I think OpenPPG should advertise for packages for converting trikes using the SP140. The thrust specs are good enough for small trikes. Things you would need to add is a throttle option for cross control tube and possible an option for mount 2 bat packs for paralleling as trikes can carry more weigh.
I know I will be looking into it once my Training with my Solo’s are completed.
Aerolite 103 now has an E option:
3 bat option (45min) $11,850
So Open PPG system very competitive.
General Info on the Propulsion System:
The standard system uses a sensorless brushless PMAC (Permanent Magnet Alternating Current) motor, an advanced motor controller with temp sensing and configurable displays, and ruggedized batteries with BMS. It offers ~20kW continuous and up to 25kW peak power and 5.2kWh of energy. The entire drive system weighs about 30 lbs. Each battery weighs just under 36 lbs. If you use 2 batteries the complete system (controller, cables, and throttle) weighs 101 pounds. With 3 batteries the complete system is 137 pounds and with 4 batteries it is 173 pounds.
Motor:
The motor is designed for a maximum of 2000 RPM’s. Maximum continuous power is ~15kW and maximum peak power is >25kW. Voltage is 72 Volts DC nominal.
Controller:
The controller has a continuous power rating of ~25kW and a peak power rating of ~30kW. Controller voltage is 72 Volts DC nominal. The controller has over and under voltage protections as well as motor and controller thermal limit protections. The controller can also be connected to a display or app to view EFIS type information.
Batteries
Each battery uses a total of 240 Samsung 30Q cells. These are configured in 20 cells in series to get the 72v and then 12 series strings in parallel to achieve the desired capacity. The battery is managed by a BMS with over and under voltage and temperature limits. The battery is fully potted in a weatherproof poly-urea compound which makes it extremely tough and durable. These batteries should provide more than 500 cycles at >80% original capacity in normal flight profiles.
Batteries: 20s x 12p
Voltage: 20s (72VDC nominal)
Amperage: 36Ah
Energy: 2.6kWh
Power: 15kW
Weight: 36 lbs.
Size: 5.75” x 5.75” x 13”
Again - OpenPPG looking much better priced but the optioning for Geiger is very flexible
They have a really nice dual motor option - someday when we are using electric to go over mountains or bodies of water it will be nice to have redundant system.
PPG trikes make a bit more sense and I know there are already some people working to mod theirs to electric.
I’ve owned ultralights before and the main issue you run into is finding an efficient enough airframe that allows you to do cross country flying at 50kts and still get 1hr+ flight time while staying under the FAR103 250 lb weight limit.
It’s nice not having those batteries on your back but unless you want to go the experimental route it gets tight.
hi, i would definitely do a test on the floor before you consider using a sp 140 for a microlight. 2 battery packs and 15 minutes with 15 kilowatts load the motor and esc. at an air temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. attached to a rod, tree or similar. if the motor and esc survived then it is suitable. if he switches off with this load, i would not build an ultralight flight project with it. if he manages it, the price of the sp 140 can be compared with geiger and others. if not, you can’t compare because it’s not the same performance class.
I think so as well. Single seat trikes though. Once you get to the 2 seaters it is a large increase in weight even before including the second person.
I know my current motor mount would take very little to mod and mount the SP140 using its current configuration of the bracket that would hold the battery. Now for myself, I would want two packs, mounting 2nd battery I have room on the other side of frame right behind the other battery. So it might be possible to mount using pieces of current SP140 frame to this…maybe, not sure how that controller and battery frame breaks down but it would be nice just to use existing material to double pack mount without any new designing,
Since most single seat trikes are using paramotors engines the retrofit should be similarly simple using the current SP140 structure.
I think the biggest adoption hurdle might be in the throttle - Flexwing Trikers(FT) for the most part I’ve seen use a foot throttle but I believe that is because thats how the trike designers found the simplest way to go for ICE configuration. Many FT use a comm PTT on the control bar so having another wire for the throttle on the control bar should not feel different. A control bar throttle makes more sense to me and having the cruise built into that one location would convenient as well.
Thats enough of a rant for me – more or less just want to say the the SP140 is a great design and should be easy to adapted to other small aircraft but more so to the single seat flexwing trikes.
I’m currently considering a new motor for my Fly Products Flash Cruiser PPG trike. I was looking at the Polini Thor 303 ICE but I’m thinking Electric would be a lot more fun. It is both a tandem and solo trike depending on where you put your hang points. I was wondering about the SP140 with potentially 2 of the long 1hr range battery packs since weight is not as big of a factor. Sure keeping under 254lbs but that’s easy. The frame of a Fly Products Rider Foot Launch motor goes straight onto the 45lb Flash Cruiser trike system so either I could adapt an 80lb SP140 with frame to the trike mounts or just put the motor on the current frame. It would weigh about 120/130lbs for the unit + around 20lbs for the tandem wing but I don’t think I’d need it. I have a solo wing I use for the existing ICE unit and its 140lbs with fuel. The videos I’ve seen compare the SP140 to a Air Conception Nitro 200cc or even the Tornado 280cc which is more thrust than my current Simonini Mini 2 (202cc). I’d be curious what the risks would be. Thoughts?
I would like to also include (electric hardware like throttle options ) for the powered hang glider harness type options for flex and rigid wing hang gliders. These can fit into the FAR part 103 category more easily than some nanolight trikes. One example would be an electric Swedish Aerosports Mosquito type harness, similar to what Tony Roth has done with Geiger systems https://toniroth.com/. Another would be an electrified Doodlebug type harness formerly by Ben Ashman of Flylight Aerosports [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc-oylmYPp0 . And a third but not exclusive option would be similar to this Geiger electrified Schwarze Minimum from Germany https://vimeo.com/560531102. These could use various throttle control types including mouth and bar mount, among others.
There are some pretty fascinating (hang glider) soaring trikes out there now. A lot of the most interesting ones are mounted to, or developed by, AIR ATOS.
I second bratwurst’s suggestion, and would really like to see the results both with single large battery and two large batteries. Any plans for something like this Paul or Zac?
