26th June

T

Today Karan had a a tumble during launch, I will leave it to Eric to describe what happened. Nothing serious thankfully, just a milestone.

Dear Norman,

Mangesh, our Paramotor Instructor clicked a few pictures of Karan flying the paramotor. I am with the radio instructing Karan. Next to me are a few of my paragliding and paramotoring students.

Today, there was a set back. Karan has a habit of bending forward while launching. For some reason he still does it despite warning him. Today, he did the same and the risers put a lot of load on the cage and pushed the cage backwards during his take off. The cage touched the prop and shattered it. Karan aborted the flight lost his balance and toppled. The cage got bent on one side. Had to terminate the training session.

Karan has decided to go back to Nepal. He is being called back urgently. He has promised to return back in the month of October for the completion of his training.

Norman, if you happen to visit India in between please let me know. I would like to meet you. I wish to plan a few Paramotoring safaris with your team in India. There are very beautiful places to fly in India. Let’s plan it out and do it in the coming season.

Krish is limping to normal. He has just joined office today. He doesn’t seems to be 100% yet. Will take some more time to recover completely.

Cheers, Eric Menezes

And so ends the first chapter.
Learning to fly has always been challenging both of skills and personal resources. Falling over with all that noise and weight on your back can shake the best of us. I know this to be true as I have done it myself; if you paramotor, then you have probably done much the same.
The process seems to be a series of triumphs and minor disasters. We only hope that we can see them for what they are, all part of the process of learning and building respect for the sport and the act of flight.

Karan’s recall to his unit has been in prospect for a couple of days, they need him back despite extending his leave slightly. I understand he wants to have a day or two at home before his return.

Norman