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The best designers will help reduce our sport's most prevalent serious
injury and much of that will come through cage improvements. The section
highlights efforts to do just that. I applaud those who make gains in this
area. Nothing is perfect, everything can be improved. If you know of a
paramotor maker that has made improvements to cage design that will reduce
the possibility for hand or leg injuries, please send it to us at
contact.
The safest cages will pass the hand test: prevent an open human
hand from contacting the prop if holding back the paramotor at full rated
thrust from anywhere on the cage or netting. They will also prevent
reach-around injuries where the pilot is grabbing for brakes or falls
and manages to whack a hand by going around the cage hoop.
The cage ideas in the diagram at right have been added to address
actual injury accidents. It's been enhanced over the years as different
causes have appeared. For example, it has become apparent that the prop
should be forward of the hoop and well away from the pilots reach. Several
injuries struck pilots when, during launch, they were able to get their
hand around the cage. The pilot couldn't do it while just standing
there but, with the motor bobbing around, he was able to and with tragic
results.
Another area that must be addressed is the frame bottom. I know of two
serious injuries where the pilots calf muscle was cut when running for
launch. Make sure your frame protects from this.
SkyBolt
    Jeff
Baumgartner, Skybolt designer, puts ideas into action.
He has come up with several implementations meant to address cage
safety including the one pictured here, a prototype. Jeff explained that,
on the next version he would decrease the open space between the hoop and
motor. That would help as a pilot could get through. The intent is to show
that the netting will easly pass the hand test. Reach-around clearance is
provided by having an oversized cage and enclosing the prop fully. Jeff
explains that clearance depends also on prop size. This cage with a 48"
prop will not have the same protection it will with a 46" prop.
Paracruiser
 Paracruiser
has been making this machine for several years. If the netting is tight,
it will pass the hand test and prevent a reach-around accident. It
may well be the safest cage on the market as long as the netting is kept
tight and reaches all the way around to the bottom.
A fully enclosed prop and large clearance (prop to net) mean that,
in spite of a generally weak net, it would probably keep an open
human hand from getting into the prop at full rated thrust. The two
ring design is essential to accomplish that. Plus, it would be nigh
impossible to reach into the enclosed prop during flight or get a
brake toggle in the prop.
The second ring has the added benefit of providing a smooth ride
for risers in forward launches.
The netting, which is flexible, must be kept tight in order to be
effective. If it's allowed to get loose, as it will over time, protection
will decrease.
A drawback is at the bottom of the cage. If a pilot falls backwards it
may be possible for his hand to go through the netting opening.
FlatTop
 The
Flattop was born largely out of its designers nearly catastrophic contact
with a prop. Musician and pilot Bill Heaner set out to minimize that from
ever happening again.
Having a wide prop clearance, stiff netting and a protected cage bottom
give this cage high resistance to prop strike possibilities. The netting
is made of Kevlar which will not shrink appreciably nor will it stretch if
pushed on.
The flat top shape was intended to increase cage clearance in the most
common hand areas while reducing the
height of the machine.
A drawback is that the shape reduces prop clearance at the
very top—a possible place to get a hand back and over, especially since the prop sticks out behind the 2nd
hoop. With a small prop and small pilot (like me, pictured) this is less likely, maybe impossible. However,
don't think that, just because you can't reach the prop while in a
simulator or while standing there, you couldn't do it while running
and reaching for a lost brake toggle, especially if you're much taller
than my 5 foot 9 inch self. |
