming, the wing will weathervane into. Well, that glance cost me big, because I was launching with a quartering tail wind, since I had already blown 2 launches prior, and was getting a little impatient - something you never want to be when flying ANYTHING. As soon as I took my eyes off the wing, it darted towards the wind, which yanked me sideways. Instead of letting off the throttle, I kept it pegged. BAD idea! Figured If I could just get off the ground, I'd be good .... but it doesn't work that way! I got into tall grass sideways at 20+ MPH, which caught the rear wheel of the trike and rolled me over at the speed of light. I didn't even have time to let off the throttle it happened so fast! Prop exploded, and my hand hit something - may have just been the force of hitting dirt, or it hit a rock, or part of the cage - either way my 4th metacarpal suffered a spiral fracture. I've got 6 self-tappers and a plate holding it together now. That was a good wake up call to re-evaluate what the hell I was doing!

Thankfully the following summer (this past summer), I got right back on it and figured out what I had been doing wrong, and had a great summer of MANY flights!


Anyway, if a picture is worth 1,000 words, a video has got to be worth a *censored*-ton! :D Some vids from my YouTube channel:



Paramotor playlist:



ENJOY!
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StokerDon
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Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
Location: PA, Southern York County!
Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Wed. Nov. 30, 2022 7:09 pm

WOW, Nice Smitty!

It's WAY to Da-Gone Hot down there for me!

-Don

 
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warminmn
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Posts: 8108
Joined: Tue. Feb. 08, 2011 5:59 pm
Location: Land of 11,842 lakes
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Junior, Efel Nestor Martin, Riteway 37
Coal Size/Type: nut and stove anthracite, lignite
Other Heating: Wood and wear a wool shirt

Post by warminmn » Wed. Nov. 30, 2022 7:32 pm

That has to be a blast! I have never done it and probably wont but have no doubt its fun! I'll watch the long video maybe tomorrow.


 
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freetown fred
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Posts: 30293
Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
Location: Freetown,NY 13803
Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut

Post by freetown fred » Wed. Nov. 30, 2022 7:51 pm

Still Crazy after all these years--love it Jon!! :)

 
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Retro_Origin
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Posts: 914
Joined: Sun. Feb. 21, 2021 7:46 pm
Location: Schuylkill county
Stoker Coal Boiler: 1957 Axeman Anderson 130
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat / Pea

Post by Retro_Origin » Wed. Nov. 30, 2022 8:45 pm

Take this down! We all have coal addictions, we don't need another one! :D

 
User avatar
SMITTY
Member
Posts: 12520
Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
Location: West-Central Mass
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler

Post by SMITTY » Sat. Dec. 03, 2022 10:44 am

HAHAHA! Yeah, it is VERY addictive, Retro!

LOL, Fred! :yes:

I appreciate that, warminmn! Oh it's a total life-changing blast! You can get lost above your own neighborhood! Everything looks so unrecognizable. Sunrises and sunsets are EPIC! :yes:

Thanks, Don! Oh I love FL! I was made for the heat down there. Some day I might live there. If I could only convince my wife, I'd have been down there years ago. I miss my 2 years in Phoenix - no rust or road salt destroying my vehicles, no worrying about heating the house, or what to wear on a motorcycle ride since there's no 50° temp swings, AND the REASONABLE cost of living! I'm sold. I just need my wifey on board. :D

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