Paramotor risers vs paraglider risers

I have a nova ion 4 which is made for both paragliding and paramotoring but they have a paramotor riser for the wing. My question is, do I need it? Is the only difference between the risers the trim? If so with a paramotor that has no torque I should not require this correct? If not then I save myself $300!

Someone else may be able to better answer your question. And I’ve never flown with risers that’ve had trims. However, I have seen videos talking about their use, specifically during takeoff, you would have trims up, so there is less of a risk of stalling after takeoff. Stalling right after takeoff is probably the most prone you can be to crashing, even for an experienced and conservative pilot in my opinion. I feel like that is the most dangerous phase of the flight because your wing is pitched back and your at or near full throttle, which is not a good mix. I know of several instances of this type of crash, and I’ve been wishing I had trims just for that reason.

Besides compensating for torque on one side, both trim tabs are often also used to give additional lift when taking off. Some pilots also use trim when they land. However, it does not appear to make much difference on some wing designs; hopefully yours falls into that category. Perhaps someone has paramotor experience with your wing and will reply.

Interesting, will have to ask some local paramotor guys see what they recommend. If someone else does have the Nova Ion wing with this OpenPPG let me know what you are using for risers and how they work.

Hello @dzubot
Trimmers on a paraglider are for DECREASING THE ANGLE OF ATTACK and GAINING SPEED.
All manufactures have instructions on how to use the trims, check your glider’s manual (should be online). Every glider is certified on a trim position and that’s the position you should fly all times, launch and land if you want to be in the certified range. Ex: I’m flying Ozone gliders and they all have a white line in the middle of the trimmer range and that’s the certified position. I only move the trimmers if I want more speed (open the trimmers) or if I want more lift for working thermals or land without any wind (close the trimmers).
If you follow you glider’s instructions it’s safe to use the trims. But keep in mind that altering the angle of attack = more dynamic behavior in case of colapse.
Using the trims to compensate for torque is just a “byproduct”. They are not there for this reason. And using for this is inefficient, torque only exists while using power. The moment you let go of the throttle the glider would start a turn to the other side. You would have to keep adjusting the trims all the time during the flight. Not the case with OpenPPG but it’s way more efficient to compensate for torque by moving your butt on the harness or crossing the legs.
I don’t recommend lauching with open trimmers (unless your manual says so, but I never saw such recommendation). You would have to run faster and also risk a front colapse.
Your glider is a free flight model and my guess is that the certified position is trimmers closed. But please check you glider’s manual that should be available in NOVA’s website.
Hope this helps!

This is very helpful thank you. I’ll then order the risers, once I get batch 4 and some flights will post how I find the system flies with paramotor riser vs normal risers.

Thanks all for advice!

Maybe will see batch 3 ship out on Black Friday and batch 4 pre orders open up! Can’t wait to get into this.

Hi dzubot,
Using Paul’s machine you would be flying your wing exactly as if towed up, and since a glider does not know the difference between pulling and pushing, and all PG wings can be towed up nowadays, you do not not need to bother with the trimmers. All the wings in this video and various brands are EN-A and DGAC certified and all can do both without the use of trimmers P2 TRAINING AND DRONES - YouTube

I hope that helped a bit.

Phil:)

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Hi Voltair, It does help thanks. Opinions on this seem to vary greatly, some say you must fly with them, others say they are not needed. I’ll just order them and try it both ways and report back how it flies on standard, vs paramotor risers.

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I am flying a Nova Prion 3, both freeflying and with a two stroke, gas powered paramotor engine.

It is certified, just like your ion, for both use cases. As all PPG pilots know, full thruttle on your ppg engine translates into lift / going upwards, and NOT going faster (unlike other aircrafts).
The engine pushes you forward, but since your hanging a couple of feet underneath your wing, you act as a pendulum with a forward swing increasing the angle of attack, which results in lift.

originally I only had the standard risers, then I purchased the motor-risers, that have those trimmers. I purchased them so that I could “compensate” the larger angle of attack. I can confirm that it does work.

Appreciate the input I’ve ordered them will try it both ways