Several times world paramotor champion, Spaniard Ramon Morillas has broken his own altitude record in Pakistan, flying his Advance Sigma 7 / PAP motor to the top of Himalayan giant Masherbrum, 7,821 m. The claim has been submitted to the FAI for ratification.

This breaks the record Ramon set in September, when he reached the top of Nanga Parbat (7,578 m) on his paramotor.

Congratulations to Ramon and his support team.

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Flying Unlimited's wireless PTT system

South Africa’s Flying Unlimited have created a wireless PTT for hang glider, paraglider and paramotor pilots.

Originally developed for their own needs for formation flying, it will be appreciated by anyone who likes the idea of communication without dropping the brake lines, and of not having the pallaver of feeding wires down sleeves and into flying suits. The PTT can be fixed with a strap to your brake handle or tied to your wrist.

You can order the system to fit yourself, or they will fit it for you. The do it yourself system costs R499.00 (approximately €44) including Vat, or R690 (€62) installed.

www.ppg.co.za
tony@ppg.co.za

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Following the growing success over the past four years of the annual British National Paramotor Championships, the 2010 competition scene has adopted a new approach. In a quest to keep pilots flying year round and to also bring new talent and depth to the prospective British Squad, the Competition Committee have introduced a 3-leg league for 2010.

The first of these legs took place 12-13 September 2009 at the Fly School Paramotor base in Southport, Lancashire. Andy Philips was Meet Director for what proved to be a perfect flying weekend.
The pace was relentless and Andy set a staggering 10 tasks over the 2 days of competition. The pilots ranged from World Champion to competition virgin, but a great time was had by everyone there and lessons were learnt by all.

This hugely successful first leg will be followed by a second leg in the spring (dates to be announced shortly) culminating in the final summer leg which will now be renamed the British Open. Pilots who aspire to the title of British Champion will be keen to attend all of the League events to optimise their points, and the task setting will reflect this in increased complexity as was seen in Southport.

The final leg (the British Open) will be more relaxed with the emphasis being a ‘fun, fair, simple and safe’ competition.

More information can be found on www.ppgcomps.co.uk

Top 5 League Positions after Leg 1:

1. Michel Carnet – Bailey 4V / Dudek Nucleon / 1000 points
2. Laura Turner – Miniplane Top 80 / Dudek Nucleon / 669 points
3. Barney Townsend – Pap Top 80 / Dudek Nucleon / 570 points
4. Ric Womersley – Bailey 175 / Paramania Action GT / 417 points
5. Teresa Telus – Bailey Top 80 / Dudek Synthesis / 371 points

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Andrew Hall has created a Java application which maps all UK Notams, making planning cross country hang glider and paraglider flights in Britain much easier.

Notam Map uses Preflight Information Bulletins (PIBs) published by the UK Aeronautical Information Service of the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) and presents them in a user-friendly way.

The software is available free (presently) to all, and can be downloaded from the Notam Map website. The expiry date on the trial software is primarily to ensure users regularly dowload the latest version, as the project is not yet compete and the software is being frequently revised.

Andrew has added the following disclaimer: “While every effort has been made to produce a quality product, this application is provided with absolutely no guarantees either to the accuracy, completeness or presentation of the data supplied. Notam Map is not approved or recognised by NATS and should not be used as the primary means of obtaining pre-flight information for flight planning purposes.”

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Emilia Plak and mathieu Rouanet

Ex World Paramotor Champion Mathieu Rouanet and Polish female paramotor star Emilia Plak are competing in the Ultimate Thailand Explorer video competition

Teams of two are invited to upload a one minute video clip explaining why they should be amongst the five teams chosen to win a free trip around Thailand worth $ 10,000. The competition, organised by the Thai tourist board, has attracted teams from all over the world.

Mathieu and Emilia plan to use paramotors to film and promote the Thai destinations they visit.

You can view their video here. The more views they get the higher their chances of winning will be. The deadline for couples to enter is 15 October 2009,  11:59 PM (GMT +7). Then there will be a period of public online voting to select the winner.

All packed and ready for the off

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