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H&E paramotor


donegalwing

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Got one, love it.

Not flown any other motor but tried on a few, definately lighter than a Parajet but a lot bigger in terms of prop diameter. Breaks down in minuites, i.e. cage unclips, four prop bolts undone then mine fits behind the passenger seat in the car as the seat folds up flat to the back of the harness.

Very quiet in flight & easy to start, fuel cap is a bit awkward to get to but thats the only bad point. Pete told me to avoid the R80 as it's not that powerful, the R120 has bags of power.

Seems to be plenty of backup with a good manufacturers site www.he-paramotores.com with loads of cheap spares available, plus great UK spares backup from the Mid Wales paragliding centre

Don't know what else to say really, but I'm not selling mine.

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As you already know Dean, I just ordered my second H&E. I'd swear by them. The first machine- R80/115 was powerful enough for me, but I'm keen on having a smaller cage/prop so that's why i've opted for the R120/99 combination. This will have equivlalent thrust, similar weight, and general characteristics, but most importantly it can fit into the backof a Renault Kangoo without removing the cage..!

H&E machines are also a pleasure to work at for servicing- compared to my old Adventure.

GD

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Hi Dean.

Ive done 130 hours on my H&E R120.

Good Points

Basic machine which requires less maintenance than others. Cheaper to buy than most.

Very reliable. (see below about gearbox).

Engine has been fantastic, starts easily. Ive got every confidence in it and would gladly jump the English Channel. (And will do).

Can re-start in the air but don't let the engine get too cold or it won't start without priming which is impossible in the air.

Due to the light construction and good hang-point system the pilot gets good feedback from the wing. Might take a bit of getting used to in bumpy conditions, free flyers will love it.

Weight shift steers well.

Little torque steer.

Clutch driven which is good for landing engine running, and good for thermalling or soaring cliffs on tickover.

They now have a better exhaust system than the one I have.

They now have a better harness than the one I have.

Uses 4 1/3 Ltr of fuel hour 35-1 mix

Bad Points

On the fourth reduction gearbox, sprung leaks, think they might have fixed this problem. Ive done 75 hours on this 4th box by topping up every few flights so its not too bad.

If you crash, the frame bends easily and the prop destroys the fuel tank which isn't ideal!! Fuel tanks are expensive. (mine is large tank type). (Done that three times :cry: )

I have a 2 part cage which is huge and fills the car, they do 3 and 4 part cages now I think.

Needs 35-1 mix which is a bit more expensive to run than 50-1.

Harness is not as good / as comfy as Parajet (Although the Parajet is probably the most comfy machine I have flown). In saying that I had to throw my reserve in 2006 when my wing collapsed and the H&E harness with a Y shaped bridle worked very well, pain free deployment and landing!

I weigh 105 kg naked and could do with a bit more power.

All machines seem to have good and bad points. I think they are all getting better and more reliable which provides us an exciting future in this amazing sport.

Im planning on buying a new machine and will need a new wing maybe this year perhaps next year (Don't tell the wife tho :? ). Im not sure what machine I will go for next time.

Hope this helps.

Whitters.

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Thanks guys

Helimed, I'm curious as to what material your frame is made from, is it aluminium? I know that the new H&E have stainless frames which I thought would be fairly strong in taking a knock.....I can weld alloy or stainless also ,so I thought this may be a benifit over titanium in that I can carry out small repairs myself, allthough I know the titanium is much stronger than the stainless...

Regards

Dean

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Helimed,

Also had a collegue who had issues with the gearbox on the R120, but H&E have resolved these issues now. Apparenlty this only effected early production runs on this engine only.

I'm not sure why you can't prime the engine in the air- I' fly an R80, and can do this. I might not be able to see the bulb, but i can reach it. Incidentally, its worth knowing that you can reach it, because if you have a throttle cable/kill switch failure you can flood the engine and kill the engine with the primer bulb.

Any paramotor that hits a cage will suffer badly- stainless steel ones will stand more abuse than aluminium though. The stainless steel grade on the H&E is heavier than the PAP. H&E use 1mm wall, 8mm diameter wheras PAP use 8mm diameter 0.8mm wall. The H&E will be slightly heavier for this, but will have a stiffer frame.

I have a 3 part cage on my R80 at present, but my new machine will have a 5 part. Transportation is easier with more parts, but the cage will be weaker.

Generally I think 3 part is best (main frame, +left +right).

Regards

GD

quote="helimed01"]Hi Dean.

Ive done 130 hours on my H&E R120.

Good Points

Basic machine which requires less maintenance than others. Cheaper to buy than most.

Very reliable. (see below about gearbox).

Engine has been fantastic, starts easily. Ive got every confidence in it and would gladly jump the English Channel. (And will do).

Can re-start in the air but don't let the engine get too cold or it won't start without priming which is impossible in the air.

Due to the light construction and good hang-point system the pilot gets good feedback from the wing. Might take a bit of getting used to in bumpy conditions, free flyers will love it.

Weight shift steers well.

Little torque steer.

Clutch driven which is good for landing engine running, and good for thermalling or soaring cliffs on tickover.

They now have a better exhaust system than the one I have.

They now have a better harness than the one I have.

Uses 4 1/3 Ltr of fuel hour 35-1 mix

Bad Points

On the fourth reduction gearbox, sprung leaks, think they might have fixed this problem. Ive done 75 hours on this 4th box by topping up every few flights so its not too bad.

If you crash, the frame bends easily and the prop destroys the fuel tank which isn't ideal!! Fuel tanks are expensive. (mine is large tank type). (Done that three times :cry: )

I have a 2 part cage which is huge and fills the car, they do 3 and 4 part cages now I think.

Needs 35-1 mix which is a bit more expensive to run than 50-1.

Harness is not as good / as comfy as Parajet (Although the Parajet is probably the most comfy machine I have flown). In saying that I had to throw my reserve in 2006 when my wing collapsed and the H&E harness with a Y shaped bridle worked very well, pain free deployment and landing!

I weigh 105 kg naked and could do with a bit more power.

All machines seem to have good and bad points. I think they are all getting better and more reliable which provides us an exciting future in this amazing sport.

Im planning on buying a new machine and will need a new wing maybe this year perhaps next year (Don't tell the wife tho :? ). Im not sure what machine I will go for next time.

Hope this helps.

Whitters.

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Dean,

I've mentioned the material that H&E use in my last post, however they do offer aluminium on their cages for the 99cm prop. The theory is you are less likely to 'ground' the cage if the prop is smaller, therefore the aluminium should be oK. I didn't like the aluminium cage on the Adventure machine, so I will be sticking to the stainless steel.

A stonger cage is also an advantage when you are power launching- you will get some flexing on any cage, but this should be minimal.

GD

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Richard

If I'm not mistaken, you included 4 and 1/3rd of a litre per hour consumption figure in the list of good points. That's very little less than my Walkerjet is using with it's Fly 200 engine which would give you the climb rate you deserve ( cos you same weight as me ) Drop in with yer wing and give it a whirl before you commit. Yer not very likely to break me prop either. (I hope)

Dave Govier

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Richard

If I'm not mistaken, you included 4 and 1/3rd of a litre per hour consumption figure in the list of good points. That's very little less than my Walkerjet is using with it's Fly 200 engine which would give you the climb rate you deserve ( cos you same weight as me ) Drop in with yer wing and give it a whirl before you commit. Yer not very likely to break me prop either. (I hope)

Dave Govier

Hi Dave

Thanks for the offer, would love to try it. The 4 1/3 ltr wasn't really good or bad. Think its about average. I know the Simonini engines are a bit better for fuel / power.

Thanks guys

Helimed, I'm curious as to what material your frame is made from, is it aluminium? I know that the new H&E have stainless frames which I thought would be fairly strong in taking a knock.....I can weld alloy or stainless also ,so I thought this may be a benifit over titanium in that I can carry out small repairs myself, allthough I know the titanium is much stronger than the stainless...

Regards

Dean

Hi Dean.

My H&E is stainless tube, not sure the dimensions but I think the newer machines might use heavier tubing. The problem with mine is that it has the fly products large 17 ltr tank which hangs low behind the legs and hits the ground when I get it wrong. One time I was running like mad full fuel, nil wind, in France and just got airborne (a bit early) thought I was going to clear a hay bail by lifting my legs and dabbing the brakes but the bottom of the frame didn't clear the bail and flexed into the prop splitting the tank and shattering my first and last helix prop :cry: I stayed on my feet but the damage was done. I was 50 miles away from take-off!!! :( Luckily a Belgian PPG pilot retrieved me.

Regards.

Whitters

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Beautiful.

You have the same exhaust sleeve as me, mine becomes loose and rattles like hell, I pinch it tight with mole grips every few flights. Do you have the same problem Dan.

Apparently H&E do the new exhaust upgrade for about 60 euros. My exhaust is rusty so I have ordered one, I made the mistake of foot-dragging the sea on a calm flat day, it chewed up the leading edge of my wooden prop and the exhaust welds have rusted like mad. Won't do that again! :oops:

Regards

Whitters.

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Very good Dan,

Hope you get the clutch soon. Lukily it's not the height of the flying season yet, and you're not missing too many days flying.

Just another item- what do you use for fuel tank calibration? On many paramotors its weird seeing such hi-tech design, then nail varnish or permanant marker to calibrate the tanks.... I decided that i'd do it right on my H&E..... see link- http://www.gordondunn.co.uk/R80/fuelguage.pdf

The characters are 'mirrored', as i use a mirror to read the level in flight.

GD

So far so good, Steve at MWPGC has a clutch in stock so hopefully it will be winging its way eastwards shortly, watch this space.
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  • 9 months later...
Hi Dean.

Ive done 130 hours on my H&E R120.

Good Points

Basic machine which requires less maintenance than others. Cheaper to buy than most.

Very reliable. (see below about gearbox).

Engine has been fantastic, starts easily. Ive got every confidence in it and would gladly jump the English Channel. (And will do).

Can re-start in the air but don't let the engine get too cold or it won't start without priming which is impossible in the air.

Due to the light construction and good hang-point system the pilot gets good feedback from the wing. Might take a bit of getting used to in bumpy conditions, free flyers will love it.

Weight shift steers well.

Little torque steer.

Clutch driven which is good for landing engine running, and good for thermalling or soaring cliffs on tickover.

They now have a better exhaust system than the one I have.

They now have a better harness than the one I have.

Uses 4 1/3 Ltr of fuel hour 35-1 mix

Bad Points

On the fourth reduction gearbox, sprung leaks, think they might have fixed this problem. Ive done 75 hours on this 4th box by topping up every few flights so its not too bad.

If you crash, the frame bends easily and the prop destroys the fuel tank which isn't ideal!! Fuel tanks are expensive. (mine is large tank type). (Done that three times :cry: )

I have a 2 part cage which is huge and fills the car, they do 3 and 4 part cages now I think.

Needs 35-1 mix which is a bit more expensive to run than 50-1.

Harness is not as good / as comfy as Parajet (Although the Parajet is probably the most comfy machine I have flown). In saying that I had to throw my reserve in 2006 when my wing collapsed and the H&E harness with a Y shaped bridle worked very well, pain free deployment and landing!

I weigh 105 kg naked and could do with a bit more power.

All machines seem to have good and bad points. I think they are all getting better and more reliable which provides us an exciting future in this amazing sport.

Im planning on buying a new machine and will need a new wing maybe this year perhaps next year (Don't tell the wife tho :? ). Im not sure what machine I will go for next time.

Hope this helps.

Whitters.

Keep me posted if you do sell!

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Hi Dean.

Ive done 130 hours on my H&E R120.

Good Points

Basic machine which requires less maintenance than others. Cheaper to buy than most.

Very reliable. (see below about gearbox).

Engine has been fantastic, starts easily. Ive got every confidence in it and would gladly jump the English Channel. (And will do).

Can re-start in the air but don't let the engine get too cold or it won't start without priming which is impossible in the air.

Due to the light construction and good hang-point system the pilot gets good feedback from the wing. Might take a bit of getting used to in bumpy conditions, free flyers will love it.

Weight shift steers well.

Little torque steer.

Clutch driven which is good for landing engine running, and good for thermalling or soaring cliffs on tickover.

They now have a better exhaust system than the one I have.

They now have a better harness than the one I have.

Uses 4 1/3 Ltr of fuel hour 35-1 mix

Bad Points

On the fourth reduction gearbox, sprung leaks, think they might have fixed this problem. Ive done 75 hours on this 4th box by topping up every few flights so its not too bad.

If you crash, the frame bends easily and the prop destroys the fuel tank which isn't ideal!! Fuel tanks are expensive. (mine is large tank type). (Done that three times :cry: )

I have a 2 part cage which is huge and fills the car, they do 3 and 4 part cages now I think.

Needs 35-1 mix which is a bit more expensive to run than 50-1.

Harness is not as good / as comfy as Parajet (Although the Parajet is probably the most comfy machine I have flown). In saying that I had to throw my reserve in 2006 when my wing collapsed and the H&E harness with a Y shaped bridle worked very well, pain free deployment and landing!

I weigh 105 kg naked and could do with a bit more power.

All machines seem to have good and bad points. I think they are all getting better and more reliable which provides us an exciting future in this amazing sport.

Im planning on buying a new machine and will need a new wing maybe this year perhaps next year (Don't tell the wife tho :? ). Im not sure what machine I will go for next time.

Hope this helps.

Whitters.

Keep me posted if you do sell!

Hi Frazer.

Done 170 hours on H&E now. Have the new harness and exhaust which is better. 5th reduction box now but not happy with it, loose and rough. Have spoken to Pierre from H&E and will meet him in Las Candelas end of january and he will hopefully exchange it for me. 250 euros isnt cheap and its only done 22 to 25 hours.

Ive had a loss in power over this autumn so have ordered new piston rings and gaskets with carb restoration kit which will hopefully restore power. I am still looking for a new motor in 2008 but might just keep my old faithfull H&E for spare. Ive spent nearly £1k on it now and its so reliable, Ive had such amazing flights on it I kind of don't want to loose it.

If I do sell it I will let you know.

Whitters.

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  • 11 months later...

Hi All,

Some help needed on my R120. My Silver reduction gearbox is crappy now and just last week I received a brand new Red reduction gear box. Just by looking they are about the same. except that now the bell, where the centrifugal clutch makes contact, touches the rod that rotates with the engine (I refer to the rod where you install the centrifugal clutch that will make contact with the bell on the reduction gear box).

Has anyone replaced an old reduction gearbox with a new one and had this problem? How did you solve it?

ps. The "bell" as I call it, is the "cup" where the centrifugal clutch makes contact with the reduction gear box. The rod is what I refer to that metal piece that turns with the engine and where the centrifugal clutch is put on or installed. It is fairly clear I have no idea how these things are called. Hopefully you will understand what I mean. If you know how they are called, please tell me so that I don't have to do this explaining next time I need help.

Your answers are appreciated in advance.

Thanks. JC

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DSC00757.JPG.52171b06abdba833e0cededf717

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Hi All,

Some help needed on my R120. My Silver reduction gearbox is crappy now and just last week I received a brand new Red reduction gear box. Just by looking they are about the same. except that now the bell, where the centrifugal clutch makes contact, touches the rod that rotates with the engine (I refer to the rod where you install the centrifugal clutch that will make contact with the bell on the reduction gear box).

Has anyone replaced an old reduction gearbox with a new one and had this problem? How did you solve it?

ps. The "bell" as I call it, is the "cup" where the centrifugal clutch makes contact with the reduction gear box. The rod is what I refer to that metal piece that turns with the engine and where the centrifugal clutch is put on or installed. It is fairly clear I have no idea how these things are called. Hopefully you will understand what I mean. If you know how they are called, please tell me so that I don't have to do this explaining next time I need help.

Your answers are appreciated in advance.

Thanks. JC

Looking at the "Bell" it looks like the whole assembly is going on too far ,are you sure that you have not left a gasget/spacer out?

the "Rod" is the end of the crank shaft.

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Hi Pete.

Thank you for clarifying the crank shaft.

The whole assembly is factory setting. If I install the original Silver reduction gear, it fits ok. Actually it barely touches "the bell", but just barely. If you look closely the photo, you can see the markings of the crank shaft barely touching. But with the new Red reduction gear, it is about 1 mm less deep (the bell is slightly closer to the crank shaft), so has a hard contact with the crank shaft preventing the reduction gear from turning if I tighten the nuts that hold the reduction gear in place to the engine assembly.

Unless I put a spacer or wear off the crank shaft about 1 mm shorter. So I wonder how others have solved this problem.

Pierre from H&E mentioned something about this on the phone, but I could hardly understand since there was a lot of noise on the line. I sent him an email asking again, but haven't received reply yet.

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Anybody had to replace the reduction gear from the silver model to a new coloured one?.

The new red reduction gear doesn't fit correctly. The crank shaft touches the reduction gear not letting it turn.

Anybody has had that problem? How did you fix it? Did you put a spacer? or shortened the crank shaft by grinding the tip off?

Please your feedback.

Cheers. JC

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