Final competition day at the 1st FAI World Paramotor Endurance Championships
The ninth and final task of the 1st FAI World Endurance Paramotor Championships on Friday 9 August is fuel economy: pilots have a 2 kilogram quantity of fuel weighed out and must stay in the air for as long as possible, trying to locate thermals to stay aloft for longer.
Some paramotor pilots also have experience in paragliding on thermals, which could give them an advantage. The take-off weight, size of wing and engine type also affect performance in this task. Conditions are fairly windy - although safe for flight according to the regulations which require 7m/sec for foot launch - so it is a challenge for the pilots to maintain a long flight time.
German pilot Benedikt Bös prepares for take off.
On Friday morning, the team leaders attended a meeting in which Championship Director Barney Townsend announced the fuelling process would commence at 10.30. After being grounded on Thursday due to strong, gusty winds, the pilots and marshalls sprang eagerly into action to fuel up.
And then came the wait. With gusty winds continuing for the next few hours, anticipation for the flight window was high, with foot launch pilots finally getting the green flag around 17:00. The majority took off one after another to optimise the flight window, a handful holding back in the hopes of finding improved thermals.
Leah Catullo, USA, awaits the green flag for take off.
Team France have enjoyed sitting at the top of the rankings in both foot launch and trike categories, with host nation Britain battling to stay ahead of Germany in the foot launch class. The Qatari team have a solid lead against Poland in the trike class but still have their sights on a gold medal. Results are still to be finalised and so the podiums in team and individual categories could still change with the points from this final task.
Tasks flown
Task 1: PL1 and PF1 Snake
Task 2: PL1 and PF1 Estimated Speed
Task 3: PL1 and PF1 Constant Speed
Task 4: PL1 and PF1 Snake 2
Task 5: PL1 and PF1 Estimated Speed 2
Task 6: PL1 and PF1 Constant Speed 2
Task 7: PL1 and PF1 Pure Navigation
Task 8: PL1 and PF1 Bowling Landing
Task 9: PF1 Fuel Economy
Pilots take off to find thermals in the fuel economy task.
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Images: Caitlin Smith/FAI
