This is going to be difficult to understand unless you know a bit about paramotors. Got the foot pegs tacked in place then figured out the height for a seat support on the trike today. The harness is actually its' own seat but it needs to rest on a small platform built into the trike when on the ground (the cinder blocks are only there to get the right distance above the trike frame - I won't be flying with them). To get a better idea of what I am talking about, I have added a photo of a simple trike that has the seat support. BTW - the simple trike from Skycruiser is $1,000 with shipping - I have spent $450 on my DIY project. Once in the air, the harness raises a couple of inches off the support when everything is suspended from the wing. I may end up going with a different harness. The one I have is separate from the motor and you put it on first then put the motor on your back with its' carry straps (like putting on a backpack). If this doesn't work out for me, the other harness permanently attaches to the motor frame and might make things a little easier. I am waiting to see how it goes with what I got before I plunk down $750 for a new harness. 55,67,42,0,B
14 comments:
Life is for living.
re: " ... when everything is suspended from the wing"
hmmm... so you got different pieces and parts - the paramotor, the cart, the "wing" and you.
are all of these things connected to each other or are some connected to something and then that something connected to something else?
I sort of had it in my mind that the motor, cart and wing were an integrated unit -and then you'd go and strap -in.
$750 for a harness is hard to picture. I get the impression it is a specialized piece made of $50-100 worth of hardware. What comprises a harness? Sewing up thick heavy duty straps with some leather accents and fasteners ?
How does the cart affect the center of gravity? Might be worth doing a hang test from the barn rafters. Any totals on the weight so far?
I'm a wimp that sandwich would make two meals for me.
re: center of gravity. Looking through youtube videos I notice that some carts have adjustable attach points , I guess, in part because if different folks fly that cart their weight could affect that center. I also notice there are carts that carry TWO people - which one would think would certainly affect COG. One video alluded to making sure on takeoff that the wing be "over" the cart AND oriented both side to side relative to the cart as well as perpendicular to the rolling direction of the cart - i.e. the direction of the wind relative to the way the cart is pointed - some carts have a front-wheel that turns!
but saw a flock of videos where wing and cart were not aligned perfectly and they took off just fine and the cart, once airborne was then perfectly aligned!!! Can't wait to see John doing this thing!!!
How long are you planning to stay in the air? Do you need landing and take off sites...runways?
The trike weighs 50 pounds. Yes, I have to do a hang check for center of gravity. The trike with me in it will need to "hang" in a slight "nose up" attitude with the front wheel about a foot higher than the back wheels. My harness has what are called floating J-bars that are adjustable to change the hang angle. Flight times are usually about a half hour but I can carry enough gas to fly about 3 hours. Take offs and landings with a trike require an open area of about 300 feet to be on the safe side - although only require about 50 - 75 feet (under perfect conditions, foot launching only requires about 20 feet to take off and landings under 10 feet). My "airfield" is an open area that is 400 feet. A "runway" doesn't really work because you have to take off and land into the wind and wind direction doesn't always correspond with runway direction.
As for the price of a harness...yes they are expensive but it is a niche market and they are rather complex in design and function - much more than just "thick heavy duty straps with some leather accents and fasteners". The Fresh Breeze harness also comes with additional hardware to make it work with the frame. Another harness I might consider comes from Apco and retails for $450.
dumb question - is it a choice between the harness/wing being attached to the trike or
attached to you?
see I told you it was dumb...
A couple years ago I had a ride in this machine ...
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RkB5i56Ewi8/U8vH40IhEaI/AAAAAAAAD9c/_1l9qtitqh0/s1600/P1040639.jpg
Though I am glad I did it really don't think I will be taking the sport up any time soon. Even as a licensed pilot I am just a bit too prone to vertigo, and need the false security of the fuselage around me, however thin that may be. At a couple hundred feet I found it reasonably enjoyable but we got up to about 1200 feet of altitude, and given that you are only doing about 33 mph you just feel like you are hanging there with your feet dangling off the top of a sky scraper ledge. Took a bit of effort for me to overcome the overwhelming sense of vertigo. I found that for me at least it lacks the sense of lift that in a fixed wing aircraft provides me with a sense of control authority and thus security.
There are some videos of folks using selfie sticks - that high up - and yes.. just looking
at the videos and seeing folks feet hanging "out" makes me a bit queasy...just sitting at the computer!
I would guess that for a lot of people if the fuselage was transparent - it would be too much!
however skimming along a 50 or 100 feet above the ground seems much more friendly - (though no less deadly ) ...
makes me wonder if folks who do this wear emergency chutes.. ;-)
Both harnesses attach to me and the motor. My trike is not configured to attach directly to the wing. I have to admit "the thought" of my first flight made me a bit uneasy as I don't really care for heights either - but "the actuality" of it was not scary at all. What is rather daunting at first is being in control and moving around safely in that third dimension. Altitude is your friend in flight as there is nothing to crash into up in the sky. On take off, it is suggested to climb immediately to at least 100 feet to make sure you are clear of any ground obstacles and have adequate altitude to return to the landing zone in case of an early motor out. General rule of thumb for a reserve chute is it can be safely deployed only above 200 feet. A lot of paramotor pilots carry a reserved but there have been very few instances of anyone ever needing to use it. An unrecoverable wing collapse (due to turbulence or extreme flight maneuvers) would require a reserve in order to survive - actual mechanical failure of the primary wing and/or harness has never happened on its' own, but has occurred due to pilot error. Paramotor wings are extremely forgiving and most collapses simply recover on their own. Reserve chutes are used more by competition paraglider pilots (no motor) who tend to fly in more extreme weather conditions. Bottom line: Don't fly in conditions beyond your experience level and don't fly like a knucklehead and a reserve will never be needed. If I decide to really pursue the sport I will probably buy one just to have on hand. Minimizing risk is a good thing.
John - I can tell .. that you have been thinking ...long and hard... a GOOD THING!
and I'm a little envious of your quest!
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