I excitedly became a Parajet Maverick Pilot in April of 2021 just in time for the summer! My Paramotor specifically is the Parajet Maverick Moster 185 Sport MY19 with the larger fuel tank and the Polini Throttle. I had a great first year and enjoyed some pretty memorable moments. Most of it of course was spent getting comfortable in the sport and building up experience.

1 Year Review

At the beginning of my second season while going through my Paramotor and giving it a detailed inspection I decided to shoot a quick video reflecting on my first year with the Parajet Maverick. The video was more of a reflection on how things had held up with the Maverick to that point, and my thoughts on the first year of my Paramotoring journey.

2 Year Review

It’s now the beginning of my third year with the Parajet Maverick. It has flown me on some beautiful flights for two full seasons. As with last year, I am giving it a detailed inspection and tune up to kick things off and decided its a perfect time to yet again reflect back on our time together!

How is it holding up?

My Parajet Maverick Paramotor is holding up great. I haven’t had any issues outside of my own mishaps. My first landing with it was a bit sketchy and I bent the frame. We bent it back into place and I flew it for several months. In my second year I stumbled and fell during a takeoff. The frame took some impact but held up very well and protected the motor. Despite a solid ground impact, the Maverick frame did not sustain any damage.

As for the motor, I haven’t had any issues to date. The motor is the Vittorazi Moster 185, and I have done my best to follow Vittorazi’s maintenance recommendations. I have only used the recommended Motul 800 2 stroke oil, and I mix it as close to the 66:1 (50:1 during break-in) ratio as possible. My Paramotor starts pretty easy almost every time. I have only had a couple days out that took a few pulls to get it running.

The exhaust is one of the most commonly discussed topics in regards to the Vittorazi Moster motors because they have been known to crack. With that in mind, I have been extra cautious when warming up the Paramotor. I let it idle for several minutes before slowly adding some throttle to allow the exhaust to warm as evenly as possible and hopefully stack the deck in my favor. So far, my original Vittorazi exhaust has not cracked.

Maintenance

I do pre-flight and post-flight checks of the Maverick frame and Moster Motor, as well as more detailed inspections from time to time. The detailed inspections have been a bit more random and are mostly after I have been grounded for a period of time. These checks include the tightness of all bolts, tension of the belt, torque of the prop bolts, double checking all zip ties, and a general impression of everything.

I have changed my Spark Plug several times. Spark plugs are inexpensive and probably a good practice to change a few times a year.

The Parajet Maverick frame uses a unique tensioner that hooks to a peg on the frame and keeps the netting tight. The line on the device that connects to the peg is suppose to wrap around the back of the upright of the frame. If not, the swing arms can swing back and break the line. Even with it properly installed, the line will break down over time. Its probably a good practice to secure the tensioners with zip ties. One of mine did break at about the year and a half mark. I currently have Zip Ties securing both tensioners. (The zip ties are doubled up in case one should fail!)

Repairs

Frame - As I mentioned earlier, I did bend my Maverick frame on my first landing. I had finished P2 Paragliding and transitioned to Paramotor using my instructors Parajet Maverick a couple months earlier, but if there was going to be a sketchy landing that resulted in damage it of course had to be on my brand new equipment. The Parajet Maverick is a tubular titanium frame construction, so its pretty strong but can also be wrestled back into position if needed. I flew it like this for a few months but eventually replaced the damaged parts which consisted of the left side upright T-bar, and one quarter curve ring section.

Prop - My original prop took me for some amazing flights, but sadly two mishaps sent it into retirement. The first was definitely a mistake and a good learning lesson. My Paramotor is equipped with a speed bar and I did not think to secure the lines during warm ups. While wearing the Paramotor on my back during a preflight warmup, one of my speed bar lines drifted back through an opening in the netting and hit my prop. Luckily it was not spun into the prop and the only damage was to the leading edge of the prop. I know secure the two ends of the speed bar together during warmups. I did repair the prop with baking soda and super glue which lasted for a respectable amount of flights. It was eventually compromised when I stumbled and fell during a takeoff attempt one evening. My original prop was then promptly retired.

Zip Ties - During this years detailed inspection I decided to go through and replace all the Zip ties. Zip Ties break down over time so its a good practice to replace them and keep fresh ones installed. I wouldn’t want my throttle cable, kill switch, or protective ring mesh to come loose while flying!

Additions or Modifications?

Throttle - My biggest modification so far was replacing my throttle. I liked the Polini throttle that came with my Paramotor and didn’t really have any major desire to change it in the first two years, but I enjoy more destination based scenic flying and plan to do more fly camping adventures this year so I welcomed a cruise control option. The Off Grid Aviation Throttle has been highly talked about and I had some experience with one on a paramotor trike setup that was very favorable. After thinking on it for some time, I decided to replace my Polini throttle for the Off Grid. The install was extremely easy and took only about 20 minutes.

Floatation - I am a pretty conservative flyer and extra focused near water. A lot of my favorite flying spots are near rivers and waterways. I try to gain extra altitude in such locations to give me enough time to free glide to a safe spot in the event of a motor out. That said, I think its still wise to fly with floatation if possible. I chose to go with the Powerfloat 2BeSure floatation system from Aviator Paramotor. It’s basically two separate fabric pouches (housing the floats and cartidges), that velcro to the Paramotors frame. They are water activated, and can also be manually activated. In the event of an incident, it can buy you much needed time to unclip yourself from your harness. If you plan to be flying near water it’s a pretty wise thing to consider.

Prop Cover & Parasock - This isn’t really a modification, but being based out of Montana we unfortunately end up grounded from time to time due to unfavorable weather. During these down stints I like to cover my gear. I bought the Parajet Prop Cover and the Parasock Protective Cover. Both are high quality. The Prop Cover is strong, protective, and velcro’s in place nicely. The Parasock is lightweight, form fitting, easy to pull over, and packs down small when not in use which makes it easy to bring along for Paracamping adventures as well!

What’s Next?

As it should always be, my primary focus is to continue to enjoy the sport! I look forward to some more seat time of course, and I have a few local “bucket list” sites I am hoping to check off early this year. I am also planning to do some fly camping or “Paracamping” adventures, and maybe a Maneuvers Course.

My longer term goals right now include partaking in the Icarus Trophy Paramotor Adventure Race at some point, and enjoying some Paramotor traveling adventures. Countries I am looking at currently include: South Africa, England, Egypt, and Iceland.

Final Thoughts

The Parajet Maverick has been everything I was hoping it would be when I took the initial steps to get into Paramotoring. I have been able to trust it and enjoy some peace of mind while learning and gaining initial experiences in the sport. The expected normal wear and tear has been minimal and easy to remedy. I am pretty happy that I purchased the Parajet Maverick Moster 185 and don’t have any regrets after two full years! I am super excited for the coming flights and to see where all we go here in year 3! I’ll be posting some of the fun on my YouTube Channel so feel free to check it out if you enjoy Paramotor video content!