A sketch for the base of the water pylon. Photo: Paramania
Paramania have released pictures of their new water pylon, which is aimed at making slalom paramotoring safer.
The pylon requires less air pressure to hold it up, which makes it more forgiving of any impact. It will collapse easily if a pilot hits the pylon.
Prototype water pylon. Photo: Paramania
In a statement Paramania said:
[We] initiated a project in 2014 to produce a water-based pylon, allowing pilots the opportunity to train for competitions over water.
The first prototype, co-designed by Mike Campbell-Jones and his son Remi, is currently under testing by the Parabatix team. The new design is a hybrid, using bladder technology with high-pressure air mixed with low-pressure air in the main body.
The result is a more ‘forgiving’ pylon that requires less air pressure in it to remain erect, so it collapses more easily on impact, and floats directly on the water without the need for a pontoon.
This dual-purpose pylon will be beneficial both on land for display, and on water for comp training.
Given the recent events, Paramania is eager to release this timely project, alleviate pilots the pressure to train at low levels over unforgiving land, and make a huge leap towards safer stopwatch slalom racing.
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