Paramotors - an anomaly?

I was thinking similar about fast flying rc planes on a local showground/field which a model club use whilst there are families playing football etc.
The pilots are flinging directly above and towards them at speed and there is no way they weigh under 250g.
Seems like it’s one rule for drones and one rule for every other hobby.

FLYING*

I fly at a public park over a football field when no one is around.

At this park a model plane club who fly often and usually quite safely. They’re friendly and several them fly drones too.

However a recent incident where an older flyer in his late 70’s crashed a jet plane into the ground not far from a kids football match.

Luckily no one was hurt other than the owner’s pride and pocket.

This did cause a conflict between some “hero” dad who took it upon himself to confront the elderly gent and have him leave in tears.

Obviously, I had a “word” after hearing the shouting from the other side of the park and the guy went.

The point is, as nice as the old chap was and I totally believe he meant no harm.
The plane was way too powerful to be flown in a public park and anywhere near the general public.
It was an accident waiting to happen.

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And that is one reason why we aren’t all going around in flying cars as predicted by tomorrow’s world in the 70s. They failed to take account of human stupidity.

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I was out in the Hills with the drone a few months ago, a remote area.

I had brought the drone in when I saw some paramotors about. Just as well, one went overhead towards the hilltop, on return he seemed to be struggling a bit and went over my head at rather less than 50m altitude.

My control of my sub 1kg drone was rather better than he had with his paramotor!.

GC

Well thanks again to the forum for burning a hole in my pocket! :grin: Guess what me and a friend are training on in the summer, Paramotors lol.

Well I’ve fixed aircraft for the past 23 years so figured I may as well learn to fly :rofl:

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MAYBE the CAA should be approached about paragliders and the difference in so called rules between UAVs and paras…see what they have to say about it…

Let us know what they say :+1:t2:

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As an ex employee of the CAA (ATC) I stay well clear!!

I guess the most massively obvious difference between paragliders and UAVs is that injuring someone or damaging something with a paraglider would likely involve causing even more harm to the pilot. i.e. you just don’t need a phone book full of rules to largely prevent them from flying in ways where they’re likely to hit things.

I thought they were governed by the same minimum 500-feet height above people as in the Rules of the Air for other manned aircraft? Several paramotor forums and websites seem to confirm that.

I was replying a bit tongue in cheek. We are governed by the same rules, but there doesn’t seem to be a minimum, especially if they are showing off. As for the maximum… I’ve known them go to over 10 thousand feet, which seems ridiculous because there are BIG fast aircraft up there and the air is thinner.
A particular greeting of paramotors in the air is to bump wings, surely that’s an ‘airprox’ to an observer. But then again, if a tree falls down in the forest and nobody is around… does it make any sound.

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And they are much more likely to be insured.