Since reliability is a fundamental thing which affects safety, I’d like to ask about how reliability of an ePPG like SP140 compares with that of gas-powered paramotors.
Most people will always fly a 2-stroke while being constantly ready for an engine-out to happen at any time. They’ll always have an exit plan / landing plan ready, in case their engine quits on them. Those are probably safe practices no matter what kind of aircraft you fly.
But in terms of actual reliability of the propulsive hardware, then in what ways can comparisons be made?
What are the do’s and don’ts to maximize reliability during flight, and to avoid propulsion hardware failure?
Due to the fact that electric motors are inherently more reliable because they have less moving parts and are not working under dirty explosive(literally) high temperature conditions make them more reliable.
That being said, their are a lot of shitty electronics out there. The highest point of failure I would wager is going to most likely be the controller if the motor/controller combo are sized properly, sized being that you are not overdriving the motor to burn it out.
Running out of battery power is akin to running out of gas, so you cant count that.
The only advantage ICE has currently is its range – ICE are not more efficient by a long shot(28%vs 95%) - ICE can just carry more fuel in the tank - Batteries are an gas tank equivalent.
Once out electric battery tanks are improved, there will be no discussion as to which is better. So to that point you have to choose longer range with less reliability over shorter range over higher reliability.
I want to ask - are there any flight conditions that might be particularly risky for electric paramotors? I’ve seen people flying regular paramotors in rainy weather – but would electrical paramotors like X4 or SP140 be particularly at risk? Also, is there any risk of being hit by lightning?
Furthermore, we all know that batteries don’t hold as much charge in the cold. Therefore how will the colder temperatures affect flight time, etc?
I don’t have any issues being around or foot dragging a typical paramotor in shallow water close to shore, but I would never get anywhere close to water with an E-ppg. Other than that one scenario, I think that E-ppg can be just as safe if not more than gasoline paramotors.
I think if you were flying in the vicinity of a potential lightning strike you would be at more risk of being sucked up to 30,000 feet in the associated cumulonimbus cloud and spat out the top as a block of ice.
At least at one point, the X4 was using a motor designed for boats, so I presume it is fairly well weatherproofed. Rain obviously does add some risk (including to the part of the wiring you did yourself), but it also adds some risk to a combustion motor, and a combustion motor is much harder to (turn off and) restart while flying.
There are conditions, such as crossing to an island on a windy day, where you may need some of your reserve energy for a safe landing, and it is easier to carry extra fuel than it is to add extra batteries. Note that this is largely a problem you can plan for by not taking trips that are near the top of your range, but that isn’t as convenient as just adding some extra fuel. (On the other hand, adding the extra fuel may not actually be legal, particularly in the US.)
Since the high current draw through the battery tends to heat it, the effect of low ambient temperatures should be limited. There’s nothing magical about an electric battery and motor that would attract lightning any more than gasoline and an ICE would do, and no one in his right mind would be flying a PPG kite near lightning anyway. Forget the lightning danger; it is the high-powered gusty winds of the clouds that produce lightning that’ll kill ya’. A bit of light rain poses a degree of shorting risk if your wiring and connectors are not well sealed. I don’t know about the waterproofing of the motors themselves if water were splashed or sucked into them. Related questions might be asked about accidentally falling down while landing near the shore of a body of water. Would immersion short the battery, possibly causing explosion? Would the current distribution from a shorted battery through the water electrocute the pilot or be localized between the battery terminals limiting any surrounding effects? At some point, this sort of safety testing could be worthwhile.
True for this discussion but creates a bit of a misunderstanding in general. I tend to think of the battery as analogous to an engine and fuel system together. It’s storing and delivering the power. I think of an electric motor as a power converter (electrical to mechanical).
Apparently survivable. The pilot that died in that incident was apparently hit by lightning. Both were glider pilots. Us motor pilots tend to stay out of IMC!
I would gather the later would be the case especially since this is DC only. What kills people if an appliance is dropped into a bathtub is that the current is alternating. If you got really close to the terminals I suspect you might get some sensation for sure. Easy solution - don’t fall in the water.
As I watch a lot of the paramotor vids, the one thing that seems to keep coming up is the ICE motors keep breaking down or parts cracking. Those chrome, I assume stainless mufflers, keep cracking where they mount to the exhaust of the engine.
The electrics are fairly new and we don’t see a lot of vids on them yet. The only talk i have heard are of the electronics getting the wires pulled out of the controller or the connectors. This isn’t a thing I hear a lot of but there are not that many electrics running around yet.
As for the motors, they are incredibly reliable and as long as the battery remains stable and has a good charge, will run till the battery is exausted.
Just about all other flying charactoristics (I’m not including fly time as that is generic and is set by the battery used) are the same.
My view point at this time is I prefer the electric unit over the ICE. they seem to have less that can go wrong and once the electronics get beefed up and more secure connections to the pc boards, they should be almost indestructible.
I have made a few safety related modifications to my SP-140. I will take some pictures of the modifications and hopefully we can discuss them here. Right up the alley you mentioned, I was unhappy with the beadboard style pins and connector for the throttle to ESC. I’ve replaced it with a permanent solder to the pins of the ESC, and a screw type cable that splits just about at the swing arm point. I also took the oportunity to re-route and reconfigure the throttle for right hand operation because that’s what all my other paramotor units have been and I am accustomed to it.
Don’t worry about the two red cables to the ESC, those were a temporary cable extension for me to test voltage spikes with a longer cable and have since been removed and are back to the proper red+ Black- cables.
I am also cautious of those slip on connectors.
Be careful how you solder to the pins. If you solder to the end (tip) of the pin on the wire, and there is any movement at all, the wire can weaken and break off.
LOL sorry, I’ve worked on similar things in the past, ask me how I know.
IF you can bend the wire so the wire end is at the tip of the connector, runs down the pin toward the circuit board, soldered then bend the wire along the pin, and use shrink wrap to secure the (still flexy) wire to the pin, you should have a much stronger connection.
Not trying to tell you what to do. As this is flying and you can’t do much when up in the air, I tend to look at the worst case scenario and try to find a way to make it as trouble free as possible.
good luck.
Yes, Look at the original connector. It is just a 4 pin breadboard type plastic plug with no clip or snap.
Sean, Thank you for the tip on the best way to solder to the pins. What I did is crimp new female pins onto the wire, then i dabbed a tiny bit of solder onto the male pin of the ESC and slipped the female pin over while applying heat with the iron. The pin is now soldered in place, but removable with heat. I then heat shrunk over the entire male&female pin. I added some slack to the wire and flexed the wire a bit and it felt acceptable. I then secured the main wire to the mount of the ESC securly to limit vibrations.
What you suggested is an even better way to reduce strain and flex on the wire. Thank you for the tip.
just an occasional lurker not ready for e-flight…but the ICE is a mature technology with problems understood pretty well…This e-stuff has lots of Gotchas as the postings show…when there are thousands of like or same units out there with the bugs worked out (like the ICE world) hopefully the e-flight potential will be realized.
