In “Two Motors and Everything But Coffee,” our entry for February 28, we detailed Pierre-Jean Beney’s Hacker motor-powered Trikebuggy. Pierre-Jean wants to change things, including, “The motor, the prop, the battery and the wing… So I am still somewhat away from where I want to have….” Currently, it takes 2,000 propeller revolutions per minute to maintain level flight. The LiF2PO4 batteries allow a current draw of 160 Amps at 48 Volts, and will produce level flight power for about 22 minutes at this rate. These are, according to Pierre-Jean, very safe batteries, but heavy. Pierre-Jean’s new batteries are Li-Po, which will give 52 Volts at the same amperage, but are, in his estimation, less safe. They are also lighter, weighing only 6.6 kilograms …
Two Motors and Everything but Coffee
Pierre-Jean Beney may be the first to fly an electrically-powered paraglider with a tricycle wheeled chassis. Using a Trikebuggy, itself a unique platform, Beney mounted two Hacker A200-8 motors with 220 Amp controllers, a tidy reduction system, and his own microprocessor board to drive the motors with a combined throttle and kill switch. The board, according to Beney, also monitors the LiF2PO4 batteries, RPM, and will soon be connected to a global positioning system (GPS) to measure speed, “and eventually make coffee!!!” Other anticipated changes may include different motors, including a larger, direct drive type. The motors are each capable of producing 15 kW and can handle 185 Amps of current continuously, with 300 Amps peak. Beney provided your editor …