High end wings, ie. not for beginners have proven to be more efficient. It was previously known that a paraglider is always more efficient than a paramotor wing because it was designed to lift more than fly forwards. PPG wing is more about forward speed and less about lift. Lately though wing like the Ozone Viper 4 and Freeride have been showing me how efficient a paramotor wing can be.
I have been flying since about 2004 on various wings. From days of flying 31m paragliders, to 29m reflex paramotor wings. Now days I mainly fly a 19m uncertified motor wing. It is one of the more efficient wings I have flown.
Point is, size and type of wing is not the only factor, modern design is having a bigger impact on efficiency.
How do we make a list and quantify wing efficiency?
On my 2 stroke paramotor, I recognise efficiency by litre per hour burnt of fuel and also distance covered with speed. Do you want to just stay up as long as possible or get somewhere?
The differences are not small, I have wing which burn 5 litres per hour and another that burns 2 litres per hour. I can tell pretty quickly by the rpm at level flight.
I guess when it comes to electric, I will be able to tell by current draw at level flight. Wing choice can make a difference of 20 minutes or 40 minutes flying.
hello, in my opinion: yes it is correct that the size of the wing area does not mean that the efficiency or the slightest sink automatically must be there. After many hundreds of flights and about 20 different demo wings I can say that the factor of the air resistance is extremely high. the wings are very close to the performance. whether the pilot has an aerodynamic drive makes up to 30% difference in flight time. Generally it makes sense to fly in trim speed. only if there is a strong fall you should speed up to get away quickly. in april we have a great competition in austria for petrol engines with 1.5 liter petrol. who gets to the top of the game msl will be in task 1 within 20 min. task 2 has the longest flight time. There is also an electrical area where the pilot max. 1.5 kwh may consume. It does not matter which drive or battery capacity. I have built data logger for this monitor everything exactly and read out for evaluation. I tell that since you can see very well after the competition which wing is very successful. 35 pilots fly there. hobby pilots but also legends like toni bender. Here’s a video of an older setup. of course, I have already made something new for the competition that is aerodynamically perfect: EPPG eppg ION4 e-ppg electric paraglider Paramotor elektro gleitschirm - YouTube
My plans are to move to a Nova Ion 4 (or the new 5) this summer, but already buy the motor-risers for the Prion in the meantime, as it will allow me to reduce the angle of attack and get me more of a forward motion, rather than lift, when accelerating.
I want to go for the Nova Ion (which is a B-wing) because it is good for freeflying and Paramotoring at the same time.
hi, the prion 3 I had also tried as a demo wing. He is very safe and efficient too. but without trimmers as you say he is in strong wind but a few km / h too slow. my main wing is the ion 4 with motor trimmers straps. I will also fly the Ion 4 at the challenge soon. a very interesting wing is also the speedmax 2. I’ve made some videos with it. all with electro paramotor. Here is a video with the prion 3. greatings testflug electric paramotor mit vorgewärmten akkus - YouTube
Hi all, I’m new here. 7 years flying gasoline paramotors and currently flying my first electric, a Paracell V12 with Simplify frame.
The problem is, my current wing is a Ozone Freeride 21m, witch I love as an all around wing, but is not very efficient as it was designed for carving and doing agressive turns. I have a Bailey V5s 4 stroke engine and I could easily see the Freeride burns more than other wings.
The Paracell V12 has two “modes” one for launching (depressing full throttle) and a cruising mode (half throttle or less). This makes a HUGE difference in flight time. The problem is that using “cruising mode” is not enough to keep level flight. I’m always flying at or close to full throttle.
So I’m not getting the range I would like.
After doing some research and talking to Javier from Spain (the maker of Paracell) I decided to buy a 28m NOVA Speedmax 2. I hope I can keep level flight using less throttle and get the advertised 60 to 70 minutes of flyght time.
I’m currently getting only 45 to 50 minutes.
The new wing should arrive soon and I can post here the results if this useful for others.
All the above is from a person who doesn’t know anything about electricity. Yes I did skip the electricity classes!
Interesting, on my 2 stroke I find the freeride a very efficient wing as have other Freeride owners. Are you flying trims closed or open?
I’m sure something like an ozone delta or uturn blacklite a race class Paraglider would always be more efficient but I haven’t actually tried motoring with a really high aspect wing.
Last week I got my Freeride 19 down to 3 litre an hour flying 1” out on trim. I will compare that figure to another wing I have if it ever stops raining.
@CrypTunico thanks for chiming in here. Very interesting that you have the Paracell engine with Simplify Frame. I also have a simplify titan frame, however currently with a CorsAir Black Devil Light 2stroke engine.
My next (Backup)Paramotor is going to be the OpenPPG for sure.
Give us an update, once you have flown the Nova Speedmax. I am really curious, because I currently fly the Nova Prion 3!
Vince, I have been flying Ozone wings. I had a Roadster2 28m, then a Speedster2 24m, then upgraded to a Viper4 22m and finally the Freeride 21m (by far my prefered one, I love the Freeride).
But my fuel burn doesn’t match yours. Of the wings above I would say the Viper4 is more efficient.
Anyway, with my new electric paramotor simply can’t keep level flight with the Freeride 21.
With gasoline engine I use the trimmers a lot, to keep up with friends etc. With the electric it’s trimmers closed all the time.
I weigh 90 kilos, naked, in the morning
I’m going to be flying it with a Dudek Universal 1.1. It’s a convertible wing, that can be both freeflying as well as a paramotor wing. Because of the trimmers it’s got a great top speed and proper reflex. It’s a 4-riser config (A/B/C/D) versus the lighter 3-riser config when you get a motor riser set for a paraglider wing. Costs you a bit in weight, but worth it in versatility.
That’s cool you have a Paracell, I was seriously considering importing one before I came across PDWhite on youtube. Had a quote from Javier and everything.
