whataname Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 what a paramotor, aviation enHines so expensive? to me it looks like a small motorcycle enging or moped engine but for up to $6,000! what makes these engines so special? i heard it can be close to $10,000 for a wing and paramotor setup! can I get a used setup for cheaper? I am new to the sport and want to learn as much as I can about everything that goes into it! thanx for teaching me something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_P Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Hi, it would be helpful if you could tell us where you are based so we know what currency we are talking about Unfortunately, the motors are very expensive for what they are. There are some people who are going a cheap diy route, using things like clones of the popular Honda GX200 four stroke engine. Others have used modified motorcycle engines. If you are a capable builder you can easily halve the motor cost. The wing on the other hand you pretty much have to buy, but good used examples can bring your costs down to more manageable levels. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataname Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 I live in wisconsin. what would be the "clone" of the Honda engine? don't aviation engines rev really high? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_P Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Most of the two stroke motors used on PPG's rev to about 7500 (give or take) and have a reduction of about 2 1/2 or 3 to 1, so the prop speed is perhaps only 3000 RPM maximum. So by using different reduction ratios or even direct drive we can use engines with lower or higher RPM while still giving the sort of prop RPM that we are looking for. Above certain numbers of prop size and RPM, the tips start to travel faster than the speed of sound and become much less efficient, so we aim to keep the RPM to a level that will prevent that. In the UK, we are looking at purchase prices of 4 to 5000 UKP for a complete motor (much more if you are looking at 'Parajet's' recently released rotary engined model), So that would equate to anything up to $8000 US. Because many complete motors, and also bare engines are sourced in Europe, with a strong Euro against the Dollar, prices will be high for you. Honda make a four stroke OHV engine that is used in everything from lawn mowers to small electrical generators. That is the GX200. Many Chinese (or at least far eastern) countries have produced copies of this motor which are pretty cheap. These can then have the power boosted by fitting after market parts that are targeted at the karting market. A lot of these parts are sourced from the USA so you could be onto a winner if you think about going that route and building your own. Do a google for the 'egg motor' project. where a group of flyers have built a PPG around that motor. Hope that helps a bit, Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whataname Posted November 1, 2009 Author Share Posted November 1, 2009 ive been looking at sme diffrent paramotors and ive noticed that some of them have 2 fins on the prop and some have 4. whats the diffrence? i dont think fins is the right word Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 As an alternative you could use the Yamaha KT100 kart engine which is very cheap in comparison and easy to get hold of especially in the US. I used one in my PPG and get about 55kg of thrust, they really are good little engines. [youtubevideo] [/youtubevideo]Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_P Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 The word you are looking for is 'blades' You will see motors with 2,3 or 4 bladed props. As I understand it, two blades is possibly the most efficient, but by using more blades the prop can be a smaller diameter. Usually the reduction ratios are different depending on the number of blades. If you can physically cope with the larger cage demands, then two blades is probably the best option, all other things being equal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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