Open PPG first flight - YouTube. Had a problem with one of my Bonka batteries. It won’t balance charge, so I got in my first two short flights with only two batteries. Looks like I got a bad battery. My first flight was about 6 minutes and the second was about 4 minutes, so 10 minutes total. My throttle read 44% power left when I landed. Thrust was perfectly straight, no torque. It was a weird feeling for me with 3,200 other flights with braking for torque compensation. I imagine the first pilots flying jets had that feeling after flying propeller powered planes. VERY low vibration, pretty much zero, even less than a well balanced prop on a tuned up gas engine. I left my ear cups open (clicked out) on my helmet to check for noises. At 50% throttle, my cruise power, I think I could have talked on my cell phone.
Hey Bill,
Thx for sharing!
It will be interesting to see how many of the “Old Guys” are making the switch to electric.
I am waiting on my batch 3 Pre built!
Maybe see you this winter.
Namaste
John
Hey John!
It’s been such a long time, 20 yrs…glad to see you are still flying! Two reasons I got involved: first, I’m tired of the hassles of gas engines, second, I have two ppg friends that are really good at electrical engIneering and they are happy to help. This is the future. And like the smart phone, it’s only going to get better in the future. Today’s flight was a bit weird… no mixing gas, no preflight check of muffler mounts and no torque compensation with the brakes at launch, throttle is a push down not a squeeze. It only took a minute or two to adapt. Just attach the battery and arm it. Looks like my props may have slipped also, they show signs I need to tighten the bolts a bit. Hope all is well with you, buddy.
Bill
Bill,
I saw Rob Catto at Oshkosh this year. He told me about this Open PPG thing. I had never heard of it before.
I figured if Rob believed in it, I was worth looking into. 4 Days later I bought in!
Feels like when we started back in the 90’s. Nobody had heard of it. Fledgling industry! Flying old Solo’s with stock exhaust, no redrive, screaming at 6000 rpm.
I used to travel with that stinky Solo in my camper, sniffing those fumes, No wonder< I drank so much beer!
It feels good to invest in these guys and help promote Electric PPG’s.
Please keep posting info on your flights.
I, and many others are watching daily for any morsel of info.
Fly safe,
John
You may want to check your wing/connection points, this leading edge “shift” never equalized in the video:
Thanks for the recommendation, Adam. Yes, I noticed that, too. It was concerning . You are the only one to make a comment on it so far. It was the first time I’d flown with that harness. Looks like something is out of adjustment. I’ll check it out.
Bill
Maybe a line check is a good idea
Bill and OPPG Community!
Last night, after a 4 yr hiatus from flying, I flew an Oppg Electric!
And
It was not mine!
With the incredible generosity of Nick Antenacio, I, 1st flew his 2 stroke Blackhawk motor and wing.
Ezee Pezee after 4 yrs.
Had a great time flew for an hour and landed with a few ounces of gas.
Then, he says “Are you ready?”
“For What?”
“To fly the electric, dumbass!”
Well I was stoked, and with the butterflies settling, I strapped in.
Jeez! This thing sure is light! I had to ask if there were 4 batteries. Yep!
Now to complicate things and add a little pressure to the situation…
We have this right “Thumb” throttle thingy.
And… a “Splitty” (split leg harness)
And… a Zoomy fast wing
And…10 minutes till sunset!
I was so busy the butterflies couldn’t get near me.
I wasted no time, brought the wing up, everything felt good, and I aborted!
That thumb throttle, with the A riser tucked behind it, takes a bit to get used to.
2nd attempt. No problem !
Now, 10 minutes before this I am flying a 2 stroke and a beginner wing…
Throttle up… wing lags behind, you have gyroscopic precession, and assymetric blade thrust.
You end up looking slightly to the left, and the wing is in a slight right bank.
Everything normal in 2 stroke land!
Well! That is “not” happening with this Electric motor!
You are rock solid steady, in a Full Power climb! with165 lbs Thrust! Straight ahead, and I mean “straight” !! Full power climb.
None of this weight shift, and apply opposite brake to maintain your climb heading like you do on a 2 stroke with a big prop.
The more I hammered full throttle, the more exciting the flying experience became.
For all the hot shot pilots out there, when you experience the application of full power, you feel like you were shot out of a cannon, straight forward!
This is going to bring a totally different flying experience to carving out low turns, pylon racing, and foot dragging.
My OPPG Electric should be here in a few weeks.
I will thoroughly wring it out, and bring you some detailed flight reports.
Until then…
Namaste
John
Pilots,
This is the future!
Oppg is in Google news on Hackaday site
And that’s how I got here! Can’t wait for batch 4 to open up.
Looks like you had a knotted line - maybe an “A” or “B” in the upper cascade. Careful about that or you could be eating your leading edge, especially you have a high angle of attack and suddenly let go the throttle - hard to see on the video. Be safe!
Hey All,
Video (Unedited) from last Sunday night.
VID 20180916 190753
OPPG flyby last Sunday
Glad to hear you had a great first experience with electric ppg, John. It’s a new world, and the future of ppg is only going to get better.
Yes, Voltaire, I examined my lines after watching the video and found I had a knot in my A lines that caused them to be 2" shorter. Whew…as much as I try to do my best to preflight, there’s always a chance I miss something. Let’s all be careful out there!