EV World announced a new electric para-motor, complete with a new motor, composite mounts, and a series of battery pack setups. Made in France, a complete setup with parasail, motor, controller, batteries and controls costs 14,210 euros ($16,057). This may seem pricey, but consider that a paramotor can be carried in a pickup or SUV, needs no airport, and is truly “free flight,” avoiding a lot of the rules that encumber much of general aviation. George Blottin, the founder of Aeronature, a parasail and paramotor training site in southern France, wanted something that would avoid the noise and occasional failure of two-and-four-stroke engines. Electric motors fit that bill, and he worked with a participant on the Airbus e-Fan project to create one that met the specialized needs of paramotoring. His firm, Exomo, can provide the 15 kilowatt motor with a variety of battery packs, ranging from a 15-minute, 25 Amp-hour unit, through a 30- to 45-minute, 45 Amp-hour pack to …
The Electric Archaeopteryx
Ruppert Composite has been flying the up-market Archaeopteryx for the last several years, with pilots hopping off hills in the highly efficient, advanced hang glider. Archaeopteryx is versatile, as shown in the video, and can be launched and retrieved in a variety of ways. Its 54 kilogram empty weight makes quite a load for even a fit enthusiast, though, and waiting around for a tow car or plane dampens even the most ardent longing to fly. To counter those objections Ruppert has designed a special electric drive. Working with Dr. Martin Hepperle, a well-known aerodynamicist specializing in model aircraft and low-Reynolds number flight; Leomotion, manufacturer of model airplane electric motors – some with internal planetary propeller speed reduction systems; and Flytec, maker of an electric motor found on hang gliders, electric paramotors and ultralight aircraft around the world, Ruppert will introduce the e-Archaeopteryx with “ascent aid” in early 2013. This is a cleaner installation than that chronicled a few months …
32 and Counting as E-Spider Lifts Two
Anne Lavrand, founder and head of Electravia in Sisteron, France, emailed to tell of her latest creation before packing up to attend the Basse-Ham, France powered paraglider meet and airshow, the Mondial de Paramoteurs. She wrote, “I hope this new realization will have some success there!” She announced “first flights of the E-SPIDER, the first 2-seater electric powered paraglider in the world.” The 32nd aircraft flown with her power system attached, it reflects what this hard-working woman has been able to accomplish since 2007, with customers in Europe, Australia, Brazil, China, Taiwan, the USA and Canada. It joins an array of single and twin motor ultralight aircraft, motorgliders, trikes, hang gliders, and paramotors electrified by Electravia. Anne’s team has even crafted a 2/3 scale LeMans racer that was part of this year’s opening ceremonies at the famed track. E-Spider uses a Flytec HP-13.5 brushless motor, different from the brushed-type Lynch motors used on most of Electravia’s aircraft. The little pancake-like …
Yuneec Adds to Airplane, Motor Lineup
Shanghai-based Yuneec, already promoting a line of electric paramotors, an electric trike, the two-seat E430, unveiled at last year’s AirVenture, and a series of motor/controller/battery combinations, has added to their offerings at AirVenture 2010. New craft include two aircraft, the Apis 2 and Viva from Martin Wezel Flugzeugtechnik, a German designer and purveyor of sailplanes and light sport aircraft. The Apis 2 is a derivation of the Silent electric sailplane, and in this application will be powered by a Yuneec motor system. The Viva, a two-seat motorglider, was designed originally for an HKS-700E two-cylinder engine of about 60 horsepower, and will be converted, like the Apis, to Yuneec power. Spanning 15 meters (49.2 feet), the Apis 2 has a best lift-to-drag ratio of 39:1 at 95 kilometers per hour (59 miles per hour). Normally fitted with a Hirth F33 two-stroke engine of 27 horsepower, the sailplane is self launching and carries 14 liters of fuel, enough for about an hour-and-a-half of …