Paramotor Magazine Issue 35 Preview

February – March 2013 International Paramotor Magazine

35

on the edge

Jeff Hamann explores Nicaragua Fuel injection systems explained David Lopez Tejeiro tumbles in

Fl y t he pa r a m o t o r y ou’ ve al w a y s im a gin ed . . .

PARAJET

Precise, Dynamic, Compact

The future of paramotoring www.parajet.com

35

FEB - MAR 2013

Contents

FEATURES

08 26 32

Gallery: Readers’ Lives The best photos we’ve received from readers in recent months

Naked Pilot ‘Paramotoring is my life.’ Eric Dufour, one of the sport’s best-known pilots, gets naked for us

Fuel Injection Sascha Burkhardt explores the world of electronic fuel injection systems

38 46 50

COVER Coasting in Nicaragua.

Photo: Jeff Hamann THIS PAGE Nil-wind moment.

Photo: Franck Simonnet

Nicaragua Jeff Hamann completes his mission to fly the Central American Pacific Coastline

Project 19 David Lopez Tejeiro has been around gliders since he was eight. Now he’s really good

In Phuket ‘Mark Silverberg discovers the other side to this touristy paradise

LAUNCH - Editorial 6 - Spark 14 - IGNITION - News and New Products 16 - What’s On 24 - Jeff Goin 28 - Dean Eldridge’s Toolbox 30 REVIEWS - Rider Thrust 54 - InReach Tracking System - 58 LOGBOOK - 62 CONTENTS PARAMOTOR MAGAZINE 35

5

LAUNCH Editor & Designer: Marcus King Assistant editor: Ed Ewing Subeditor: Charlie King Columnists: Dean Eldridge, Edward Lichtner, Karen Skinner and Jeff Goin Translation: Judith Mole Advertising: Verity Sowden Subscriptions: Verity Sowden & Céline Rodriguez Accounts: Carol Harrison Tea-making: Hugh Miller Cross Country International Ltd 5 St George’s Place Brighton, BN1 4GA, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1273 256 090 Fax: +44 (0) 1273 784 976 Editorial: editor@paramotormag.com News: news@paramotormag.com Advertising: advertising@paramotormag.com Customer Service: office@paramotormag.com

O

ne of the great things about being involved in a relatively young sport like ours is the feeling of being part of something that is evolving all the time. It seems everyone is pushing back the boundaries of what can be achieved with these simple flying machines. Be it on a personal level – improving your skills and learning how to get the most out of your kit – or pushing the boundaries of the sport by flying higher, further or somewhere that has never been flown before. It’s exciting being around people doing these things, and it helps motivate you to push yourself.

But it’s not all about pushing boundaries when flying. Our sport is lucky enough to have a dedicated band of people who strive to push the technological boundaries. Be they wing designers or motor engineers they work tirelessly to advance the equipment we use, making our sport better and our dreams more achievable.

In this issue we look at some of the work of the designers who are doing just that, striving to create better engines by experimenting with fuel injection. Sacha Burkhardt looks at the theory behind the technology, and then explores some of the practical applications and difficulties. He discusses some of the systems that are in

6

A winter morning in France Photo: Franck Simonnet

prototype form, and whether they deliver on the promises.

Elsewhere, our regular columnist Karen Skinner has been attempting height records on a trip to Guatemala. In her logbook she tells us how she got on. And Jeff Hamann has been continuing his pursuit of flying the entire Pacific coastline of Mexico and Central America. He could have taken months off work and headed out on a single trip, vol bivvying his way south. But Jeff likes a little luxury – don’t we all? – and came up with the idea of doing the trip in stages. He has made numerous trips now, picking up where he left off each time, flying from hotel to hotel. The last trip was along the Pacific coastline of Nicaragua. He tells us about it, and shares some of his amazing photographs, starting on page 38.

All the pilots who appear in these pages are constantly learning as well striving to improve our sport. What a trip we are all on! So jump aboard and let’s head out on the road – and into the air.

Blue Skies

Marcus King Editor

PARAMOTOR MAGAZINE 35 LAUNCH

CONTRIBUTORS

Paramotor Magazine relies on contributions from pilots around the world. Please send us your news, story ideas and photographs to editor@paramotormag.com. We’d love to see them. Payment and credit is given where due.

SUPPORTING US

Paramotor Magazine is a reader-supported international publication and is available through subscription and shops.

We publish six issues a year, in print and digital. Thanks for helping us make this happen. Visit www.paramotormag.com for details.

ONLINE

Search ‘paramotormag’ to find us online

THE LAW

Paramotor Magazine (USPS No: 024-657) is published bi-monthly by Cross Country International and distributed in the USA by by SPP, 17B S Middlesex Ave, Monroe NJ 08831. Periodicals postage paid at New Brunswick, NJ. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Paramotor Magazine, 17B S Middlesex Ave, Monroe NJ 08831. Global copyright laws apply. The opinions in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Cross Country International.

PRINT AND PAPER

Paramotor Magazine is printed on paper sourced from sustainable forests managed to strict environmental, social and economic standards (ISO14001). We use ISO compliant vegetable-based soya inks which are better for the environment and make the paper easier to recycle.

Printed by Williams Press, UK.

BASE Cross Country 141

7

8

PARAMOTOR MAGAZINE 35 GALLERY

tMOMENT OF REFLECTION Paco Diaz turns on a dime above a pond near Pedro Bernardo, Spain.

Photo: Daniel Crespo

Readers’ Lives

I

t’s the first issue of the new year so what better way to celebrate it than by mixing up a selection of some of the best photos sent in by you, Paramotor Magazine readers, with some pro-photographer masterpieces. The standard of photography in our sport keeps getting better, and with smaller, lighter, sharper cameras the results never stop surprising us. From snowy fields to sunshine and beaches this sport can and does take you anywhere and everywhere. The year has only just started but we’ve already heard tales of amazing flying from around the world. Keep us in the loop and send us your best photos – we love seeing them. Have fun in the sky in 2013!

GALLERY PARAMOTOR MAGAZINE 35

9

Fuel injected Electronic fuel injection systems are successfully replacing carburettors in the automobile industry. Will the same thing happen in paramotoring?

Sascha Burkhardt reports

I

ABOVE Miniplane are experimenting with different injection positions. In these prototypes a further nozzle injects into the crankcase next to the classic injection into the inlet duct.

32

n a standard paramotor engine you have a carburettor with a float chamber and a combination of needle and valve regulates the amount of fuel that is delivered. At its most basic, as the valve opens air passes through and petrol also flows through. We described this in detail in issue 4 of Paramotor Magazine.

The ideal air/fuel mixture for a petrol engine is 14.7:1. This means, for example, that 147g air is used for 10g of petrol. In this instance combustion is perfect because the minimum possible unburnt mixture remains. (With a two-stroke engine this ratio is distorted because of the added oil.)

But for producing an “ideal” mixture a carburettor is really an archaic instrument. You have to cross your fingers a little and hope that the available fuel is delivered correctly at varying speeds throughout the flight. Plus, the carburettor cannot compensate for varying temperatures or altitude – both factors which influence the air

PARAMOTOR MAGAZINE 35 INJECTION

density and therefore the amount of petrol flowing through.

The result is that the mixture is often far from optimal and, because of poor combustion, the engine burns a lot of fuel unnecessarily and the composition of exhaust emissions is ecologically questionable.

In the automobile and motorbike industry, where exhaust emission standards and consumption are clearly more critical, electronic fuel injection systems are now being widely adopted. In these systems software uses various parameters from different sensors to constantly calculate the correct amount of fuel needed. In cars these sensors measure, for example, exhaust emissions, air temperature, engine temperature, the amount of air pulled through (ie the throttle valve position) and of course the current speed.

Will fuel injection systems soon be commonplace in paramotoring?

Inlet manifold injection or direct injection?

Generally there are two ways to inject petrol into an engine. In simple inlet manifold injection the petrol is injected into the inlet duct (manifold), in this case behind the throttle valve, which controls the amount of air. The throttle valve/ injection nozzle unit is where the carburettor would normally be. In paramotors it is therefore possible to replace the carburettor with a manifold injection system relatively easily.

The components of such a system have been kept relatively simple: the injection pump only needs to build up pressure of a few bar, generally around 4-5 bar. The petrol in the fuel line is ready and waiting until the magnetic valve opens. The duration the valve is open controls the amount of fuel injected.

But there are disadvantages. In a two-stroke engine the mixture is classically drawn into the crankcase and flushes the exhaust gases out of the combustion chamber. These flushing losses cannot be avoided, even if they can be minimised in a standard carburettor.

The ideal solution is to inject the fuel directly into the cylinder – this is direct injection. This has long been what happens in diesel engines.

This method requires much more complicated (and therefore heavier) pumps. In petrol engines pressure of 100-200 bar is necessary because the fuel has to be reliably injected against the high gas pressure created by the pistons. In modern diesel engines the injection pump can build pressure of up to an incredible 2,500 bar! In order to keep the technology relatively simple, direct injection is not yet routinely used in petrol cars.

A variation of the manifold injection system

TOP The injection on a four-stroke Bullix.

The injection nozzle is connected to the inlet duct behind the throttle valve. BOTTOM The reverse side of the injection system in the four-stroke Bullix.

INJECTION PARAMOTOR MAGAZINE 35

33

Casey Cadwell above the beach

38

PARAMOTOR MAGAZINE 35 NICARAGUA

In

Nicaragua Jeff Hamann faces down strong wind and strong authorities in his quest to fly the coastline of Central America’s biggest country

NICARAGUA PARAMOTOR MAGAZINE 35

39

Project 19

David Lopez Tejeiro is the paramotoring teenage sensation from Spain who infinite tumbled his way into the record books last year. Ed Ewing asked him one question for each of his packed years on this planet

REAL LIFE In the sky and on the couch at home in Spain. All photos: David Lopez Tejeiro collection

46

How old are you and where are you from?

I’ve just turned 19. I was born on 26 January 1994.

I live in the small village of Competa, near Malaga in southern Spain. It’s got a population of about 3,000 people.

My Dad taught all my older brothers as well as me.

He would tell us, “When you can control the glider 100% of the time on the ground, then you can go in the air.” Growing up we would always go to flying meets, festivals and competitions.

How long have you been flying?

I started practising 10 years ago with prototype kites and gliders produced by my father. He cut a large wing down to size and I used to groundhandle it. The harness was like something you use in the back seat of a car for your child, and even then it was too big for me.

And when did you get into acro?

I did my first acro manoeuvres when I was 14. We were free flying in Organya, a famous acro site in northern Spain. I flew a SAT.

Do you remember your first flight?

When I was 12, after a lot of practice on the ground, I did a solo flight. I didn’t much like it. The flying site was very small, and I was scared. But I did it again, and enjoyed it.

So your whole family is involved in flying?

PARAMOTOR MAGAZINE 35 PROFILE

That’s pretty young for flying acro isn’t it?

People say acro is dangerous, but they’re wrong.

It’s all about security and the control you have over the glider, knowing that at any moment you need to know how to react to a small collapse or turbulence.

How did you progress?

We had to travel to practice acro, to sites like Organya where you can easily gain altitude.

PROFILE PARAMOTOR MAGAZINE 35

47

50

PARAMOTOR MAGAZINE 35 THAILAND

Gateway to the Andaman

What’s new in Phuket? Mark Silverberg explores a different side of this tourist hotspot

W

hat’s new in Phuket? This place is a beaten path for tourism right? Ok, maybe a bit, but it’s worth a second look, especially for all of us who are searching for inspiring air. It’s here and you don’t have to go far to be awestruck. Also, there’s nothing wrong with matching a few flying days with some five star hedonism on the island paradise. Plus, ten miles southeast of Phuket International Airport, tucked away behind hills filled with gibbons, elephants, and waterfalls is the Phuket Flight Park.

It’s a ten-hour drive from my home at the Gulf of Thailand. We’re overloaded with gear on the long drive, but it goes by quickly travelling with my friend and business partner Cesar Maldonado from Aeronomadas. We travel south-west, crossing the thinnest part of Thailand to the

Andaman Sea with all the kit from our paramotor school in Hua Hin. The road heading south to where we want to be winds through jagged hills along Phang Nga Bay, finally crossing the bridge onto the island of Phuket. I’ve been teaching paramotor and flying in Thailand for over six years and I’m still amazed how much there is to see in such a small area. Then comes the pinch point of the drive.

The traffic and rush of tourists heading to the beach. We watch the mobs go to the right and we thankfully head to the left, to the north-east side of the island. Suddenly we’re driving down empty back roads, passing small Thai villages and arriving at the coast. It’s the perfect introduction to the flight park.

We arrived like a band of gypsies as always,

ON THE HORIZON Flying from Phuket allows access to the paradise islands in Phang Nga Bay. All photos: Mark Silverberg

THAILAND PARAMOTOR MAGAZINE 35

51