Luis Ruiz was attending the First Official Training of the Eric Dufour Paramotor School in Jasper, Florida. Eric is a Living Legend of the World Paramotor sport. A role model for anyone who aspires to be a Paramotor Instructor. Luis Ruiz had the opportunity to assist and observe Eric in training. There were good lessons and methods of instruction for new students and also for advance and skilled aspiring Instructors.
There were many stories, from how is the life in the towns of Jasper and Madison in Florida, as well as Eric Dufour’s personalized emphasis on teaching correct flight techniques to their students. Let’s go with the story, narrated by Luis Ruiz.
Day 1 – Friday June 17, 2022
I finally arrived in Jasper, Florida, at 8 AM, after several hours on the road, that include Orlando and Jacksonville prior to arrival. By that time Eric Dufour was already meeting with students Jeff Moran (Georgia), Jason Eson (Alaska) and Ives Dallaire (Florida). Also present were Jonathan Carr (Orlando Paramotor Instructor), and advance pilots Alberto Monteiro (St Petersburg, FL), Erico Moura (Tampa, FL) and Ghada Bas (Egypt).
Eric and Jonathan lead the first meeting with Technical explanations of everything related to sport and equipment, then the airfield was visited. The wind this morning was very light, so, they started with the introduction of connecting to the harness and first step of kiting the Paraglider by the Front Launch method.
The morning hours were used to take Jeff and Jason on a Tandem flight in a Trike. They could experience the pleasure of flying accompanied by Instructor. Then, a custom flight simulator was installed in the hangar so, the students could work with the Paramotors on their backs and eventually could feel the tendencies of the Paramotor as they apply power to it. This was repeated several times in following dates.
After lunch and some rest in the afternoon, we returned to the field. Eric gets student Ivey Dallaire to “soloed” fly for first time. He used a 4-wheel Trike with a noble Apco Hybrid Paraglider. What call the attention is that Eric controlled mostly all the equipment for flying by Radio Control!!!. The student mostly need to follow the instructions at some points of the flight. Eric, through his remote control, has the power to accelerate and turn off the engine if necessary, in addition he could illuminate lights in a control panel in front of the student, where the student has to pull the brakes/controls at the directions of the lights. Very impressive 😲!!!
After the fly, Ivey was very happy with his experience, that was repeated in following dates.
Day 2 – Saturday, June 18, 2022
The Paramotor classes started at 7:30 AM at Eric Dufour grounds. This time the weather change, from Hot and light winds to a Cold Front with heavy winds and rain moving through the area. At some point the winds increased their intensity to over 30 mph 😲!!!.
The students went back to the flight simulator and worked on the subject of equipment maintenance and checking the things that could be damaged due to the natural vibration of the Paramotors.
In the afternoon the weather improved. This time, Eric and Jonathan took the students on their first low-altitude flights using the Towing method. For this, Eric has a professional Towing machine that is installed in one of his vehicles, and with a rope of possibly 3,000 ft of line, he was ready to perform the flights. The students were then able to enjoy their first flights in a controlled environment. The wind was very light, so, for this afternoon, the flights were at low altitude and didn’t last much. We will continue tomorrow morning as better weather with more wind is expect.
Day 3 – Sunday, June 19, 2022
Again everybody ready on the ground at 7:30 AM. This time the Towing machine worked better with a little more wind. The students flew higher and more distance and start to look closer to do for their first “solo” fly…
After the mid day rest, we met again In the afternoon. Both Eric Dufour and Jonathan Carr take off in the Paramotors and fly the surrounded areas. They give to the students a great display of skills in the Paramotors. In the meantime, the students continued polishing their skills practicing with the paragliders on ground. Ghada, Alberto and Erico were always assisting everybody that need help with their practices.
Jonathan Carr said goodbye to us, due to previous commitments. He will be visiting and flying the pyramids of Giza in Egypt with another group of pilots. Definitely a “Bucket List” for the future…
At late afternoon, I took a Paramotor for flight around the area, so, for a short time I flew in Jasper 🙂. By then, one of the students, Jeff Moran, was quite prepared to attempt his first solo flight. The wind intensity was very light, so, we were looking the best possible direction for Jeff to try his first “solo” attempt. Eric was in charge of details and communication.
After a couple of attempt, Jeff, success! and was able to “soloed” for the first time. The flight didn’t last long and he kept flying in a pattern within Eric’s grounds. Both his takeoff and landings were excellent. Congratulations 💪!!!
For Tomorrow, Monday, the other student, Jason Eson is expected to join Jeff in the air.
Day 4 – Monday, June 20, 2022
My last day in Jasper, Florida, before returning to Puerto Rico to attend the Kamikazes Paramotor school. This time I had the privilege of seeing both Jeff and Jason fly in the morning. They both did about 5 flights each. At the end of the morning, they were exhausted but happy about their new experiences. And that’s what it’s about 💪.
I have to return to Puerto Rico, but the students will continue the next few days perfecting their skills. It was a very pleasant experience, being able to share with Eric and Elisabeth after so long without seeing each other, as well as with Alberto Monteiro who has already been in Puerto Rico. The new friends have already indicated their desire to visit and fly Puerto Rico and its beautiful Beaches 🙂.
Blessings, we are waiting for you here 🙏!!!
Photos…
