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 with a brief tutorial on the difference between powered paragliders (PPG) and powered parachutes (PPC). “This is not a powered parachute, it is a powered paraglider (you can tell by the shape of the wing which is very rounded compared to more flat for PPC). Within PPG, there [are] some people like me who like wheel and have a trike.”
We look forward to detailed pictures and specifications from Pierre-Jean, who flies in the Jean Lake area near Las Vegas, Nevada.