From Vermont, I had a very scenic drive up to Syracuse, NY where I was once again attempting to get my Furnace issue resolved at the Camping World. This one had hookups and a dump station which made me very happy since I would still have heat.
Bright and early I was up and they started to work on the camper. I also had the opportunity to do a response video to Tucker Gott’s “Should we be flying during the Covid-19 pandemic??” Youtube Post.
A few hours later, I was in touch with Mike Austin at Empire PPG and Chris Brennan from near Buffalo, NY and made arrangements to head to Marathon where Mike’s Paramotor school location had moved too and was in the process of still building the Hanger by hand from logs that he was milling. Truly a labor of love for the sport!
I arrived around 3 pm and a short while later, and to my huge surprise, not one, but 5 other pilots showed up, which included Chris, Scott, Mathew, William, and Neil.
We all got to fly and enjoy this amazing location that Mike has and was gracious for us to all enjoy. Mike also sponsored dinner for everyone and more than enough firewood as temperatures plummeted as the night went on. This was the first night since leaving Florida where a larger group of guys had come to the same proximity and where we sat 6 feet apart around the fire, had beers and shared stories. This is the way of the Paramotor community.
The morning was met with a white carpet of snow. I was in awe of the brave comrade pilots who had camped in their tents and their vehicles overnight so we could fly again in the morning.
Mike Austin once again spoiled us all with Coffee and Donuts to warm and get our sugar levels back to normal after our cold morning flight.
That morning several of us were able to stay and help Mike mill some more logs and put up some more sidewall on the hanger. If you train with Mike or visit/fly at Empire PPG, be sure to help out as I’m sure this labor of love, sweat and blood(literally – cause I shed it) will never end to provide a great place to learn and fly our paramotors.
Thanks Mike for the Lunch and of course this great location to fly. Sorry the weather didn’t shape up to fly in the evening with some of your local pilots.
Be sure to check out the Videos on YouTube in the New York playlist.
