Was any progress made so far? Considering to buy open PPG and fly it in Switzerland. Here unfortunately only the electrical paramotors can be flown. If I understood it correctly, only through the German DULV “Mustergepruftes Motor” can be legally flown over here. Considering the max power of the motor ( I’m struggling with 15 kW Maschine) when starting under no wind conditions ( pilotweight>90 kg) and the fact that only electrical paramotors can be used here, makes the certification more attractive. Silly idea, but if there will be few people that can finance it (EU, CH etc) and Open PPG would provide the motor for typetest, it may not be mission impossible anymore. Anyone else in CH interested to buy, open PPG?
A note:
If you want to have a series Eppg tested in Switzerland or for other countries, you have to adhere to the maximum rule of 60 volts.
The battery also needs a UN 38.3 test. The drive system undergoes an EMC test. In total, depending on the battery, there are total costs of around 70,000 to 120,000 euros just for the costs of the tests and the test material.
As a single pilot you can of course fly in Germany and Austria, CZ and other countries with your own EPPG with DGAC solution and registration with DULV. As a Seirein manufacturer and especially in Switzerland, this is not possible for manufacturers.
Here it has to be done like the market leader Produkte - Avionik - Geiger Engineering did a few years ago. Because of the weight: A 12 kilowatt motor is completely sufficient for a 90 kilogram pilot.
It would be pointless to use a larger motor here because you fly electric and can only carry a certain amount of battery power. With a large trike, it certainly makes sense to think about 15-18 kilowatts.
I am interested in using the OpenPPG paramotor, but in my region (Netherlands, Europe) we need a certified paramotor to be able to fly.
To get certification the Dutch government relies on the governments of either the UK, Germany or the Chech Replublic to certify paramotor gear.
There is no certification of any OpenPPG unit required in Germany (any more) for personal use.
A registration with DULV is also not required.
Quoting the German Aero Club (daec.de => Link):
“Luftsportgeräte mit einer höchstzulässigen Leermasse von 120 kg sind nicht zulassungspflichtig.”
Below 120kg empty (as in without fuel for ICE) take off mass (including wing and rescue parachute) no certification is required.
It was different in the past, but today no vendor does a certification for light gear.
All you need to legally fly it is a paraglider with a DGAC / fiche. (The DGAC glider does not change anything on the fact that if cause a damage to someone else or someones property you are still liable - check your gear and fix your stuff!).
“No more certification” is true if you get the unit (as in buy or import it) for yourself.
It starts to become a totally different story if you either import it commercially or do want to sell it, because in that case you are the one bringing it to market (“Inverkehrbringen”). In that case the 60+ Volt of the SP140 battery might get you into trouble if something happens with the buyer, just as @bratwurst mentioned.
A small note for some european countries: if you have an air accident, for example you fall when taking off and the rescue and police come, the material may be confiscated until it is cleared up. which is particularly important then. you should always have the following documents ready: the rescuer parachute pack certificate, the test certificate for the wing and the liability insurance confirmation. Furthermore, the rescue parachute must be mounted in such a way that it does not indicate any defects to a check by the aviation authority. it used to be the compatibility test. the carabiners and harness must also have a test number and be load-checked. a helmet according to regulations is very often compulsory for eppg and trike without a roll bar! an altimeter is to be carried everywhere on cross-country flights as well as a possibility for navigation if you are flying near ctr or other airspaces. ideally one always logs a flight in order to have evidence in the event of an unjust judgment. Some friends were once forced to land by helicopter because the Austro control had suspected a ctr entry ban. fortunately, the pilots were able to prove the opposite in court. otherwise it would have been very, very expensive and the license would have been lost.
Depending on where you live, air space limitation will be rare or all over the place.
For me it is very important to check the airspace situation on all long flights and do a proper planning. For a quick overview https://flyxc.app is a great app. Here is an example for a rather long flight plan and all the airspaces I need to watch out for:
The term “ctr entry ban” may be a bit misleading.
Entry to airspace D / CRT does always require prior permission by the tower in charge (“clearance required”).
If you don’t get it before entering the airspace then this is an airspace violation, which is serious as it may endanger not only your own and also many other persons health. On top of that is (usually) is a TMZ = Transponder Mandatory Zone and thus we are out anyway.
If it just looks like you did enter, then you might already be chased, thus having a track log is helpful if you are flying in one of those busy areas.
As an example the airspace structure of Germany (2016): DE Luftraumstruktur 2016.pdf (1016.3 KB)
Please make sure you check it for your own country.
You can find it on the back of the recent ICAO aeronautical chart 1:500.000 for your area.
