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Spring has sprung!

Posted on April 14, 2014 in Phil Jennings   

The competition scene for 2014 has started and I have just returned from Hull Aero Club where we had the first leg of the British Paramotor League.

The forecast for the weekend wasn’t looking brilliant and I was in 2 minds weather the 3 hour drive was going to be worth it. Quite a few pilots were absent, some abroad others just deciding the forecast wasn’t worth the trip. It actually turned out ok with us managing to get a good few tasks in early doors.

We briefed late Friday night for a 6am launch the following morning and did a simple figure 8 slalom with precision landing. This was perfect for me as I’d decided to use my slalom gear for a classic comp. The Zenith had the Thor 200 in and I was on my new 16m Dudek Snake, so I had every reason to win the task and thankfully I did with a 2 second lead over Mark Morgan who had also gone with the same theory. He was using his Zenith Moster and 16m Ozone Slalom. If you’d told me 2 years ago that there would be 2 pilots flying 16m wings in a classic comp I wouldn’t of believed you but it shows how fast wing technology is going now and how efficient small wings can be.

We then launched for a 1 1/2 hour speed navigation task. Once I took off I realised the conditions were a lot worse at altitude than ground level so I took the decision not to fly. I’m not a fan of being bounced round the sky on full speed bar so although it wasn’t going to get me any points I didn’t regret it. 2 other pilots also chose to sit it out so we were all in it together. When the brave souls returned they confirmed my suspicion that it wasn’t an enjoyable experience. Fun has always been a big part of competing and although I want to get on the podium and score points if I’m not enjoying it then I cannot see any point of forcing myself.

The wind stayed strong the rest of the day so we had no more tasks. Sunday was forecast to be much worse than Saturday so I was surprised as the rest when we were awoke at 5.15 to an early briefing and told to get ready for another slalom. This was a longer run than the day before but the Polini 200/Snake combo won through getting me another first.

We then planned another navigation task but with string winds above 500 feet it was pointless, so instead we did a slow fast task. This is where you have to kick 4 sticks whilst flying as slow as possible then do the same run again but as fast as possible. The person with the greatest difference between their times wins. It also turns out my little 16m wing has an incredible speed range and I not only had the fastest time but more amazingly the slowest too, another first place!

So that was it, only a few tasks but worth the trip up. I had a close second place overall in the end even though I had completely skipped a task so I was happy with that. This means i’lll be carrying some points over to the next event in 4 weeks time….

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