it’s physics. the system is very heavy and the geometry of the frame is designed for pilots from 80 kilograms+, if a heavy engine or motor/ batterie is used.
if you use short swinging arms the scales are right. but the flying pleasure is not good because the carabiner is too close to your shoulder and you cannot pull down the brakes as usual with ppg. then you have to pull forward or sideways.
there are solutions:
the battery has to be mounted lower and closer to the center of gravity like a fueltank at gasoline ppg. the motor must be closer to the back and a spacer must be used for propeller clearance. then even very light and small pilots can fly with a heavy motor and battery without any problems.
If you have the heavier 1 hour battery and your weight is at 150lbs - it will create a balance issue. The counterweight (battery) is too heavy or you are too light and will need to find a way to better distribute your body weight with the battery weight, otherwise you will be looking the seagulls all the time with your knee caps in front of your eyeballs.
If you have the half hour battery as I do ( I will eventually get a second one) for the counterweight and comfort reason. The closer to connections on the Swan Necks to the shoulder the less comfortable it will become as the risers will be too close to your chest and not have enough clearance/freedom of movement and it will start digging into your armpits. You need some space in this area to be well seated. The way you have it set up will also not work because you have actually not moved the center of gravity (blue) relative to the original location"A". Yes the bracket was moved but the hooking point is still at the same place.
You need to find a way to move “A” to “B” on the photo.
I weigh the same you do and look at my brackets location on the Swan Necks.
The cage angle is perfectly set for a center of thrust almost completely parallel to the ground during a hang-test.
Paul is aware that the lighter guys are having this same issue, so the next batch of arms will allow for the collar to be moved back even more without going halfway down the bar.
Ya another lighter pilot had a similar issue as you (he was 130lbs and also using the large battery)
I think i was so focused on designing it for us big Americans that i really over looked making sure it was still nicely setup for the “lighter weight” guys out there (you’re not ever really light weight though ) I would say right now the middle point of the bars would be best for a 210lbs person and really they middle should be for a 180lbs person. The bars could balance a 340lbs person in the range and not a 150lbs, ya a little too much focus on supporting heavy guys.
The good new is there is a few ways to fix this:
Swap out the current bars for a different goose neck bar design (the test bars are getting made right now) I think the geometry can work and be just as comfortable as the current ones. Once the new bars are made I’ll send them to the lighter weight pilots that need them, no cost to you guys
Move the motor forward a bit, this can be done as there is room and ESC cooling is not a problem so the motor can be moved closer to the esc. There is still plenty of clearance between the prop and the frame so I would feel comfortable doing that. It is an easy adjustment to be made as just some shorter standoff spacer are needed. Can move it forward 15mm before running into any problems.
The other thing that can be done is getting a longer shackle between the harness and gooseneck bar. If you could imagine allowing the bar to pivot higher up it would make the hang point if attached were it currently is mover back farther to the center of gravity.
I’m fine with trying 2-3 to start, and would like different swing arms.
(note I think someone cross threaded one of the swing arm rings, I only loosened enough to move it, and noticed one side was crunchy and the other smooth. turns out the crunchy side had a bunch of aluminum falling out. I’ll need to get another ring to be safe.
fix 2 - Where do I get the shorter standoffs? Fix 3 - where do I get longer shackles?
also waiting on feedback on damages on frame and battery during shipping)
The saga continues…lol. I appreciate you making it right.
@Pdwhite
Bump.
Can you provide me information on fix2,fix3. hopefully that’s enough to get me in the air until new bars are on the way. Do we have an ETA on the new bars as well? I’m hoping this season (it get’s cold in October) is not a waste so time is of the essence.
Thanks!
I joked earlier but seriously can you not add ballast? Maybe just some weight in your lap would do it. Might be a lot to run a zero wind launch but you might get in the air under the right conditions.
Hi @Pdwhite , Do you have shorter swing arms you can send me? - I have the same problem here (75Kg pilot) - I replaced the motor standoffs to bring the motor ~15mm closer in, but have reached the limit of what I can do with the hang points, and still have a backwards lean of around 30 degrees…
Thanks
Would love to know if the newer arms ever got made and confirmed to work with lighter folks. I’m 145-150 and just ordered an SP140… Just now seeing this thread and am a tad concerned.
I’m not moving the battery… 75% of why I’m excited about this setup is the weight being high and centered making it so much more maneuverable and better to handle on the ground. That was my experience with the X4 and it was revelatory compared to my Moster setup.
Wow neat idea - Did you move the motor and ESC closer, or leave them where they were?
Also, did you need a longer battery cable?
I’ll have a play around and see what works…
) I would say right now the middle point of the bars would be best for a 210lbs person and really they middle should be for a 180lbs person. The bars could balance a 340lbs person in the range and not a 150lbs, ya a little too much focus on supporting heavy guys.
