Hello. Do current SP140 owners find the frame strength to be a concern compared to petrol frame brands? And if you do damage the frame how long does it take to fix? Thank you.
Frame: It is not as strong as some other brands but it is very light and cheaper to purchase.
Passive safety is great but does not beat flying proactively. A choice has to be made. A strong flying technique and understanding of the environment will be the number one choice for protection. The idea is not to mess up any takeoff or landing. Understanding that morning due or wet grass could easily send one on his rear end. Learning how to properly make a landing approach and be able to consistently touchdown with the motor off on a post stamp size LZ (let’s say 10’ x 10’ or less) from high altitude forcing you to and make multiple turns to estimate glide versus sink is part of it. There are tons of moves to learn to make yourself a better pilot. A clean soft spot landing should not require more than two steps upon touchdown to bring you to a standing stop. Try not to think too much about passive safety. One can complements the other but with an emphasis on your personal ability to handle any situation safely. The ten thousand hours rule!
Thank you. I’ve only had 2 flights. Still in training. So concerned about bending the frame if I have a dodgy landing. Then getting parts might take a while as I’m in the uk.
I hear the kangook frame is compatible so I’m looking into that. Thank you.
Kangook frame: I heard that as well. Try not to think in terms of you botching your landings (bad karma). Indeed you could mess up an approach like anyone else (to air is human​). Repeat three times “I will have a perfect landing!” . Look on the positive side instead. If you have a bunny hill in your area, I would suggest practicing takeoffs and landings in free-flying mode if possible. Here’s a video I have not posted yet but soon will. It will give you an idea about a free-flying, motor OFF approach and landing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksleVBKCWs8
Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated. Nice flight on your video.
I was ready to order the sp140 but was having concerns about the frame as I’ve only had 2 flights. But the maintenance on petrol and running costs is putting me off. Back to wanting the sp140.
considering other frame options. If not then I’ll just go for the open PPG frame.
Thanks.
I learned to fly on the sp140 and had a ton of bad landings. Ive been so lucky as to only break 3d printed parts. The main metal frame is still looking good, has some scratches, but everything seems snug after a few butt landings, tip overs, and wet muddy wipeouts. It’s almost as if the 3d parts are sacrificed to spare the aluminum. Anyway, once youre dialed in on take offs and landings, i dont see an issue. I havent broken anything in a while now and im always disassembling and reassembling the kit too
Yes
I had to reinforce my frame. I welded on sockets with gussets instead of pins for the carbon fiber rods to slot into. I also pop riveted on some anchor points to attach cable ties to hold it all together better.
Sounds like a good plan. Should be easy enough to reinforce ourselves if needed. Thanks.
I agree on the sacrificial nature of the 3d parts. I’m not entirely sure if it’s by design, but it’s worked out that way for me, for sure.
I’m not a great pilot. I still struggle with consistent take-offs and landings. To date over the years, I’ve cooked one landing super badly, completely ruining my frame and nearly every single one of the connecting parts (only the electronics and harness survived), but I was uninjured. Though that was an original v1 frame.
Bought a v2 frame, and it’s survived a handful of imperfect landings without issue (including another significant landing impact that broke a large portion of the spars/hoop), and has been a marked improvement over the v1. Mine is slightly tweaked from my mistakes, but it’s minor and doesn’t impact usability at all. Just the hoop isn’t perfectly in alignment if you look close enough from the side.
I have a whole other new frame to eventually swap over to once I’m able to land 50+ times on my feet without any difficulties.
In comparison to my other unit which has a titanium frame from another manufacturer; that one seems much studier, and has certainly taken a few bumps with absolutely zero fanfare and is still perfectly straight. IMHO, the OpenPPG frame is more sensitive to hard landings than some others, but it’s also super lightweight, easy to repair (esp. when it’s just a 3d part to replace), and way less expensive than alternatives, even if you have to get a full replacement.
Thanks Chris. Much appreciated.
did you learn on your SP140? I’ve only had 2 flights so far, both on a petrol. Hoping to get many more flights in the next couple weeks.
I think I’m willing to take the risk of progressing my skills on the sp140 even if I might take a few more bumps to the frame.
Can you show pictures of your mods?
I’d say I’m still learning, even though I’ve technically been training for years. But yes, my first flight was on the SP140, with my second on a petrol unit. I’d guesstimate I’m only at maybe 50 flights total right now (~40 of those on the SP140); just had large gaps between flights due to some unrelated bad luck.
My only complaint about my particular (v1) unit is the throttle having almost no resistance / being overly easy to depress. It’s fine in the air, but while running on the ground I find it difficult to smoothly control. I’ve read that they’ve updated the more recent controllers regarding that feedback from folks, so I look forward to upgrading.
But I’ve preferred the SP140 for my training, by far. The only benefit my petrol unit has is flight duration. That is literally it. I mean, I love fun motor noises and the joy of a simple mechanical engine as much as the next guy, but that’s not really what I’m looking for in my paramotoring.
When I’m able to realistically hit two hour flight averages with my personal setup and without trying to be overly efficient / gentle throttle the entire flight, it’ll hit every checkbox for me.