PPG News

                                                 "If  you build it, they will come" 

5 Apr 09 - Another nice flight this morning - The weather in Florida during end March and early April is normally not very good for flying. However, I cannot complain, it's still warm and we do get the odd day of flyable weather.  We had about 12 pilot's flying this morning, the air was nice therefore, it must be flown!! 

4 Apr 09 - Surprise Birthday Party! -   The St John River was busy this afternoon with both para- barges transporting people and equipment back and forth.  Some pilots flew to the river and there was at least 20 pilots flying around for Mike's surprise birthday party.  It was really nice to be back up in the air again after two week's of heavy rain and high winds.  It was extremely hot all day and very refreshing to be flying the river. Potluck supper, birthday cake and a little entertainment to pass the evening with good friends.  

2 Apr 09 - New PPGNB equipment for 2009 - PPGNB is now a dealer for Paratoys equipment as well as adding a new line of Axis gliders to include the Power Pluto II and the Stardust.   As well I have become the Canadian Distributor for Greeneagle 4 stroke Trikes.  This new equipment will broaden the price range for potential buyers as well as supplying the best four stroke trike on the market.  See equipment link

21 Mar 09 - Glen's 100th PPG Flight! - Congratulations Glen on your 100th PPG flight.  Bob, Dave and Glen battled the elements again to enjoy the air and view.  These guy's don't let the cold or snow stop them from enjoying their favorite sport!! 

15 Mar 09 - St Patrick's Day in Weymans Field- The boys from Frederiction, NB flew for approximately 1 1/2 hours down the Keswick Stream to the Mouth of Keswick and then up over Keswick Ridge to Mactaquac over the ice. It's nice to see the hardcore flyer's taking advantaged of nice air, even though it's cold!! 

15 Mar 09 - Gator Patrol - Marty was looking for gators this morning and counted eleven in the photo of myself flying along the St John River.  Flying was out of bounds in the evening due to space shuttle Discovery launch.

14 Mar 09 - XC Flight with Mike - This morning Mike and I took our reflex gliders out for a long flight. Mike flew his GT 28 and I flew my Rev 24.  I was quite surprised that I could keep up to Mike in full speed bar considering he normally flies faster than the Xcitor.  Mike is nicknamed the "Water magnet" and I can tell you if there's water,  Mike is flying low over it.  We had a great flight and covered a lot of ground in the 2 hour flight.

8 Mar 09 - Trip to Disappearing Island - Today the Para-Flyers visited Disappearing Island thanks to Mike and his para-barge. The Island is a sand bar on Ponce Inlet just south of Daytona Beach.  The Island appears in low tide and disappears under the water in high tide, so timing is everything. The weather was great in the morning to mid afternoon with light to moderate winds, but the winds picked up later on in the evening where I was dragged just taking my glider out of the stuff sack.  We all had a great time and enjoyed the warm beach weather. 

                            Loading Para Barge                                                        Ponce Inlet Lighthouse                                                                      Paramotor Island 

                                                      Bryan                                                                               Lesile                                                                                       Frank

                           Marty with his shark                                                                       Barefoot Michel                                                                                   Mike

7 Mar 09 - Winter Flying - After 4 month's in the U.S Jo and I are looking forward to getting back into our home in Sussex N.B. Receiving an E-Mail today quickly reminded me that our time here is pretty good and N.B will have to wait for another couple of weeks. Hard core Bob flew his WJ200 today from Weyman Field in NB.  Still lots of snow in New Brunswick, hopefully some of our Sunny weather will make it home soon!!

 7 Mar 09 - St John River, Florida - We all enjoyed the smooth air this morning while Johanne take pictures off the St John's River. 

                                        Eric                                                                                    Elisabeth                                                                                              Michel

6 Mar 09 - Gator XC - Michel Carnet and I took off early this morning for an XC flight. Due to the clinic Michel had not had the chance to get in a good XC flight to search out gators. We flew to the St John river (Gator country) and of course we flew directly over the clinic site. Michel could not pass the site without getting in a few practice runs on the cloverleaf. It was actually good luck because not long after his top80 lost power. After a quick inspection he had found out the problem, his fuel line was up against the muffler and burned a hole in the line. Unfortunately neither of us had tools but we used the corner of Michel's gas inspection mirror to cut the line and re-route it so we can complete our flight. Not long after we were back in the air to search out gators, it was not long before we were flying over plenty of them.  The remainder of our XC flight was uneventful. Few pics

3 Mar 09 -  Japanese Slalom -  This morning Stan, Eric and Michel were taking turns to try to improve their timings on the Japanese Slalom. My skills are not at the competitive level of these world class champions so I had the job of timekeeper.  Eric and Stan were using the speed bar for the first time during these challenges and it definitely improved their timings.  These pilot's are very competitive and the timings showed. I was hoping to get a flight in later on, but the winds picked up quite strong and I stayed on the ground. We're going to go back to the field this evening and this time I'm going to get in a flight. 

26 Feb 09 - Competition Clinic Begins  -  The PPG competition Clinic started this morning of the St John River. There are 10 pilots attending with different levels of experience.  This morning everyone flew and practiced spot landings and the cloverleaf.  Later on in the evening the winds were strong and Michel Carnet showed the pilot's how to inflate the paraglider in strong winds using the Cobra inflation method.  During the day Michel and Eric went over more theory lessons on the cloverleaf and other events that are part of the world competitions. This evening we returned to the river, the winds were strong and some pilot's flew. Eric worked with Jeff Goin on filming the cloverleaf. Later on the wind calmed down and most pilot's flew back to Christmas field. 

25 Feb 09 - Competition Clinic  -  This weekend, Eric Dufour is organizing a competion clinic with Michel Carnet here at Christmas, Florida.  Michel Carnet is from England and won the world championship seven times.  The four day weekend will consist of improving pilot's skills  in navigation, accuracy landing, spot landing, clover leaf, endurance, etc.  These tasks will be based on World Championship.  Michel arrived late last evening but we made a early trip to the river for a morning orientation flight. 

21 Feb 09 - Demo Paramania Wings  -  This morning we went to the St John River to test out several models of demo Paramania gliders.   I  had the opportunity to test fly the Go-fly in which was as an entry level school glider for beginner paramotor and paragider pilots.  This wing is very solid, stable and easy to inflate.  Mike and Pascal was there to answer any questions  that any pilot's may have in reference to the performance and handling of the gliders.

20 Feb 09 - Paramania Reflex Briefing  -  Mike Campbell-Jones had given an excellent briefing on reflex technology this afternoon. It was very informative and detailed that gives you an idea of the work and detail that goes into the design of Paramania Powergliders. There were several gliders available for demo to include the newest glider in the Paramania line, "the Fusion".  I had the opportunity of flying this glider and you can really feel the design change from flying my Paramania Revolution.  The Fusion turns on a dime and it is even easier to launch in low wind conditions. Mike's son Pascal who happens to be a World Class competitive Paramotor Pilot is also here to answer question's and demonstrate the gliders. 

18 Feb 09 - Paramania Demo Weekend - The Paramania Team, Mike and Pascal Campbell-Jones will be at Christmas, Florida this weekend to introduce their new model of wings for pilots to try.  Mike and Pascal will also be on hand to give advice and give a Reflex wing safety seminar.  I'm looking forward to Mike's seminar and I will post if they're are any changes or new developments going on with the Paramania Gliders.