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The Polish built Parapower borrows a lot from the Fresh
Breeze but in a more standard configuration. The harness is intended to
remain on the frame and motor does not jettison. It uses the venerable Solo
210 motor. It uses the boomerang floating J-bars similar like the Fresh
Breeze and is the only other paramotor to do so that I'm aware of. The
unit I tested had a belt-driven redrive spinning a 2-blade 45" wood prop,
electric start and a stock solo muffler. It used a Walbro membrane carb with
no air intake box or filtering.
At the time of this writing there is no US Importer that I'm aware of.
The previous importer's website (Andrew Szymikowski's ParapowerUSA.com) is
no longer active.
It's 2.5 gallon tank was about half full of fuel so it probably weighed
about 65 pounds.
Harrness:
High hook-in, floating J-bar.
Starting (6): Starting was brainless using the electric start—it
fired after a couple compression strokes. I did not test and do not
remember if it also had a manual start but suspect it does.
Ground Handling & Kiting (5): Getting up, standing and walking around were
comfortable and a huge opening behind the cage left nothing to impede looking at the wing. Ground
handling straps, which are regular harness webbing, allow keeping it hiked up enough to prevent feeling pulled
backwards. A forward lean of about 20° kept me upright without exertion.Ingress is easy and traditional
although you're sitting on the ground.
Launch (5): The light-wind reverse launch was standard with no difficulties
noted. I did not try a forward inflation but photos show the owner doing
so and nothing caught on the lines as they slid up easily. Running was easy
and my legs didn't hit the cage bottom.
Torque twist was well controlled, nigh negligible, and I discovered an
interesting thing about torque, covered below.
Torque (5): This was the first paramotor that allowed me to change
the direction it torque steered. Of course it always wanted to weight shift
to the left but weight shift is a minor effect compared with offset thrust.
On this unit I could move the thrust line left or right by tilting my body.
If I tilted right, the thrust line would push closer to my right shoulder
blade, twisting my body left and causing a right turn as it thrusted me to
the left, putting the wing in a right turn. If I tilted my body to the left,
the opposite would happen and it would thrust my body rightward, putting the
wing in a left turn.
I noticed it when I was trying my typical test of putting my legs forward
then throttling up to see which way they turned. They didn't at all so I
started looking around at the harness connections. As I turned I noticed
the twist. Then I started to experiment. This is vivid proof that, with
correct motor placement, torque twist can be completely eliminated.
Enlightening. The weight shift effect can be minimized but not
eliminated.
Thrust (4): Having the lunch box exhaust leaves it a bit lacking in
this area. I'd estimate it to be about 95 pounds of thrust.
Throttle response was good throughout.
Endurance (5): Fuel consumption is probably about 1.1 gph and it
has a 2.5 gallon tank so you should expect a little over 2 hours of
flight time on an efficient beginner wing..
Vibration (5): I didn't notice anything excessive.
Sound (5): This is one area where it definitely diverges from
Fresh Breeze, it nowhere near as quiet. It's not too loud, either, I'd
say about average for the power.
Safety (3): I'm not at all a fan of the gaping hole in cage's
top part. If the motor lurched forward while a pilot was starting it on
the ground, there's a high likelihood he's grab for the top hoop and get
his hand chopped.
There is standard protection on the bottom for a vertical impact.
The frame bottom front has no sharp edges to catch on while ground
skimming.
Construction (5): The unit seems well built with no
obvious weak points.The harness has nice, large pockets.
Reparability (4): Damage resistance is average and it will
probably take an aluminum welder to repair bent pieces or they must be
ordered from the dealer/distributor.
Transport (5): Partial disassembly seems like it would be very convenient. Unstrap
the two cage pieces and put in the car.
Shipping will require a largish box to accommodate the two larger cage
pieces.
Overall: For lighter pilots this would be a good choice. The
solo 210 still has a ready supply of parts and, with no tuned pipe, the
motor is not tasked heavily. For more information, visit
www.parapower.pl. The website is
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