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PPG Field of Dreams!!
"If you build it, they
will come"
History of Past Students
- Click here
18 Sep 07 - Ray complete's his course!! - Ray had completed his
final qualifying flights this morning. His final flight was an XC flight around
the Sussex area that lasted about 1 hour. I had flown the Eco 4 trike accompanying
Ray on the XC. The weather was superb and the air was smoooooth!!
17 Sep 07 - Ray Student 0711 almost finish - Ray had flown
several more flights this evening and is only two flights short of his
qualification required to complete his course. Ed had also taken advantage of
this evenings weather.
17 Sep 07 - Student 0710 completed training - Bob M had completed
his qualifying flights this morning. Bob M is a natural Trike pilot that made
several touch & go landings in which showed good throttle/glider control .
Bob will be joining the Fredericton area PPG pilots and I'm looking forward to
his future flight reports. Congrats Bob!!
16 Sep 07 - These guys have it good!! - Armand and Daniel fly
the beaches of the Cap Pele near their home. Now, they have a good area to
fly!! Thanks for the pics!!
16 Sep 07 - Bob trike training
- This evening was a
great time to practice trike kiting due to low winds. After several
attempts Bob quickly picked up the finesse of kiting his wing while sitting down
in a trike. The technique is quite different than foot launch and Bob is now
ready to take his first trike flight. Tomorrow morning looks like it will be
great weather for flying.
16 Sep 07 - Chilly morning for Jim & Tim - This morning was
a little chilly and unfortunately we're at the time of year that the length of
your flight depends on how warm you can keep your hands. The guys were in the
air for 45mins in which is pretty good, but if you want to stay in the air
longer you have to get the appropriate equipment. With the current weather above
zero you can get away with regular gloves with heat packs, but when the freezing
weather arrives you'll be requiring the good gloves. The best gloves by far are
the 12V Gerbing electric gloves . They're not cheap, they cost around $200.00
but they're worth it. I purchased mine at G.B Bourque in Moncton or you can
order them on line at www.gerbing.com.
14 Sep 07 - Nice morning for flying!! - Ray had taken
advantage of the weather this morning and had flown several unassisted flights.
Ray is well on his way of completing his course. Good work Ray!!
13 Sep 07 - Ray gets in a Sunset flight!! - Ray has been
waiting very patiently the last few days to see if he could continue on with his
training. Unfortunately due to organizing the Balloon fiesta and bad weather Ray
has been out of luck. However, Ray was awarded with a beautiful Sunset flight
this evening that lasted about 30 mins. Ray had a chance to relax in his chair
at 800' and watched how beautiful the air and sunset is over Sussex at this time
of the evening. The weather looks good for tomorrow morning and Ray should get
more flights in. (Few Pics)
Setting up to
fly
Off he
goes!!
Ray after the flight (The expression say's it all)
12 Sep 07 - Bob riding his trike - Bob came down today to
pick up and set up his new nomad trike. We installed and adjusted his paramotor
on the trike to include a hang check. Bob had a chance to practice the simulated
launch procedure several times at the field before he took it home to practice.
Bob should be Trike flying soon!!
 
10 Sep 07 - Balloon Fiesta wrap up - Wow, would
probably be the best way to describe this week-end. I'm sure that all the pilots
that had attended this year had an outstanding time to include great flights,
great thrills seeing the Balloons up close and having Balloons actually landing
into our launch area. It was also a good opportunity in having maritime PPG
pilots to meet each other for some the first time. I'm sure it was a
learning experience for most and the PPG Shack was a great place to have a few
refreshments and tell lies after successful flights.
I would like to extend my appreciation to all attending pilots in helping us
to ensure that our first Balloon festival was a success. The organizing committee
and the Balloon Meister was very happy with the way we helped make this year's
event something for folks to remember.
Next year were planning to have several PPG pilots to actually launch and
land in the event area with Transport Canada and the organizing committee
already agreeing with that recommendation. It should be very exciting, and
if the interest at the static display pays off there should be many new pilots
to join us at next year's event.
Attending PPG pilots/visitors:
Raynald Tremblay - Levis, Quebec;
Mark Dean - Fredericton, New
Brunswick;
Ed Eustace - Sussex; New
Brunswick; Tim Reicker - Hampton, New
Brunswick;
Armand Cormier - St Andre-Leblanc, New
Brunswick;
Tracy Dempsey - Nackawick, New
Brunswick.
George Budaker - Fredericton, New
Brunswick;
Ron Wells - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia;
Claude Alain - Bouctouche, New Brunswick;
James Mcleod - Quispamsis, New
Brunswick;
Kevin Nelson - Hillsdale, New
Brunswick;
Daniel Lirette - Saint-Antoine, New Brunswick; Ed Gallant - Richmond,
Prince Edward Island; Maurice
Robichaud - Bouctouche, New Brunswick; and Donald
Robichaud - Bouctouche, New Brunswick. (Few Pics)
5 Sep 07 - Balloon fiesta display site confirmed!! - I
finally had a chance to confirm the static display site today, it's next
to the Hockey arena. You'll see my motorhome there with PPG equipment, for
pilots arriving later on in the week-end that's where I can be found.
Again, the first meeting is at 1800hrs at the PPG shop(My house). We'll see ya
there!!
2 Sep 07 - Balloon Fiesta Week!! - Just a reminder
of the upcoming Balloon Fiesta is coming up this week. The plans have not
changed as per my last E-mail. I'm getting several calls of pilots that
will be attending and it's looking like we should have a very good turn
out for our very first Balloon Fiesta event. The more the better!! The
first meeting will be at my PPG shop (house) this Thursday at 1800 hrs. We can
discuss any last minute details in reference to the event. If you cannot make
this meeting, you can locate me during the day at the event grounds location in
Sussex. I'll have a static PPG display there and can fill you in on the details
to join the event.
Accommodations: There is camping in several areas around
the event grounds. You can camp there or you have the option to camp at my PPG
field. (You must let me know in advance, so that I can mark and show you the
route in to the field)
Attending pilots: It would be good to have a confirmation sent
to my E-mail of to include when you plan to arrive and how long you will be
attending the event. This will help in the planning process. Frank@poweredparaglidingnewbrunswick.com
I know that everyone is getting excited about this event, hopefully the
weather will co-operate as we should be getting in some great flying and at the
same time introduce our outstanding sport to the Maritimes. See Ya there!!
31 Aug 07 - Ray flew with an eagle this morning -
Ray had the opportunity to fly his first couple of assisted flights this
morning Ray did very well and flew approximately 800 feet with a local
eagle. He enjoyed the scenery and did not want to land. He's looking
forward to the next flying session. Good job Ray!!
30 Aug 07 - Ray's flying soon !! - Ray had written his SPP
tonight and was successful. He's now ready to fly!! Now we wait for mother
nature to do her thing to allow Ray to run into the air. Possibly tomorrow
morning!!
29 Aug 07 - Ray continues with training
- Since Ray was
available for more training this afternoon we continued with paramotor
instruction consisting of starting procedure/pre-flight/balance test and
simulated launch procedure. We then carried on with In-Flight followed by going
over Risk & Reward video in detail. Ray will soon write his SPP exam and
will be ready to Fly!!
29 Aug 07 - Daniel complete's his course - Daniel was
ready for flying this morning and the conditions were ideal. We had completed several
assisted flights yesterday and Daniel did very well. This morning he wanted to
show me that he can complete his qualifications flight unassisted this morning
and he flew most of the morning. I am happy to say that Daniel did very well and
did complete his qualification flights. He showed good launch/landing and flying
technique. Congrats Daniel on a job well done!!
28 Aug 07 - Successful flights this morning!! -
Bob and Daniel both flew their first couple of assisted flights this morning.
The next flying session will slowly require less assistance as each flight
progresses. Great work Bob & Daniel!!
(Click pics to enlarge)
Bob getting ready for
launch Daniel just after his first
flight
Bob's first
Flight
Daniel's expression after flying!
28 Aug 07 - Visitors at the field this morning - Ed had shown
up this morning for an XC flight to Norton. On the way back he took several pics
of the students training at the field. Also David B had flown from Fredericton
with his friend Bob to lend some support to his longtime buddy Bob(PPG Bob).
Dave and Bob flew from Fredericton with his RV4. Dave had given me a hand in
getting the students ready for flight and it was great to have him down to
visit. Thanks Ed for the aerial photos.
Norton
Bridge
Training
Field
Daniel
landing
Bob & Dave/ Sussex Airport
27 Aug 07 - Days not done yet!! - Tim R had picked up his
Walkerjet this evening and flew an XC for about an hour. Ray B, a student in
training had shown up at the field also to practice his forward launches. I
assisted Ray with his forward launch technique and he had several great
inflations to include very good glider control. Good work Ray!!
27 Aug 07 - Day 3 for Bob and Daniel
- Another hard day at
work at the field!! Bob and Daniel had several hours of Kiting practice to work
towards perfecting the forward launch. later on in the day I worked in the tow
rope to let the students feel what it will be like when the paramotor starts to
push them forward. They both agreed that is was much easier with the tow rope!!
We finished up with a video of a past student launching for the first time and
reviewed the requirements for the flying stage. Bob & Daniel are ready to
fly and if mother nature agrees they'll be flying tomorrow morning. (Few Pics)
26 Aug 07 - Day 2 for Bob and Daniel - Today was a long day of
training, the weather was not very good for kiting practice today due to high
winds during the day and light switchy high humidity weather in the evening.
Nevertheless, we did finish in-flight/some kiting practice/launch technique with
the paramotor only and covered the Risk & reward video in detail.
After supper the winds were still very high so the students wrote their Pre-Solo
Exam. Both passed and was issued a SPP. We were hoping for the winds to come
down to complete more light wind forward launches. The winds did come down,
however the high humidity and switchy winds were getting the best of the
students. (Any experienced PPG pilot knows how difficult it is to launch in low
wind and high humidity weather) We were hoping to get our first flight in tomorrow morning
but unfortunately the students require to finesse their forward launches.
They'll be back at kiting practice tomorrow morning at 10:00. Good work guys on
a long and hot humid day of training!!
25 Aug 07 - Viktor and Patricie from Walkerjet visit's PPGNB -
It was an honor to have Viktor and Patricie from WALKERJET visit myself
and Johanne all the way from the Czech Republic. They are the manufacturers of
Walkerjet paramotors and have been in the paramotor business for 10 years. This
is their first visit to the Maritimes and had plenty of questions regarding this
part of the country. Viktor does not speak much English but his wife Patricie
does speak English very well. Viktor and Patricie had come to Canada not
just to visit but also to update some of our customers paramotors. The major
update was to replace the pick up type ignition system to an older coil type
system that has been working very well for many years. I had customers lined up
at the door taking their paramotors as each one was updated. We finished off
with a great meal that Johanne had made and followed by a few drinks and off to
bed they went.(No doubt they were tired!!) They'll be leaving tomorrow morning
to continue a tour through the USA.
24 Aug 07 - Kevin passes his final Ultra-light exam - Kev
did not take long to finish studying his manual and wrote his Ultra-Light exam
today. Kev was successful and is now a fully licensed PPG pilot. Congrats Kev!!
23 Aug 07 - Ray's start's training -
Ray B is a local
resident of Sussex and has always wanted to fly. He finally bit the bullet and
purchased equipment and was eager to start his training. Today we had a chance
to get in some motor and Kiting training in which Ray did very well. (Few Pics)
Learning to untangle the paraglider
lines
Assemble/disassemble the
paramotor
Kiting practice
19 Aug 07 - Bob & Daniel start's training!! -
Bob
& Daniel has started training this morning. We covered a full day of
training starting with theory classes followed by paramotor training. Normally I
train the paraglider kiting classes first but the winds were too high for that
type of training today. The future PPG pilots had a chance to learn how to
assemble and disassemble their motors as well a chance in the In-flight trainer
to properly adjust their motors for weight & balance. We also covered
fueling and starting procedures and they had a chance to run the motors while on
their back to feel the motors thrust. Bob and Daniel will be back the following
week to continue on with their training. Good work guys!!
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