Paul B & Braedin B (GliderPilot & Glydrfreak) Flights & Build Modifications

My entire flight today was over water! I even took off from the water! Here’s the GPS of my flight to prove it:

Well, it is winter in Utah so here is what the reservoir looks like:

Flat powdery snow for a mile!

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Cool!!! Looks beautiful

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Braedin @glydrfreak doing a speed test in between flights… 44 mph.

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Instead of wires hanging through the rear plate I created surface mount holders for the XT-150 connectors:


Xt 150 Mount - Base Red or Black.stl (160.8 KB)



Xt 150 Mount - Black Middle.stl (141.9 KB)
Xt 150 Mount - Red Middle.stl (142.7 KB)



Xt 150 Mount - Black Face.stl (704.4 KB)
Xt 150 Mount - Red Face.stl (690.3 KB)

The black mounts through a 1/2” hole while the red is designed to fit the existing square hole.

Assemble with M3x25 bolts with nuts.

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I created a hinge for the harness by running the straps through only the top hole in the front plate. I had to remove the standoffs to route the straps this way:

The harness was leveraging on the front plate when folded up and bending the carbon because there wasn’t a standoff so I designed a 3D printed standoff:

Here is the file:
Harness Strap Standoff.stl (598.3 KB)

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I designed some rails to quickly install the batteries. I printed these parts standing on end so that layer adhesion wouldn’t create any weak spots and I used PETG because it is both stronger and has better layer adhesion than PLA. PETG also sticks well to the print bed so I didn’t have any problems printing them standing up. They are riveted on with 1/8” rivets and a 4 mm bolt at the bottom where all of the weight rests.

I used 14” long 120 pound zip ties to attach the sliders to the batteries.

The sliders are curved to allow the batteries to swell more than mine currently are. I put thin foam tape at each end (yellow circles) to hold them from sliding:


I placed the rails 120mm apart on centers and 3mm up from the bottom of the carbon.

Here are the files:
T-Bar and Miter Track - Top.stl (604.6 KB)
T-Bar and Miter Track - Middle Top.stl (151.4 KB)
T-Bar and Miter Track - Middle Bottom.stl (151.4 KB)
T-Bar and Miter Track - Bottom.stl (142.4 KB)
T-Bar and Miter Track - Slider.stl (57.7 KB)

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Thanks for sharing the files. It’s nice that you positioned the batteries up high on the back plate. That way they will feel lighter when being carried on your back. Well done.

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I talked GliderPilot into coming up to my house to show me his OpenPPG electric paramotor.

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I really like the way you can mount your four bonka’s … it’s almost as quick and simple as my mount :stuck_out_tongue:

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Thanks for letting me fly from your beautiful backyard and for letting me demo your wing! I love the video!

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what?`that was his backyard?
let’s all meet there and fly :slight_smile:

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Well, technically it’s a golf course. Can’t imagine why nobody was golfing though! It was a beautiful evening!

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One of my first and favorite improvements I made to my OpenPPG last summer was quick latches for the arms. They automatically click lock when the arms are folded out and quick release with one finger to fold the arms back in. At the top of this thread you can see the original ones I made out of Lexan. I decided to test a 3D printed version which would make it available to more people. They simply pop rivet into holes that are already in the frame. I printed them with PETG and they work great!

Here is the file:
Arm Quick Latch.stl (170.8 KB)

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a very good solution according to the KISS principle (Keep It Simple and Stupid)

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Did you do solid in the prints?

I will need to order some PETG in orange to keep my colour scheme going or do you think the PLA will work?

Cheers

Are the snap latches prone to breaking while the craft is in the folded position? They seem a bit exposed.

Yes, I printed them solid. Yes, PLA should work fine.

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They aren’t really all that exposed while folded. But if you ever break one just print a replacement.

Also, keep in mind that during flight there isn’t any stress on these because the thrust holds the arms open. The hoop will also hold the arms open. They are more a setup aid than anything. So if you broke one on the way to go fly I wouldn’t let that stop you from flying.

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I redesigned my hinge stops to be more narrow and contour the hinge better:

Here are the files:
Hinge Stops - Top.stl (110.6 KB)
Hinge Stops - Bottom.stl (110.6 KB)

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Here is an update to the pre-charge knob. I made it stronger and adjusted the orientation to be straight.

I recommend using a 10 ohm resistor or less with it.

Here are the files:
Pre-Charge Knob - Knob.stl (1.9 MB)
Pre-Charge Knob - Shell.stl (391.5 KB)
Pre-Charge Knob - Hub.stl (295.5 KB)

Also a link to the resistor I am using now:
http://d.digikey.com/R00N0o9XR71000k0SfKaHpH

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