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Electric Paramotor? realistic or not?

The Idea of an electric paramotor generates a lot of interest, several companies and individuals are building experimental electric paramotors using the latest technologies, but I have not yet seen anything that can compare to the power to weight ratio of a 2 stroke engine paramotor. The relatively low power and capacity of batteries is the main stumbling block, but battery technology is improving rapidly and development has the backing of big business so it is only time before it becomes feasible.

There are some good reasons to develop electric paramotors:

They will be quieter
Virtually maintenance free
Cheaper to run (the cost of recharging  will be much less that filling up with petrol)
Less damaging to the environment

In a recent survey in the US, 100% of all paraglider pilots that  responded said that they would consider using a paramotor if it were electric, it could be that  all paraglider pilots are ‘tree huggers’ or it could be that they think an Electric paramotor will be almost silent and light weight, but in fact about 80% of paramotor noise comes from the prop, generally longer props are used in the prototype electric motors because they are  more efficient, but they also produce more noise than short fat props. Take a look at the video of an electric paramotor at Marks paragliding pages, and turn the sound up and listen to the noise from the prop, go to; http://marksparaglidingpages.com/index.php?action=news&newsid=188 and click on Csaba talks about his Electric PPG. Sound familiar?

Maximise efficiency through a large propeller?

The weight of an electric paramotor is mainly down to the batteries as the electric motors and other controller parts are not as heavy as a two stoke engine, but the current battery packs weigh a lot more than a full tank of petrol.  Most prototypes are using  Lithium Ion batteries that are well proven and relatively inexpensive but have much less power (amp-hours) than Lithium Polymer batteries of the same weight. If  Lithium Ion batteries are used get a power output lets say 20Hp for two hours you would need more than 70Kg of batteries. Lithium Polymer batteries offer a better power to weight ratio but are very expensive, about £2000 worth of batteries will weigh about 20Kg and give you a 40 minute flight.

As for the maintenance costs when you factor in the cost of buying an expensive battery pack that will need to be replaced every so often, it is not so attractive.

The electric controller gives precise control over the power so It should be possible to have a direct drive rather than a reduction drive.

One of the most published projects - the electric paramotor built by Csaba Lemak, is built on the sturdy but lightweight WalkerJet frame and uses Lithium Polymer batteries, they are hoping to put these into production next year, but are relying on improvements in battery technology to make it feasible. If batteries continue to advance at the rate they have in recent times, it may become feasible in the near future.

The Electric paramotor built by Csaba Lemak

Road vehicle manufacturers largely sponsor research and development in batteries, as there is obviously much more to be gained financially here. It seems to me that the requirements for an electric motorcycle are very similar in terms of capacity to that of an electric paramotor, although weight is less of an issue, So watch developments in this area, only when electric motorcycles are common will it be cost effective to build electric paramotors.

The next Step – Solar Power

Silicon solar cells on the top surface of the wing could generate enough power to keep a battery topped up in flight, in which case only enough power to initially get you of the ground would be required from the battery. Is it possible? Computer says yes!

If anyone has any comments or thinks that something should be added to this, please Email me at sales@parashop.co.uk I plan to update this soon

More information:

http://www.electricppg.com/ElectricParagliding.htm

http://www.solarparaglider.com/

http://www.electricross.com/

http://marksparaglidingpages.com/index.php?action=news&newsid=188