Why
fly a Paramotor?
See how powered paragliders stack up against other ultralights
The
aircraft listed below each have advantages and disadvantages.
No one aircraft does everything well. There are always
trade offs, even with Powered Paragliders. The chart below
ranks aircraft in 6 categories. A rating of 5 is the
best, 1 is the worst.
| |
easy
to
set up |
runway
required |
easy
to
learn |
easy
to
transport |
weather
constrants |
top
speed |
| Powered
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paramotor |
5 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
| Powered
Parachute |
3 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
Hang
Glider Trike |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
Gyrocopter |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
Powered
Hang Glider |
2 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
Fixed
Wing Ultralight |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
| Unpowered |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Paraglider |
5 |
NA |
3 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
| Hang
Glider |
3 |
NA |
2 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
Paramotors
Powered Paragliders are the
most convenient, easy to fly, and affordable aircraft available
today. No other aircraft that lets you skim the ground
as safely and legally. Whether you are launching in sand or
snow, you can get airborne in a few
steps. The trade off is that paramotoring is limited to relatively
smooth air and has a top speed of 37 mph. Long distance
flights in a paramotor is not at practical as in other aircraft.
Powered
Parachutes
Powered Parachutes
are slightly easier to learn to fly than
PPG's, but the feeling is much less like
flying.
The PPC wing is less efficient than the more
sailplane like wing of a paraglider. PPC's
are expensive and require a trailer
for transport. They also need more room and
smoother surfaces to launch and land.
Hang Glider Trikes
Hang glider trikes are fun, easy
to fly, though not as easy as a paramotor. Hang glider trikes
are fast and handle a wider variety of conditions. Transporting
a trike requires a trailer and set up time runs around 40 minutes.
Hang glider trikes are usually based at an airport or ultralight
strip because of transport issues and because they require long
smooth runways. They can be expensive and are not as safe for
low flying due to their increased cruise speed.
Gyrocopters
Gyrocopter are amazing
aircraft. The range of speed and short field capabilities can
only be beat by a helicopter. However, the learning curve on
grycopters is the steepest, and its safety record is the worst
of all these aircraft. Gyrocopters require a trailer
for transport and set up time is similar to a hang glider trike.
Fixed Wing Ultralights
Fixed Wing Ultralights have
fallen out of favor for many reasons. You can find them collecting
dust in ultralight fields all over the world. Since they can't
be easily transported and require longer runways, fixed wings
suffer from the same limitations that effect regular general
aviation aircraft. They can only fly from airport to airport.
Paragliders
Soaring silently in ridge lift
or thermals in a paraglider is one of the most fantastic forms
of flight. The same paraglider wing used for paramotoring can be
used in paragliding or "free flight". All you need is
a free flight harness. However, paragliding is inherently more
dangerous than powered paragliding. Because they don't use motors,
paraglider pilots seek out lifting air, not the smooth stabile
air we prefer for powered paragliding. This lifting dynamic air
is more likely to cause a collapse, and if you are close to the
ground, which is often the case, the result could be a hard landing.
Hang Gliders
The founder of Lite Touch started
Hang Gliding back in 1973. Of all forms of flying, this is the
most birdlike. Hang gliding has a much steeper learning curve than
paragliding or powered paragliding. Set up time is long, around
20 minutes. Also, hang gliders do not fold up as small as paragliders
so transporting them requires a roof rack and shipping them can
be an ordeal. |
