Batch 4 is Closing April 21st

Spring is here and so is flying season for us in Ohio. Batch 3 and mini-batch 3.5 were a great success. We love seeing everyone posting their flying and build videos here in the community forum

This winter the OpenPPG team has once again worked hard to make some great improvements to the X4 22 paramotor we all love while continuing to keep costs low. It all adds up to a great building and flying experiences. We know you’ve been patient and we can’t wait for you to fly it.

Some highlights of the batch 4 version are:

  • Full amperage measurement for precise battery life estimation
  • Designed for higher voltage 7S batteries
  • Optional BMS support capable of monitoring up to 8 batteries

The full changelog is available on the OpenPPG 22 page

Like with the previous batches the order window will close so we can get an accurate count of parts and keep overhead low. This time we’re keeping the order window open for a couple weeks to give plenty of opportunity to get in on the action.

Other updates

Streamlined 7S Battery Orders - US pilots can now order 6S and 7S batteries for the OpenPPG through the simple checkout process. International orders are easier as well with a new quote form. As before we work with the battery manufacturer to skip the extra handling time and costs and ship directly to your door.

See you in the air,
The OpenPPG team

PS. We’ll be hanging out here in the forum to continue answering questions and listening to feedback. Thanks from all of us

Update: the last day to order batch 4 is Sunday April 21st

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Are the batch 4 motor mount arms still with the thin loops at the end?
Will we be able to order replacement motor mount arm sets with the new design (non thin loop) soon?

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Nope they have been updated to be thicker. :+1:
And yes they will be available when we get the batch 4 parts in

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What is an approximate time frame for delivery?
Thanks

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What KV will the motors be to support 14S?

With the new battery. What is the impact on weight, flight time, thrust, etc?

We’re estimating about 6 weeks after the end of the pre-order to get everything in and begin shipping. Full disclosure, based on the current amount of orders it will take us a few weeks to get everyone’s shipped out.

The new motors are 150kv

@Pdwhite can probably better explain the impacts of the new batteries and higher voltage but there will be a slight improvement in flight time.

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Weight will increase by about a 1.5lbs with 4 Batts and flight time will increase about 13% or so. Thrust will be about the same.

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Can you tell us more about the optional BMS? Is this something you guys developed custom for OpenPPG or something you found that is compatible? How does it hook up? Does it have a display? Does it shutdown the system or just give warnings?

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The BMS is a custom modular design that is communicates with the controller via the Frame PCB/hub. (It does have its own buzzer and external LED support for alerts). The firmware is still being written but initially we plan on just alerting the pilot and not shutting down the system. Expect alerts to be focused around too high or low cell voltages and high temperatures etc. It wont handle charging and discharging.

There will be lots of flexibility on how much authority we want to give the new electronics. We will be tweaking and improving all of it with updates as we get feedback and continue testing.

It’s important to reiterate that new BMS and the new hub are big steps for us towards our vision of a revolutionary flying experience. However, as mentioned in the release notes not every feature will be available initially and we always appreciate help with firmware and testing.

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More like a BWS - Battery Warning System :grin:
Cheers

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That’s the way it should be! I don’t want to have sudden unexpected power shutdowns. Not that I would keep flying but it gives you a few seconds if needed to adjust your approach.

I think the most important piece of information while flying is to know the voltage of the lowest individual cell.

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How long are the pre-orders typically open for? I saw that things should begin shipping 6 weeks after the pre-order closes.

I was planning to construct my own frame using the CAD data, (I have a waterjet and machine shop at my disposal) but instead opted to purchase the kit. Been reading through the forum like crazy. Great community you guys have here. Eager to get started building one!

I believe they said 2 weeks of open pre order time

Thanks for the reply.

Will there be any photo updates like for the frame changes

How frequently do new batches come out? If I were to order one at the end of the year will it be a newer version? What will the delivery time be like then?

There are small evolutions being made with each batch from suggestions and issues found by members as well as the developers Zack & Paul doing their own updates. Next batch will vary on many factors the biggest one I think is being how long to get the last one out and then 2nd, the time needed to implement how many changes/updates for the next Ver.

Approx 2 batches a yr I think so far - Should be another in the fall sometime if the trend continues.
Batch 4 is looking really good with some solid updates made - almost wishing I had held out for it!! But that is life in an on going evolving open source endeavor. No regrets on my batch 3 order:grin:

Cheers

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Yes, I think the 14s KV150 motors will improve flying time! At 50% throttle it should be 10 A less and at full throttle even 40 A less than the 12s KV180 motors. Real life feedback will tell us!
These are just my estimates…

At level flight it could go from 120A to only 100A power consumption!

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