Mark Pugh Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Contemplating buying an Adventure paramotor, mostly based on cost. What is the difference between the A3 Plus and the F3? The A3 has an electric start and longer exhaust, larger air intake. But the F3 seems to show better HP and more thrust. Google not very helpful on which is newer model or better option for me at 86 kg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 A3 was a "deluxe" version with a bit more power (3-4hp) but some kilos heavier. Bigger cylinder head for better cooling and a tuned pipe. It's not a larger air intake, just an air box with filter. Mostly to keep the air clean and noise from the air pulses down. Some claim that it also can be designed to give more power in the mid rpm band, I don't know how they configured it for the solo. Some units had tachometer built in the throttle handle, think the A3 had that. Welds on the original cage sucks, I've never seen worse welds on a paramotor cage (strange, since the rest of the Adventure stuff looks high quality). Nirvana upgraded the model quite a lot with the Nirvana Electric that also used the solo engine. Today it's hard to find spare parts. Also high hook in point direct in the harness, works very well for weak engines like the solo. But you need short risers on your wing. It's also a custom Adventure harness, with two quick buckles and two spring pins to connect it to the chassis. Adventure still use a similar design on their new Pluma paramotor, but it would most likely not fit. The glass fiber chassis are part of what makes this unit nice (but it could be slimmer), it also makes it hard to take apart. And like all older paramotors you need to fix things. A pipe frame is so much easier to work with. For 86kg I would not spend my money on either of them. Hard to launch in nil wind and slow climb rate (not impossible, but there are better suited units). If the paramotor are in very good shape for the right price I would maybe recommend it to a >75 kg pilot that are on a budget, lack of spare parts are the biggest reason to not buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi k Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Mark its a pity your not closer to me as you could try my Adventure A4, they are heavier and less performance compared to upto date paramotors, but they are pretty strong motor wise and i found excellent starting out equipment , i have only stopped using mine do to health needing lighter motor. The A's are better than the F's as they are the tuned engine version's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi k Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Caper i'm 92 kg's and mine has flown me easy (but its an A4), and nothing wrong with weld's as you suggest, also very easy to break down to fit into saloon car. The weakest part i'm told is the original aluminium cages as thin material used, but thankfully in my short use never crash landed so no remedial work required, most replaced the cages with the Nirvana cages as they were stronger and direct fit, today's models run very different engines so possibly lighter and more reliable. Only part i have replaced is a starter motor as mine is electric start only, and several have commented its probably the best Adventure they have seen and heard, as mine start's almost instantly and is very clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Pugh Posted April 1, 2018 Author Share Posted April 1, 2018 OK, the A3 Plus has now sold on ebay for £1000 with an older reflex wing Eagle Genie. The F3 is on until tomorrow but high hang points are putting me off. Now considering a Kobra Snake at twice the price but HEAVY. There is also a Bailey Snap 100, but it has a small cage and 110 prop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi k Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Mark are you trained or training ?, and with the motors your looking at weight wise you'll be on full throttle most of the time, so machine reliability could be a problem, and if your flying with friends you could possibly be struggling to keep up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 38 minutes ago, kiwi k said: Caper i'm 92 kg's and mine has flown me easy (but its an A4), and nothing wrong with weld's as you suggest, also very easy to break down to fit into saloon car. The weakest part i'm told is the original aluminium cages as thin material used, but thankfully in my short use never crash landed so no remedial work required, most replaced the cages with the Nirvana cages as they were stronger and direct fit, today's models run very different engines so possibly lighter and more reliable. Only part i have replaced is a starter motor as mine is electric start only, and several have commented its probably the best Adventure they have seen and heard, as mine start's almost instantly and is very clean. I have a F3, and I also have the Nirvana rodeo cage, not direct fit, you have to drill new holes for the small tubes in the chassis to fit the Nirvana cage. Welds are almost as bad (still crater pipes all over the cage) On my Adventure cage I also have bad fusion on some places and uneven welds. The tube ends are pressed in and no full fillet welds anywhere instead of nice tube notching and 360 fillet welds. Rushed job. Maybe was a bit harsh to say worst welds I've seen on a paramotor, I remember some that was much worse, but mostly on home built units. Is the A4 with the 130cm propeller? F3 have a small 115cm prop and standard exhaust box. I don't have any problem at 80kg to fly the F3, but it's a lot of running compared to modern engines. Iv'e seen youtube videos with the solo 210 and Snake XX 15 wing, and even tandem. But it's long way from optimal, but that depends on your goals and flying style. Solo 210 is at least very quiet with a nice sound. What was wrong with your starter engine? I had problem with the return spring and cracked starter engine brackets from fatigue. But other then that, a good unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi k Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Casper before i bought it seller told me it was getting slow on turn over but was still starting, turned out to be burnt out brushes and torched winding's, i have 2 sets of Props 125 & 130 cms both carbon i think original was 130cm. Yours has box muffler and mine being an A4 has Solo + engine which is Larger skimmed head and tuned expansion design exhaust. The cage swap is what i'd been told but i did fit an extra external ally tube over the bottom for more skid protection to increase damage resistance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Pugh Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 On 01/04/2018 at 17:57, kiwi k said: Mark are you trained or training ?, and with the motors your looking at weight wise you'll be on full throttle most of the time, so machine reliability could be a problem, and if your flying with friends you could possibly be struggling to keep up. I'm trained, passed my BHPA POWER rating with Steve at Axis, October 2017. Previously flew paragliders for 400+ hours in a different life (20 years ago, competitions all over the globe), but family and now location (miles from any hills or tow launches) stopped me. Wanted to try a paramotor to see if it gave me the same thrill at an older age (55 next year). I'm imagining easy "boating" around my local countryside in the evenings; escape from gravity for a couple of hours each week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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