The OpenPPG folding design makes transportation really easy. I was thinking of taking this design one step further by creating a scooter-paramotor variation.
This will allow people to use it as an electric scooter for daily errands or to reach nearby takeoff/landing spots for flying without depending on a car for ground transportation.
Modifications required:
use motors as wheels in scooter mode and as fans in paramotor mode. Requires adding wheel attachments, shortening motor-holding arms (till the motors) and replacing the large safety ring with smaller quadcopter safety cages (removable in scooter mode).
use main center plate and motor arms as a 4-wheeled chair in scooter mode. Requires stand to fold in to the top of the center plate.
Turning and changing direction in scooter mode can be achieved the same way as a quadcopter, ie, varying the speed of wheels individually.
Unfortunately the RPM is too high and torque too low for direct drive. Would need a gear or belt to drop the RPM and increase the torque. I’ve tried it with other drone motors before and unfortunately doesn’t work so well.
Somewhat related, I’ve thought about doing an EPPG trike with electric motors driving the wheels. While not geared for general around town mobility this would help with PPG launches.
You could have two throttle systems (or make it smarter and integrate the two based on being on the ground or in the air). The powered wheels would allow you to launch forward and get the paraglider above your head without blowing it around. The props would only engage just as you are about to lift off. On landing the wheels would allow easy taxing and transport.
Of course the extra wheel motors etc would add to the weight while flying but this might be a fun experiment for an electric flying “car”.
I’m totally all over the trike/flying car idea. There have been at least 3 ppg/ppc flying cars that have come to market with varying success over the past years. Very good idea. It would take some thinking and doing to integrate the motors into the wheels but they wouldn’t need to be that big or powerful to make this a useful vehicle. Scooter laws allow up to 20mph without a permit/license. Cool for getting to the flying field and back (if you live close to one). I’ve got the Grazhopper trike I’m putting the openppg on (bad knees). I’d love to make that a mini flying car!
I always hezitatated throttling up before the wing was above my head because I didn’t want the wing “blowing around”. I’ve seen that happen with trikes and it doesn’t look good. But then my friend taught me to give it full throttle as soon as the lines are tight and it pops the wing up without blowing it around. So it makes perfect sense to power the trike wheels to get the lines tight. The wing comes up nice and clean and straight that way even in dead wind.
Yes, the two throttle system would be great even if it added a bit of weight. It would definitely make taking off and landing less scary for regular people. The city scooter concept is my (lame) attempt at creating an entry point for people who otherwise would dismiss paramotoring as an extreme sport . Statistically, at least, paramotoring is no more dangerous than motorcycling. I would be happy enough if it could replace a few e-bikes in the cycle lane, not necessarily compete with cars and motorcycles on regular roads.
. Statistically, at least, paramotoring is no more dangerous than motorcycling. I would be happy enough if it could replace a few e-bikes in the cycle lane, not necessarily compete with cars and motorcycles on regular roads.