SAFA Skysailor Magazine

7 November | December 2020 SKY SAILOR other people who do not think we are mad. The plan was that people would do their own thing for breakfast and lunch but the BBQ in the shed always seemed to get fired up and we mostly ate together and had a whip around for the costs. As always, there was a Welcome BBQ on Thursday evening. We had a plan to fly to the Boree Creek pub for dinner on Friday, but due to the weather, we had to go the way normal people would. Saturday, the local Red Cross ladies provided assorted hot dishes and pavlova in the shed. If you think most of this report seems to be about eating and socialising, that is what crap weather can do to a powered paragliding fly-in. We did less flying than we hoped for, but there were times when it was on and we made the most of it. Engine out caution Normally, engine failures in a paramotor do not present a problem as the open parachute above your head automat- ically goes into a glide if you do nothing. The only time I have personally injured myself in all my time flying was, however, when my motor stopped suddenly at treetop height during a steep climb out. My response was to dampen the surge, but I dampened too much and came down parachutal. This fractured bones in my ankles and caused me pain for a long time. From my personal experience, I suggest pilots give a thought about the appropriate response to a low-level engine out and what can go wrong in such an event as well as considering their responses. Unfortunately, we recorded one accident during the weekend related to a low level engine out, the AIRS report associated with this accident is currently under review. Planning ahead Apart for this unfortunate event, a good time was had by all. We look forward to next year, hopefully with no virus to contend with, and all those pilots south of the border joining us. The Pico will be on again in September next year, and all PPG pilots will be welcome. You won’t find a better site for PPG and you won’t find a better bunch of pilots anywhere. We help each other, make new pilots welcome, have a laugh, tell stories about flying, some true, some perhaps not. Most of all, the other people there know just what a buzz it is to run into the air with a whippersnipper-driven propeller on your back and a modified teabag over your head.