Electric motors on Hang gliders; a love story - 4k 

We are aware of these old dangerous configurations with heavy powerful motors and we have tried many different configurations over many years, for example: one motor on the nose, two motors either side of the pilot, etc. but we were thrilled when we tried the motor at the current position because for the first time we found no change in pitch control, on a low performance HG, once flying. This is due to the line of thrust being opposite to the centre of drag for low performance hang gliders (look at the billow, dihedral, and angle of attack, at trim, for low performance hang gliders). Also, these units are generally very low power and just extend to abilities of a low performance hang glider to act more like a high performance hang glider in so far as its ability to jump from hill to hill along the coast, for example and also to fly in conditions that are too light for normal flight. Also, the position of the prop is very safe and the static balance is perfect. We love them and have been using them for many years now.

@@robertberndes7878 as long as you're aware then I agree that sounds reasonable. It's just that it's always tempting to add bigger motors and more power and start using in more situations! At some point that would become dangerous. Although with electric there is the possibility to have a system using accelerometers to automatically kill the power if the wing becomes unloaded, which wasn't an option for those early pioneers. Although if you start to rely on that as a safety critical feature then it would need a really high level of reliability.

@@robertberndes7878 I can see this useful in situations to get launched in areas where access to a launch has been lost , or due to terrain that makes difficulty launching. Simply launching on the beach and flying up to the lift, might be preferable to a multi person wire launch on a precarious cliff edge. I was skeptical about the high thrust line , but given low power applications , and using in smooth marine air, I think it could be used safely.

there could be a easy solutions to fix this conundrum. I have several ideas that could revolutionize hanggliding. I'm trying to contact different manufacturers for a collab.

you could simply put a motor on each side strut (instead of side wires). Side struts instead of side wires should be generalized in free flight hanggliding by now. The philosophical design approach to current HG is not the correct one. Sure light weight is important, but it needs to be put in context of other considerations.

That's great mate. You are a legend! It's great when people bring their dreams to life.

​@@robertberndes7878 did the motor position pitch the glider downwards?? The mosquito motor kit puts the motor next to the feet to avoid pitching the glider but i want to know if you had any problems with this position of the motor

We love it :)

We truly couldn't care any less.. this isn't about when you started

Oldies but goodies :)

I can't suggest paragliding strongly enough! I want to fly hang gliders too one day, but I my paraglider harness serves double duty as a backpack for the wing, so I just keep the whole thing in the trunk of my car and fly after work! Seagulls are totally fine sharing the air with me over the ocean cliffs. It's the least expensive form of aviation! Just look up a school and get good training. I dreamed of flying paragliders for 20 years before I finally did it, and it's better than I imagined. I want everyone to fly!

Lucid dreaming unaided gliding FTW!

Should be no problem. Leaves the parachute pouch free for batteries too.

I used to fly a Wasp Falcon 4 in '79 :) I'm guessing yours is a newer version?

Food for thought...

Cool idea :)

Watts from solar panel on wings? One would need very large wings, like 10,000 ft^2.

​​@@JT-cf7dq1m2 will bring about 20W average. With direct sun lot more. Foils bring up to 10%. How much area does a glider have? Lets say 7m2. Thats about 140W. Not much but the battery wont dry up so fast. If the solar foil doesnt bring a negative effect to areodynamics that idea could work. Over time the material will be better. Maybe in 5-10years it will be practical, maybe sooner maybe even today. Who will find out and make a cool youtube video about it?

Thank you. Its a great sport. Working on a new video now, about low dune flying and tricks, like landing on fences. Hope you'll like it :)

Yeah, we like the idea of a Kevlar patch glued to the top of the sail. Easy enough to do.

Thanks a lot

LiPo's. Lots more info in the description of "Why do girls prefer hang glider pilots". Cheers :)

Hmmm. Don't know but you got the location right :) Crazy that you can see it from there. Of course it could be worked out knowing the distance you are from it and the amount you can see of it. (eg. half way up) and knowing the horizon is 16nautical miles but I'm sure none of that is very helpful :) I'll ask.

In a pouch on the chest or for the big motor a safety break away board mounted on the outside of the chest

We are thinking about it.... :) For a more detailed description of the motors please see the description in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel.

Please write us on: machine105@proton.me if you are interested in making/buying a motor.

Yeah, that's pretty accurate although we still have to test the 19lb again we don't know if we are just in ground effect in a nil lift situation. We have increased the thrust by going with slightly higher voltage and may be around the 23lb mark now. Still have to try again on level ground, no lift situation.

19kg 23kg not lb! Sorry

That is one of our biggest goals with the project. A lot of hills are not accessible as you know and starting off on a low primary dune or hill is a great way to avoid a long difficult hike carrying a glider.

For a more detailed description of the motors please see the description in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel.

Battery time varies with use, and size, of battery pack and motor configuration. As a guide though, with our smaller helper motors, we can use them intermittently for hours or, with the 12Ahr pack - full revs for 12min. It really just depends on how many batteries you want to carry around. We get a lot of fun out of a small light pack and that is usually our preference. We often have another charged pack on standby but rarely end up using it.

We have tried lots of things. Working on a video showing that...

That's right and that is enough for most of what we do. We are more interested in a helper motor because it is easy, light and hardly noticeable when not in use. For total flight autonomy we know that with two predator motors at 19lb thrust each (17kg total) either side of the pilot - we climbed to 100ft easily from flat ground. We feel that we are almost there with that model but until we are out of ground effect we cant say for sure and yes, there is a lot more weight with the bigger motor.

Oops 19kg not lb! Sorry. So 38kg can get you up from flat ground but that was a long time ago so we are a bit fuzzy on the details. The props were much bigger - 28inch and the original one used motorbike 12v, lead acid batteries strapped to the pilots back!

Only sustain. There is a size limitation between the wires and the sail. We really enjoy the advantage it gives us otherwise we wouldn't bother of course :)

Thanks David, That's a nice description of forces and distances

I think the other thing we have discovered is that the motor should be situated close to the centre of DRAG. The kingpost mount seems to be pretty close to that.

Nice one mate :) Sure are. Bit of Gero footage in the other video. Red dirt, green grass and blue sky. "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel.

@@robertberndes7878 cheers mate, not sure if there's many flying up here anymore. Will suss out your other clips.

We usually go up one a year. By the way, there is a school here in WA run by Dave Drabble. It is in the description of the main videos. Cheers :)

We think it is more suited to "floaters" like the Fun, Malibu, Falcon etc. For a more detailed description of the motors please see the description in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel.

@@robertberndes7878 read that, makes sense. Well I hope you make details available, or sell the electronics+housing kit with suggestion of batteries and engine...

"Humble Abode" by our friend Jackson Brown from here in Western Australia. soundcloud.com/search?q=Jackson%20brown%20humble%20abode

Very light... The batteries are the heavy bit. How ever many of them you want to carry... The motor weighs less than a kg. We have only been in ground effect continuously but have now upped the power by increasing the voltage and going for 3 props over two but we haven't yet tested the new configuration. There will be a video as soon as we do :) The next video will show the original two motor configuration which took off from the ground and climbed straight up with plenty of power. Look out for that one :)

soundcloud.com/jacksonbrown

We think somewhere around 1500 USD but we are still working it out. In the For a more detailed description of the motors please see the description in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel.

Please write us on: machine105@proton.me if you are interested in making/buying a motor

Thank you!

Thank you! We have had a lot of negative comments but looking at the number of views, it must appeal to a lot people. The song writer is a friend of ours. A young Aussie dude from the country.

Western Australia mate :)

We are still working it out but hope to have more info out soon. For a more details of the motors please see description in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel

Hi Biagio, Please write us on: machine105@proton.me if you are interested in making/buying a motor

too many combo's to mention but we hope to have some more info out soon. For a more detailed description of the motors please see the description in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel.

Please write us on: machine105@proton.me if you are interested in making/buying a motor

Usually on the chest for easy access. 7kg

We are still working on getting a few extra lb thrust and we feel we are almost there but maybe we will just be stuck in ground effect. We know that two Predator motors got us straight up to 100ft from a small suburban park :)

For a more detailed description of the motors please see the description in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel.

Of course with a tiny bit of lift the 11kg motors make a huge difference. We can climb to 100 feet on a day that is too light to even sustain lift without the motors. On those, coastal, days when you are getting a measly 8kn breeze. Not quite enough to stay up otherwise.

What size predator motors ?

My original thoughts as well! - before we made the small ones - but we think differently now. For more of our thoughts and experiences on the subject please see the description in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel

@@robertberndes7878 Your trying to pump your channel sending me to "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" just proves your full of bull sh#t.

Run two motors, one behind the other, same foot print

A sustainer motor is not a bad thing either

Finger control - as can be seen in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel.

We are still working it out but hope to have more info out soon. For a more detailed description of the motors please see "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel.

Please write us on: machine105@proton.me if you are interested in making/buying a motor

Statistically safer and also much more versatile

Thank you! I think most of the development is worked out now. We have been doing it for quite a few years now....

@@robertberndes7878 do you have a company, or some further literature? Mark

@@mfreeman1967 We are still working it out but hope to have more info out soon. For more details of the motors please see description in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel

Hello Robert. How do we get in touch with you to discuss this directly?

For a more details of the motors please see description in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel

no. no it doesn't

Yeah they are there to extend the usual flight envelope to be able to fly on a day that would normally be unflyable, for example.

I want to buy one or have the plans and with the the right type components to purchase then to construct

@@johnturnbull7723 Hi John, Please write us on: machine105@proton.me if you are interested in making/buying a motor.

Will will try to upload a video at some point so you can hear the mtors without music. For more details of the motors please see the description in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel.

Please see "Using motor to fly in conditions too light to sustain flight" for raw flight footage.

We are still working it out but hope to have more info out soon. For a more details of the motors please see description in "Why do girls prefer hang-glider pilots" on the same channel

Please write us on: machine105@proton.me if you are interested in making/buying a motor.

Yep!