I’m currently training on a foot launched paramotor and am getting in to the sport. Am looking at buying my first paramotor & wing.
Honestly, the cost is a bit of a barrier to entry if I’m buying new. But I’m determined to buy an electric paramotor when I can. For me it will be the perfect fit and I would much rather avoid the ICE route.
If one was to try and self build an electric paramotor, equivalent to an SP140, would it be much cheaper to do so, or should I just save up and buy the production unit? I’m just wondering is anyone has worked out a cheaper way of doing it. I consider myself reasonably proficient at DIY and basic engineering but with the obvious safety considerations I don’t know if this is worth pursuing.
The X4 is definitely cheaper and more DIY oriented. And there are some other home built versions if you look on youtube. Some of them are pretty sketchy though.
At the moment because of sourcing, I suspect the SP140 is a good deal compared to buying a usable motor and ESC in single quantities, not to mention batteries. And you’d have to consider a LOT of your time at zero cost.
I considered this too because all the electrical stuff is definitely in my wheelhouse but in the end I think it’s better to start with a somewhat known quantity, support the developers of that (I hope they make some profit at least) and contribute to the community of users who test and iterate that design, it is nominally open source.
Final point, you have to consider that the SP140 should have residual value if you want to sell it in future. A one-off home built machine likely will not.
So IMO save up, continue practice with an instructor and a gas motor, and buy it when you can.
it depends on whether you live in the usa or in europe. in the usa i would buy a sp 140 plug and play in all cases. there are not many other alternatives except importing your own from china or europe. that will be very expensive with customs and tax etc. in europe you can buy all the individual parts from various companies for many years. here is a self-build very easy possible. it is not difficult to attach an motor with 4 screws to a frame, as well as the esc and attach the battery is a matter for half a day’s work. well comparable to when you screw a gasoline engine to a frame and attach the tank. everything very simple and completely uncomplicated.