Electric Paramotor-What`s next?
It`s been proven possible. The race is on to produce the first commercial product.
Related articles:- Electric Paramotor! |Electric PPG answers | Electric Future? | Electric Paramotor FAQ
Videos:- Electric Paramotor - teaser! | Electric PPG in flight | Csaba talks about his electric PPG |
| Csaba Lemak and Patrick MacKenzie have gone public with their electric paramotor early, in the hope that others will follow. Competition drives development like nothing else. Within five years several emerging technologies could mean that electric paramotors will outperform their petrol counterparts, with added advantages too. |
It appears that the two designers are not alone in their quest for electric flight, with sailplanes taking the same route. An extensive search on Google turns up a lot of speculation about the possibility of electric flight with paramotors, although noone has had the breakthrough success enjoyed by Csaba and Patrick. Why has a commercially viable electric paramotor taken so long to arrive? The reason is simple, the power to weight ratio of batteries has never been so high, and it doesn`t look set to stop where it is.
| Speculation - future possibilities
Their are many interesting power sources being developed. Forum discussion have turned up a few good, and a few not so good ideas. I`ll let you sort the wheat from the chaff.
Solar cells on the wing (hmmmm); Micro-turbines; Fuel cells; Capacitors; Electric fields on the ground; Lightning strikes. Imaginations are running wild!
Free-flyers like it
Overwhelmingly the response has been that free-flyers would be willing to try powered flight with an electric motor. A recent poll on the paragliding forum showed 100% of respondents would consider PPG if it was electric!, so the market could be huge.
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``The electric paramotor, it makes it worth trying paramotoring again. Bravo to Csaba Lemak and Patrick MacKenzie for this significant step forward.`` - Jérôme Daoust
Interest in the electric paramotor has been high
Why electric?
1. It`s damn sexy! It`s going to get attention wherever you fly. People will want to see it.
2. It needs very little maintenance.
3. It is quiter.
4. There are no petrol fumes to stink out your vehicle.
5. You need no mechanical aptitude to own one.
6. Fewer emissions - so its greener (depending on where the electricity comes from)
7. The motor is almost guaranteed to restart every time, so more chances to climb and thermal rather than humming around.
8. With oxygen concentrations no longer a factor in determining the ceiling of the aircraft new height records could one day be set by electric paramotors.
9. Oh, did I mention it`s sexier..
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More news coming in a few weeks, when I get the chance to fly it!
LASTLY... What should we call it? Any good ideas out there? |
