Here's the 12 hour break-in, while bolted to the fence, and the safest way to tune the carb.
Simonini Mini 2 engine mounted upright for best cooling. Beres & Hirsch 46 X 25 prop.
It's not an attempt to re-invent anything, or come up with some new design or improvement. Just a way to have a light, conventional paramotor that's functionally similar to a Simonini Sky Cruiser. I'm training but have yet to solo.
Bill Watson was gracious enough to test fly it for me during the 2005 Paratoys and found the distance bars to be too short, preventing him from getting completely into the seat, otherwise he liked it.
Dan Clarke 17 Feb 05
Here's the 12 hour break-in, while bolted to the fence, and the safest way to tune the carb. |
Simonini Mini 2 engine mounted upright for best cooling. Beres & Hirsch 46 X 25 prop. |
Battery, made from six 4.5 amp/hour Cyclon lead acid cells, weighs 3.3 lbs. and is held into battery tray by nylon strap. |
Weighs 62 lbs. complete, ready to fly but less fuel, according to a UPS scale. Harness is a used Skycruiser and weighs 6 of the 62 lbs. |
Simple design for upper motor mounts. Charging jack and, "Master Switch ON", warning LED mounted on little corner panel. |
Bare frame weighs less than 10 lbs painted. Except for the battery tray, construction is 100% chrome moly tube and sheet, oxy-acetylene welded. |
1/8" wide poly ribbon from the fabric store lays flat under clear vinyl tape to attach netting to hoop. |
Coil, voltage regulator, starter solenoid, and battery mount to frame behind harness. |
Motor mount weldment also carries mounts for muffler. |
View of motor mount weldment from front. It mounts to motor with four bolts. |
Fuel tank mounts with strap and bungie. Most frame tubes are 1/2" X .035" wall. Motor mount weldment and some frame tubes are 5/8" X .083" wall. |
3/4" plywood hoop bending form took several tries to get the right radius for a 51" hoop in 3/8" X.049" wall tubing. |
Throttle linkage has inline spring so carb stop is isolated from the pull of the throttle lever when carb travel ends before lever travel ends. |
1/4 scale rod end on left mates with carb arm. Short threaded rods are through-drilled and then soldered, one onto the throttle rod and one onto the cable, and then each one threads into it's end of the spring. |
There are no plans, just a measure with string and straight-edge type, eyeball and design-as-you-go, project. It came out straight and square. |
Even masking tape can hold something for welding. Primer coating is maintained during construction to prevent rust due to moist air during winter, but was removed for welding. |
Muffler end was rotated to point rearward, away from cage netting, by drilling alternate rivet holes in housing. |
Before discovering baseball cage netting, net making was tried.... Nothing like re-inventing the wheel. |
Distance bar fixtured on bench, aligned with a framing square, prior to tack welding. |
Some of the cardboard templates that were made in arriving at the final design for the various brackets. |
23 Jan 2006 the frame and cage were bent in a hard landing.
Easy enough to repair, but it will have to be completely disassembled so the frame can be clamped to a table for measuring and aligning as it is bent and welded back into shape.
Below are pictures of the bent cage and ripped out harness straps. There's also a video clip of the landing.
Showing bent cage and harness hanging loose |
Left side almost ripped through |
Right side ripped through. |
This video clip works in some video players and not in others. |
