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9th Annual Paratour Meet
Held on July 7th,
8th and 9th 2000
At St-Jean-Chrysostome,
Quebec, Canada
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Over the years, this friendly gathering
has become one of the major paramotor events in North America. This year, 89 pilots from Canada and United States, Mexico and
England participated. |
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| Here is a report on the 9th Annual
Paratour Meet, spontaneously written by John Phillips who was
present at this fly-in and who was also part of the new North
American record of 34 pilots in flight at the same time and place. John Philips is a former skydiver and
an amateur, but experienced paramotor pilot, from Pennsylvania
who writes articles on the sport.
We, at Paratour, thank him for this
accurate and detailed report.
July, 11th 2000Sky Drivers,
The Paratour fly-in was a huge success,
a tremendous learning
experience and one hell of a lot of fun.
I'm not even going to try and name
everyone who was there as I'd probably miss someone and have
no desire to offend any of my newly made friends. |
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Suffice it to say that many of the
names you see on the pilotsclub mailing list regularly were present, as well
as many who lurk quietly in the background.
A new North American record was set
with 34 PPG's in the air at the same time. The record setting
flight consisted of male and female (2) pilots from Canada, Mexico,
England and the US. |
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I do not know for sure, but believe,
that a video of the record may be compiled from the ground and
air cameras and made available at some point in the future. Two PPG's, one flying the Quebec flag
and the other the US flag led the flight of pilots about the
pattern until all 34 PPG's were in the air.
Two cameramen digitally filmed the
flight from within the center of the pattern alternately flying
at the same altitude, or above and below the rest of the PPG's. The ground cameras recorded the take offs and landing and took
a number of shots of the wings as they circled
above. |
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Danny Kriseler, instructor in Maryland, flying with the American
flag. |
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During the new North American record
set on July 8th 2000, at St-Jean-Chrysostome, Quebec, Canada. |
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The total time to set the record from
first launch to first landing was about one hour. All 34 PPG's were in the air together
for no less than 15 to 20 minutes.
The count of the ground crew was confirmed by the cameramen and
a new record went into the books. A group photo of the
pilots in the record was taken just after the debriefing. Everyone who made the flight also signed a roster attesting to
the record. |
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Eric Dufour conducted the new North American record of 34 paramotors,
helped by his assistant David Sigier, are here with
the participating paramotorists:
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Jacques Boily (Quebec, Canada) Benoit Boucher (Quebec, Canada)
Sunter Bundy (Ontario, Canada)
Antoine Chabot (Quebec, Canada)
Stephane Cardin (Quebec, Canada)
Philip Clark (Ontario, Canada)
Jerry Daniele (New Mexico, USA)
Michelle
Daniele (New Mexico, USA)
Scott R. Fisher (Florida, USA)
Grant Fitz
(Ontario, Canada)
Marco, Antonio Guillermo (Mexico city, Mexico)
Paul Giguere (Quebec, Canada)
Richard Good (Manchester, England)
Bud Johnson (Louisiana, USA)
David Kettering (Maryland, USA)
Danny Kriseler (Maryland, USA)
Lionel Larue (Quebec, Canada) |
Pierre A. Lemire (Quebec, Canada) Alain Levesque (Quebec, Canada)
Franklin J. McDowell (Maryland, USA)
Randy Markovich (Ontario, Canada)
John Phillips (Pennsylvania, USA)
Luc Poulin (Quebec, Canada)
Jeannot Savard (Quebec, Canada)
Alain Sauve (Quebec, Canada)
Raynald Rancourt (Quebec, Canada)
Gary L. Shoaf (Pennsylvania, USA)
Eric Sigier (Quebec, Canada)
Danielle Packenham Sigier (Quebec,
Canada)
Mike Springer (Ontario, Canada)
Shannon Suzuki (Ontario, Canada)
Rene Roy (Quebec, Canada)
Bill Walsh (Massachusetts, USA)
Dale Winters (Pennsylvania, USA) |
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Everyone got their fill of flying and
our hosts Eric and Elisabeth
made sure there was always some activity to hold our attention. |
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Eric Dufour conducting the thrust
tests with Stanley B. Hebb, from Maryland, USA, and Richard Good,
from Manchester, England. |
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There were ground handling competitions
through and obstacle course, bomb drops, spot landings and a
slalom course to fly through. On top of that demos of a PPG extraction,
night flight with night vision gear, PPG barrel rolls, thrust
testing, and lots more kept you busy.
PPG videos of the days flying ran almost
constantly in the main tent. |
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Activities went non-stop until dark.
The socializing was constant. The Saturday evening barbecue consisted
of lamb, pork and beef with all the trimmings, for the main course,
followed by lots of desert and conversation around the bonfire. |
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With the yellow flight suit, Marco Antonio Guillermo,
instructor in Mexico city, Mexico,
winner of the ground handling contest. |
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My only disappointment was that I did
not get to meet or talk with everyone who was there.There was so much going on in addition
to all of the flying that there just wasn't an opportunity to
greet everyone.
The youngest pilot was in their teens
and the oldest was near 60.
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There was at least one of almost every
type motor made (wish there would have been a Miniplane as I
was hoping to see one).
The
Silex was clearly the most popular wing outnumbering
all of the others by at least 2 or 3 to one. |
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Purple wings were clearly the overwhelming
color. During the record flight I attempted
to get closeup shots of each pilot in flight.
There were so many purple wings in
the air at the same time that I have no idea if I got them all. Of the 34 wings in the air at the same time I "think"
that at least 7 of them were purple. |
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Bill Walsh,
instructor in Massachusetts, USA, flying during the new record. |
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I noted that few pilots flew with reserves
and only a few used radio communications.Everyone wore some kind of a helmet
with a good mix of type.
Full face helmets were the least popular.
Sneakers were the most popular footgear.
Most wore some type of a glove on their
hands. There was a lively discussion on where
the gas tank should be (on top of the motor or underneath). Good
arguments were made for either placement. For example, a leak
causing an in flight fire (tank above) or a hard landing rupturing
the tank (tank below). A good case was also made for a fuel bladder
with a quick disconnect that could be worn on the front of the
pilot.
Mother Nature helped make things interesting
as well. On one day we had the opportunity to
experience all four seasons in a single afternoon.
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I was particularly taken by how flat
the land was and how great the visibility was. You could see
a storm coming from 50 miles away and govern your flying time
accordingly. |
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There was one mishap when a pilot stalled
his wing from about 50 feet and did not have time to recover
before impact. He was injured and is reported to be recovering
well. The stall was captured on video. **When the pilot is feeling better the possible
causes for the accident will be discussed with him.
The only major equipment problems I
am aware of was a prop that was damaged by a radio push to talk
switch that found its way too far back and a prop on a trike
that was trashed when the prop cage was flexed to hard by an
inflating wing. |
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There were some minor equipment problems
like a prop bearing that seized and a muffler that cracked. These were minor difficulties caught
during pre-flight that presented no flying problems or danger.
A Fresh Breeze threw a belt during a PPG extraction flight.
This
was due mainly to the strain placed on the frame during the extraction
liftoff.
 Click here to read
Randy Markovich's comments on the fly-in |
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I for one want to personally express
my thanks to Eric and Elisabeth for hosting this event.You do not have to be a rocket scientist
to know that this was not a money making endeavor for them. The
costs of the tents, port-a-potties, barbecue, prizes, staff, coffee
and doughnuts, etc. more than used up the small participation
fee that was collected.
Eric and Elisabeth both worked long
and hard days seeing that everyone's needs were taken care of. |
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Eric also acted as Safety Officer,
coordinating all of the flying and always found the time to help
someone with an equipment problem or training question. Quote of the event - made immediately
after an extremely attractive female skydiver landed directly
in front of a PPG pilot: "God, I love Canada, it rains chicks
up here!". |
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Jerry Daniele, instructor in New Mexico, USA, helping with
the security staff and Eric
Dufour, our chief instructor, preparing
the Fresh Breeze Monster tandem unit. |
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