My gondola is complete - just need a couple of shackles to attach my HobbyKing parafoil.

Thanks to Inventing_man for the thoughtful donation of the basic airframe. It is used with just a few modifications. I have added a floor, motor/electronics riser & prop guard.

My goal was to complete this project without spending a penny - using what I already have laying around. I only came up short with the shackles (where are all the freebie lanyards when you need them).

AUW is a bit hefty @ 62 oz. I don't think that will be a problem, from what I've read.

I believe I've got the parafoil AOA adjusted properly. As they say, there's only one way to find out ......

Looking Good...

Here are some specs -

Parafoil - HK 2.15M parafoil. Had bought months ago - just 'cuz it looked cool!

Airframe -
Body by inventing_man.
Floor & motor/electronics riser from a "found" road sign
Spreader bar from a railing picket
Prop guard from some roof edge metal

Motor - Turnigy TR 35-36A 1450 kv.
Turning an APC 11X5.5 watt meter showed 450W @ 46A.
Took out of my sailplane after it started acting up intermittently.
Should be OK, as I don't think I'll ge getting up to 2000' AGL with this model ....

ESC - 50A no-name.
Came from my HK T-45. It overheated & shut down, causing a crash - so it was banished from my EDF.
I'm willing to give it another shot with this rig.

Servos - HK15288A. 9kg torque, BB, MG. Made 3" servo arms & set up for 50mm down throw.
I needed one for my F-14 swing wing a while back & bought extras.

Rx - Airtronics 6 channel park flyer. Wasn't currrently flying anything small that I would keep close in, so it wasn't being used.

Battery - will use my existing 2200/20C or 2450/20C

Shackles - purchased new for a total cost of $3.18, tax included.

Now time to go fly & get my money's worth out of this build ...

AWESOME Gator ! Hope it flys as good as it looks !
The frame is a replica of Chad Bastian's Trike Buggy Bullet. Only in a quad configuration, which Chad Does not build. If your looking to get into real trike PPG flying, The Trike buggy should be at the top of your list. All stainless steal and tough as nails with many being flown . The RC frame Gator has, is all aluminum however.
Gator after looking at the close up photos you may need to get the brake lines out of the risers . They need to be free from anything that could cause them to hang .

Well, the maiden didn't go so well ....

Paraglider maiden FAIL - HobbyKing 2.15M Parafoil (1 min 40 sec)

I need to spend some time repairing some strings & I'm going to change the AOA by increasing the distance between the C & D rings.

I'll take a look at how the brake lines are run, as mentioned by inventingman. I had strung the line thru the D ring, just to keep them from getting loose & sucked into the prop.

Also, I think think the width of the motor/electronics riser is blocking a lot of air from the prop. At 400+ watts, she seemed to making noise but slowly going down without much forward motion. So, I'll pull the riser and skinny it up - ending up with the servos almost touching each other.

Hi Gator , When you get your wing repaired .You might want to test fly the wing like I tried to explane on the HK forum. ( I think it started a riot and why I no longer participate in that forum) Its Rigging it up to fly like a 4 line power kite. Very simple. I posted a vid . If you can get the wing to kite over your head like it would be in flight over the trike, in a good smooth, steady breeze and it remain there, with little input from you . You are good to go . Its simple. If the wing wont kite over your head and steady with little input , Its not going to fly, no way no how. Some on the HK forum Just didn't seem to understand that very basic point about paragliders..
If it constantly pulls hard to one side needing constant corrections Then more tweeking is needed. You will never get a sucessful flight out of it in this condition . You wont be able to react fast enough,and instead induce PIO, stall and crash.
This will also get you familure with how the wing exactly reacts to inputs. I'de say Kite it for a days outing to just get familure with it. It dosent take much brake to produce radical changes to the flight dynamics . Watch how little you really pull the brakes when kiting it over your head. Its a very fast reacting wing as my kiting test have shown me. It is way easy to over control and stall this wing. AND I'm being honest here , The wing I got from HK was sewn crooked, and bad . It has 2 pronounced creases in the wings surface that are caused by poor sewing and warps the wing. I had to jocky the risers WAY much to get it to fly even half right. Maybe some wings are good , Mine wasnt I gave it to the kids fly in kite mode. Not going to be hanging RC gear from this one to be sure.
The HQ wings are MUCH better quality wings for about the same price.
Yes, "Swiss Cheese" that mounting plate. And Hot glue some long tubes for the brake lines to run through at the prop shroud.

Inventing Man is right, the HobbyKing foil is a mess as it comes to you (for admittedly a very low price). However, it just doesn't want to fly because of the AoA problem (you'd think they corrected that over the 2 years or so it is on the market) and the lack of basic stability (it won't kite).
Over at HobbyKing a guy calling himself Beladog bashes everyone who dares to point this out. He did the basic design for a nice gondola that then some Chinese sheet metal guy turned into a pretty well made kit that should work great with a properly designed parafoil. Just like you guys I don't post at the HK forum any more because Beladog is such a douche.
Maybe someone else than Beladog can post foil modifications that get this thing to have a chance to be flown by the great unwashed masses and not only by some gifted tinkerers.

Well after I sorted the wing on my own , On top of that riser mod they talk about on HK . I did get a fun power kite out of the deal . On a good breezey day it flys ok enough to be fun as a 4 line power kite, but very quirky with the badly sewn creases in it. To quirky to be of RC quality use . Again, maybe some of the wings HK sells are sewn OK and with the riser mod they published and actually fly Ok . It should Kite over you head and be stable with little control in a good smooth steady breeze no turbulence , rotor, and such. Really thats the only way to test it , before you waste your gear on it crashing all the time.
I have a Full size paraglider , and kite it often. I also have a 4 meter 4 line quality made power kite that I hook up to my paraglider harness. I use the brake lines just like on a full size paraglider . I kite it in strong conditions to quicken my reflexes .
Yes. contrary to HK forum belief , A power kite WILL kite over your head , Just like a paraglider will. And Its Fun as hell in strong conditions. Really got to be on your toes. The HK 2 meter foil Should do the same . If it wont.... Theres no way it will fly under RC control....NONE
With All my tweeking I got the HK to over head kite for a few seconds , then it suddenly wants to turn left . Correct it, get it back over head , hangs there for a few seconds and suddenly back to the left again ...every time .. always to the left . Thats because the wing was sewn warped. The riser adjustment is SO way beyond what they publish Its funny ! Just to get it to this point of being a semi decent power kite . Its the best I can do with it, and I was ALL over the riser adjustments ,This is the best from the one I got, will do, and thats no where good enough for RC use.
Again H Q foils are a LOT better quality wing for just a few dollars more, if you found yourself with a bum wing.
But you will need to shorten the leading edge lines by about 1 inch . Use weight shift (servos) pulling on the risers, Or add brake lines , because these are 2 line kites , not 4 line.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=new

Well, she got airborne - if only for a moment until gravity slowly worked its' magic.

Paraglider attempt #2 - HobbyKing 2.15M Parafoil (1 min 29 sec)

Since the maiden, I lightened her up by 4 oz. (down to 58 oz.) by removing a lot of the alum. sheet on the floor & riser. This also opened up the airflow to the prop.

I also re-rigged the AOA, by extending the gap from A ring to D ring to 70mm, which is about as far as you can.

It appears to my inexperienced eye the AOA is now good, as the foil appears to be holding above the buggy - something it wouldn't do on the maiden.

It seems to me she just doesn't have enough "oomph" to sustain flight. I'm guessing still too much weight and perhaps not enough motor/prop.

Moving forward, I'm going to remove more weight where I can (maybe even going to a single front wheel) to get the gondola as light as possible withoug a major rebuild. I'm also going to put on a new prop, as the current one had the tips missing from bashing around during the maiden & had an effective diameter of only about 10".

I would welcome any thoughts or suggestions after reviewing the video....

When you suspend the trike from the hang points, how does the trike hang? Nose up or down ?
Bigger prop to 12 inch , and a motor to pull it

Yeah, I'm going to check the balance - my buddy already suggested that. I had her just a tad noseheavy, but I think I'll rebalance to neutral after I get done stripping more weight off.

I hear ya on the motor/prop, but I'm trying to do this project without spending any new money - just using what I already have. If I end up having to build a new gondola, I'll make the prop ring larger to accomodate a 12" & just won't use full throttle (1450 kv motor). I'm still hopeful I can get this thing to perform with the current motor/prop @ 450W

Thanks for the input.

Hi Chaps,
I'm playing around with the same foil and have had many crashes due to lack of control and I think a too light Gondola.
Yesterday after yet another repair job I had a little success, I added some ballast and I had the faintest control.

this was the best flight

Para Motor Best flight yet! (0 min 49 sec)

Then this happened ..LOL

Last Flight of the MK1 para motor! (1 min 53 sec)

I have been making a MKII version which should withstand a few hard landings out of alloy tube. Will also give me that extra bit of weight I seem to of been lacking.

All good fun though..watching with great interest

Rich

Originally Posted by gatorlynch

Yeah, I'm going to check the balance - my buddy already suggested that. I had her just a tad noseheavy, but I think I'll rebalance to neutral after I get done stripping more weight off.

I hear ya on the motor/prop, but I'm trying to do this project without spending any new money - just using what I already have. If I end up having to build a new gondola, I'll make the prop ring larger to accomodate a 12" & just won't use full throttle (1450 kv motor). I'm still hopeful I can get this thing to perform with the current motor/prop @ 450W

Thanks for the input.

You want it slightly nose up Gator , about 1/2 inch from level.
On level ground , Hook it up and pull up. Adjust the riser attachment untill the nose wheels come up first about a 1/2 inch before the rears leave the ground .
If you can find some smooth pavement , might try some taxi test with the wing on and see what happens durring inflation .

Rich -

Awesome looking MKII - I envy your design/fabrication skills!

What was your AUW on MKI? Do you know yet what MKII will weigh in at?

What is you motor/prop size?

What AOA spacing are you using - the distance from your A to D rings?

Good luck & keep us updated with your efforts.

Tim

Hi,

I see this video on youtube:

Hobby King paraglider foil Grant and Ishardi.avi (5 min 29 sec)

and how to setup the AOA:

http://s800.photobucket.com/albums/y...t=100_0150.jpg

Or more radical, re-string:



And 2 test in flight:

Flying test HK Paraglider Parafoil 2.15m with new rigging (2 min 6 sec)

Happy landings,

PopaD