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It was almost two years ago when I finished my license for tandem paramotor and I started to think to build my own trike..

I did some flights togheter with my brother and my wife before, without a trike but the take off was very difficult without perfect wind conditions!

I hadn’t the tube that divides the passenger from me so when I gived full gas my brother is finished lateral to me and not in front of me! Big loss of power and the glider that tends to turn,we were looking like like the Wright Brothers going around the fields at five meters higth before finding some bubbles to get some extra lift!

The power of a solo engine is not enought for tandem flights so only with thermals we were able to reach good altitudes to jump off…

So i started looking for a bigger engine and I buyed and used hanglider trike with a rotax 447 for 600 Euro.

The engine was sent to a Rotax mechanic to make a full check and i started cutting all the trike frame to change it.

I lowered the motor support to keep the center of gravity as low as possible for stability during take off and landing.

Same thing for the fuel tank, so I decided to put two of them very low near the central frame tube.

To decide the shape of the harness attachment point, I made a “fake part” before , just to try to see how to do the real one.

For the cage around the propeller I builded a big wood support to be able to construct the cage around it..

I was almost thinking to convert my progect to a space ship for star wars but I realized it would go far to high than I needed…

So I made some thecnical drawings to make me bent some tubes becouse I don’t have the necessary equipment to do so.

I had to sew some modifies to the harnesses and I went to a specialist to build the attachment hookings to the frame.

After I received the bent pieces I restarted working to the cage and the frame of my paratrike, concentrating to give the pilot place a really good visibility.

All the trikes I tried were pretty poor in that sense becouse the pilot is at the same higt of the passenger ,so it’s difficult to see in front, and looking lateral there are the tubes that limitate visibility.

 

I then had to do all the command to control weel steering, braking and accelerating, fixing all the minor problems that were coming out during my work.

Finally I was able to do my first test, at the beginning on the ground and finally in the air!!!

This was the end of my first flight..

It was a special day for me, I had got lot’s of satisfaction flying something that I builded!!!

After a few tests more I did the first fly togheder with my brother and we ended flying around some nice clouds and a big smile on our faces!

 

Some days later my brother did the first jump from the trike becouse he did a shot for a friend who owns a beer company and this is the photo that he did..

So it was time to disassemble my trike again to do some modifies and to paint it all new..

I made it also a little bit wider to be sure that also with cross wind on take off and landing it will be safe.

And after assembling everything again there is only one thing to do:

attach my Jumboo and go flying!!!

    Gabriele

 

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