clemente black devil

[macey2kk]

hi all,

does anyone own one of these and care to share an opinion?

do you know if an elec start upgrade is available?

cheers guys

[Guest]

I don't know much about Clemente but I'm pretty competent at Black Devils. I believe it is possible to convert a pull start to an electric start but frankly if you get the set up right, why bother. The pull start is very good if the set up is right. You only need to achieve 60rpm on the pull start to start the motor thanks to the high energy ignition system. A key area where people go wrong with pull starts is due to too low tension on the drive belt. Too little tension and the belt will slip just enough without you noticing to stop the required flywheel effect from the prop (this is why clutched engines are harder to pull start) while too much tension will knacker the redrive bearings. The ideal tension for a BD drivebelt is 15-18 foot pounds but how do you know how to set this? Well get an old style torque wrench (the type with the bar and scale) and put that on a socket on the small pulley. Hold that steady while you turn the prop (in the direction that tightens the nut!) and you will hear a squeak and feel the slip at the torque you are currently at on the scale.

The next thing to look at is the low speed screw setting on the WB37 carb. Let me know if you want to work through that one.

The Black Devil is a superb (if a little bit thirsty) engine with a superb amount of thrust when set up nicely. Personally I'm not surprised Parajet chose to base their design around it. Where are you located in the UK?

Regards

Ian

[macey2kk]

thanks for that ian,

im based near to dovedale and the peaks, and have just purchased the aforementioned machine ( yet to collect it though ) second hand, but as new being only run for a few hours.

it does seem a v popular engine albeit with mine being a 135 prop its frame is huge... but then so am i!!!

only thing kinda on my mind is spares availablity on the frame parts, but i suppose this engine will fit in a few different frames if i struggle???

thanks for the advice -- luckily i have a torque wrench!

ps...is it posible to start this motor in flight - or am i likely to need a rubber arm or lose a finger ?

[Guest]

The Black Devil is a very popular engine in the States however it never quite caught on in the UK except for heavy weight pilots or those wanting to do tandem! It is better supported than any other imported paramotor engine by a company called ConAir ( www.conairsports.co.uk ) although I do not recommend the props they sell. Be careful with that 135 prop as it will deliver a huge amount of thrust but watch out for the associated torque. Starting the engine in flight is a breeze using a foot start strap. The cylinder head will have a built in automatic decompressor (not present in the electric start models) which works very well however it will need freeing up every now and then (squirt some WD40 down it) as it can get coked up. Some people replace the auto decomp with a manual version but then you can't reach it for in flight restarts.

Airfer units are one of the many types that some consider to be a copy of the ubiquitous PAP design. I don't know who the current importer is but I wouldn't be at all worried as you don't hear any negatives about them. There isn't really much you can't get a stainless steel welder to sort out anyway. When you have picked it up and had a chance to play with it then PM me your phone number and I'll talk you through a few tricks to set it up really sweetly.

Regards

Ian