by Jeff Goin | May 22, 2019 | Reviews: Carts, Reviews: Paramotors
At the Bad Apples fly-in I got to try London Ivey’s tandem trike. I flew it solo on a 16 m² Doberman. THAT was fast, but the flight did give me an idea about how the trike. There’s a lot to like. Its Bullmax 250 was powerful enough to give me decent climb...
by Jeff Goin | May 16, 2019 | Reviews: Paramotors
Bailey Aviation has been tweaking their 4-stroke paramotor for at least 5 years and has made some noticeable improvements. Addressing some shortcomings that arose on their previous engine, this one has a number of innovations that affect thrust but, even more, reduce...
by Jeff Goin | May 16, 2019 | Reviews: Carts, Reviews: Paramotors
Wheel Options for powered paragliders: walk and roll! Adding wheels to a paramotor can make it a whole different craft and there are many flavors. My experience suggests that transitioning to wheels is easy provided the pilot heeds some simple advice as covered in the...
by Jeff Goin | Apr 27, 2019 | 29: Home Building, Reviews: Paramotors
Note: this post is kept for historical reasons. As of 2019 the only Kit that I’m aware of is an electric machine at OpenPPG.com. As of 2010, if you were looking for Kit Paramotors, there were two that I’m familiar with. Neither of them is still around....
by Jeff Goin | Apr 27, 2019 | Reviews: Paramotors
This is the plans-built machine featured in the Powered Paragliding Bible. It is one of 3 viable paramotor kits that I’ve seen for someone wanting to start from scratch. It comes with excellent support and there are numerous machines flying out in the field....
by Jeff Goin | May 10, 2018 | Reviews: Paramotors
Miniplane has been building PPG engines (Top 80) and frames since maybe 1996. They make Owner Diego Cecchetto made his niche in the lightweight arena, an increasingly crowded field. It is heavily engineered to be lightweight and quiet. ABM is their weightshift version...
by Jeff Goin | Mar 24, 2016 | Reviews: Paramotors
MacFly ariose when World champ Alex Mateos helped design a paramotor. It’s what he would want to fly so it reflects his values: good thrust, smoothly tapped, with reliable launching and presumably able to handle high G’s. It’s not the lightest...
by Jeff Goin | Mar 22, 2016 | Reviews: Paramotors
French Paramotor maker Air Conception specializes in making lightweight paramotors of which the Nitro, at 200 cc’s, is their biggest as of 2016 The machine I flew was Eric Dufour’s trainer at Valkaria Airport in light turbulence on a 24 meter Axis. I was...
by Jeff Goin | Nov 14, 2014 | Reviews: Paramotors
Air Conception has been focusing on lightweight powerhouses but this is a new high, or low, depending on your perspective. As best I can tell, this is the highest power-to-weight machine available. The example I flew was Eric Dufour’s demonstrator at Wings Over...
by Jeff Goin | Nov 8, 2014 | Reviews: Paramotors
Nirvana strives for refined, good looking performers in the premium price arena. I’ve flown this machine before (at the Endless Footdrag) but didn’t do a write-up. It’s time. This flight, in November, 2014 at Wings Over Winter near Orlando, was on...
by Jeff Goin | Nov 8, 2014 | Reviews: Paramotors
PAP has been a stalwart of paramotor manufacturers, building machines popular in Europe for many years. They strive to, among other things, make the experience more like free flight with lower hook-in points that more closely resemble free flight harnesses. I flew...
by Jeff Goin | Apr 7, 2014 | 22: Aerodynamics, 23: Motor & Propeller, Log: Paramotor-Ultralight, Reviews: Paramotors
Florida’s relentless weather perfection lured us aloft again. I got to try Parajet’s newest offering, a Thor 250, water cooled, behemoth with thrust galore. It’s ideally suited for trikes or competition pilots powering their tiny little steeds to...
by Jeff Goin | Nov 16, 2013 | Reviews: Paramotors
Flown May 2013, Reviewed from notes Parajet is a well established innovator that continues to refine its line with the Zenith series. It’s made for travel with possibly the best breakdown and shipping capability I’ve yet seen. The smallest piece is a back...
by Jeff Goin | May 16, 2013 | Reviews: Paramotors
Air Conception has been building the Ultra line for at least 4 years as of this writing and is imported to the USA by Paratour USA. They have updated the super lightweight Ventor motor to make powerful yet lightweight paramotors and accessories. Liberal use of...
by Jeff Goin | May 13, 2013 | Reviews: Paramotors
Here is video 1 about the Scout mostly. Here is video 2, a romp in FL that’s just plain fun. It’s mostly showing the scout but that’s not the mission. Scout is a new entrant on the paramotor market but with great innovation on several fronts. It is...
by Jeff Goin | Mar 21, 2013 | Reviews: Paramotors
Ray McMahon is known mostly for importing Dudek wings but he also imports the Minari 180 F1-AE engine and offers it on his own Skybolt-based paramotor frame. The Skybolt is a plans-built paramotor that he has modified slightly. The frame buys buildability with a extra...
by Jeff Goin | Jul 10, 2012 | Reviews: Paramotors
Rick Hunts, creator of the Renegade, is better known for creating (and still manufactures) Flowbee hair cutters. But after becoming a paramotor pilot he applied his intimate knowledge of plastics and production to create an inexpensive, yet quality paramotor. I was a...
by Jeff Goin | May 11, 2012 | Reviews: Paramotors
Fresh Breeze continues to innovation, in this case through updates to their Sportix line. This model has the Pollini Thor 100 engine with an integrated clutch and gearbox. This unit has been reviewed before but they have tweaked the design. My flight was at Beach...
by Jeff Goin | Feb 4, 2012 | Reviews: Other, Reviews: Paramotors
Leon Wacker of Paracruiser has been building machines for others for years along with offering a variety of packages through his own company. He is a tinkerer, too, and enjoys coming up with clever solutions to common problems. In this case, the problem of an easily...
by Jeff Goin | Feb 10, 2011 | Reviews: Paramotors
Courtesy www.Paratoys.com & SkyBiker Aviation Thrust tests are one data point for comparing the thrust of motors. On two different days you’ll get different results, probably up to 10%. Plus, some manufacturers may use different props than the machines are...
by Jeff Goin | Feb 3, 2011 | Reviews: Carts, Reviews: Paramotors
Paratoys has made its name on building decent quality machines at an affordable price. This new machine marks a departure from that succesful formula by virtue of being at the high end of its market in both price and quality. There are several decent 4-stroke...
by Jeff Goin | Feb 1, 2011 | Reviews: Paramotors
Canadian based RSUltra makes Kangook paramotors among other things. They’ve been building paramotors out of Canada for at least 4 years that I’m aware of and may be longer. I’ll leave you to check out the specifics and will give a cursery review of...
by Jeff Goin | May 30, 2010 | Reviews: Paramotors
Bruce Brown of FlyOhio.com has updated his Free Spirit and I got to fly it at Beach Blast 2010. This review comes from notes recorded after the flight. I made very few notes, probably because it flew and ground handled much like the 2007 model I reviewed in 2009. The...
by Jeff Goin | Feb 1, 2010 | Reviews: Paramotors
Photos by Nick Parajet continues to come up with new, innovative gear and the Rotron is a prime example. Their new flagship is easily the most powerful paramotor I’ve yet flown and also the first one I was unwilling to go full power on. They’ve done a...
by Jeff Goin | Jan 1, 2010 | 27: The Motor Unit, 29: Home Building, Reviews: Paramotors
As of 2019 the “Easy-up” paramotor appears to no longer be available (thankfully). This is the real deal. The world’s most affordable ultralight plans and, once built, a very nice flying machine. My goal in having this page up is to preclude pilots...
by Jeff Goin | Aug 21, 2009 | Reviews: Carts, Reviews: Paramotors
The Cheap Trike (Now called Falcon) is powered by a 4-stroke generator motor spinning a huge prop. inside of an appropriately sized cage. I’ve flown a number of wheeled craft including the Blackhawk Quad, Paracruiser Quad, Paratour PPCg, Fresh Breeze, Green...
by Jeff Goin | Apr 12, 2008 | Reviews: Paramotors
The real measure of paramotor power: how hard does it push. Understanding Paramotor Suspension (Harness) Systems Thrust testing numbers are always relative and should only be compared when the testing was done at the same time on the same tester. Those are the only...
by Jeff Goin | Apr 8, 2008 | Reviews: Electric Paramotors, Reviews: Paramotors
This is a revolutionary machine could a part of the future. Forgive my enthusiasm, I realize its not becoming of a reporter and admit to being a huge fan of electric paramotors. I’ve wanted to see them succeed since Csaba’s machine (first practical...
