Dave’s First Flights!!

Friday was definitely Dave’s day. Conditions were perfect and and he was spot on with his skills.
After a little kiting to warm up his wing handling muscles we prepared for an afternoon of flying. I jumped up first to test the sky for our soon to be new pilot. It was still pretty early in the afternoon so the bumps were kinda big and I got tossed around a bit. We decided to hold off a while and let the air settle down some before attempting to send Dave aloft.
After a 45 minute refuel and snack break we headed back to the runway to have a go at Dave’s first flight. The winds had definitely calmed a little and everything looked great. We set up for a forward launch into the light breeze right down the runway. On Dave’s first attempt the wing came up nicely and after a short taxi run I gave him the “FULL THROTTLE!” command over the headset. He responded by gently squeezing the controller and moments later Dave left the ground.
​Once airborne he quickly became accustomed to the controls and made three well managed laps around the airport before bringing the paramotor safely back to the the earth in the center of the runway. Way to go Dave!!
He made a few more flights that afternoon before calling it a day and retiring to the hanger exited for the next flying day. With daylight savings starting Sunday, suddenly weekdays after work are now a real possibility. Now if only the weather will cooperate...