E-Help Prep for flatland footstart flight

[@birdwing98]

Thank you for educating the viewer on safety procedures and considering various failure scenarios.

[@brendan8978]

Reidar, as always very inspiring. I hope to emulate these types of adventures as soon as I finish my flatland-launch modifications 😀. Thanks for keeping the spotlight shining on electric HG!

[@AcrodesignerLNSNI]

Thanks Brendan. Hangglider as an airplane is excellent for electrics. It thermals really well and is better than PPG in that respect. And this days the 70C batteries and 105KV motor combined with the 186 sq feet Piuma has made footstart almost as easy as winch launch. However, footlaunch takoff from flatland require good pilot skills and a suitable glider. And a good sense from the pilot what is possible to do and not. This days I see many requests for E-Help from pilots that are not current. In regular HG blown takeoffs and botched landings due to pilots that are not current are an increasing problem. Often combined with a "too hot" glider for their skill and current level. Reading mails and stuff people that plan to revoke their flying career and put a E-Help on something like an Aeros Combat for footlaunch make me chill. The homebuilders that I have supported with direct info and sometimes making a 105KV motor for them at least seems to be current pilots and have understood that they need to fly it under a lightweight singel surface glider. And start out all tests from mountain. Them move to lower sites. Then the first flatland in strong laminar wind. And at last flatland in lesser and lesser wind. Flatland zero zero is the most demanding. And many people think they can go directly there with their homebuild. Usually doesent work well. So Brendan, nice to see that You do things right. Your E-Help will fly and bring You many flying hours when everybody else are stuck on ground or to short flights.

[@georghassig9778]

Hello Reidar! you teased me to fly hanggliding again after 20 yaers of break :) your e-help and the videos are fantastic!!! Do you have a video how to fix the e-help to the harnish? hello from Switzerland! Kaspar

[@oliver2032]

Great video! Really enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing this. Big fan of yours. Keep um coming!

[@AcrodesignerLNSNI]

Thanks Tim 😊

[@AcrodesignerLNSNI]

There are many requests to buy this system. However, I have a daytime job and other priorities than serial production. So the videos are free engineering for the hg community just to deveolop a viable system. I'm an electrical engineer that do battery ships for a living -so just bringing my calculator to my hobby here. To get the numbers on the table and droddling around the practical rig development for all to see. Homebuilders are free to copy. Manufactureres that want to go serial production are free to do that. Marked is small and battery garantie issues, chargers and stuff is a bit risky. We basicly fly RC model plane technology here. Financially I don't think it is viable. However, for the future of the hanggliding sport, it should be available for the pilots that want to fly flatland footstarts into thermals.

[@louischarland8552]

Hello Reidar, Thank's again for sharing all this information with us, my E-help is completed and ready to test fly, but I have a problem when I want the add the expansion unit, when I turn the third swicth on a burning smell appears and the positive wire become hot , so I quickly close the switch. I notice on your E-help that you have 4 switchs I wonder if 4 batteries on one switch is to much ? Thank you for helping me on this matter. (I will send you some picture soon )

[@NoTengoIlusiones]

Reidar you re-invented the true " Free Flight ". Anyplace, anywhere. 😉

[@AcrodesignerLNSNI]

Thanks. With the 70C batteries from KDLipo the performance finally are true flatland capability. What we did in 2013 with 25C batteries was pretty marginal regarding foot flatland capability

[@NoTengoIlusiones]

@@AcrodesignerLNSNI Marvelous! Hope to see them perform in nil wind launch 😉 Regarding the proppeler, you tested the foldable one, did you give up ? Can we trade off the less prop efficiency with minimum drag ? What is your opinion regarding this ?

[@AcrodesignerLNSNI]

Well. I think I have to do a nilwind takeoff just for you. There is a video from ladt year doing a zero zero with the Fun 190 and 35C batteries. However, it is boring to fly in dead air. Mostly I look for natural lift. Then the air must be at the move somewhat. Regarding foldable props the Rasa 34x12 that I sometimes fly from hills are great performance. It works for flatland but it it is a bit flimsy to sit at full TO power and climb from flats. At whopping cost some 500 USD compared to Menz wooden props at 60 bucks I don’t want to whack it

[@NoTengoIlusiones]

@@AcrodesignerLNSNI Hi Reidar, thanks for reply. Don't want to tease you about nil wind launch :) but it's just the ultimate test. Actually here in the south (Portugal and Spain) nil wind days could be very, very thermal. They are good days for wonderful triangles and the thermals don't drift that much. As you know nil wind during sunny hours don't exist, but taking off between cycles in a almost nil wind day should be quite interesting. Cheers and thank you. Fly safe.

[@AcrodesignerLNSNI]

Well. Nilwind from flats is no problem with the 70C batteries. It requires same technique as the Mosquito. Which is trust the thrust to push You into the air and use legs to moonwalk for a longer distance and keep weight of the rig on legs until the damn thing fly on its own. Most common mistake is to lay down and stop running to early and pancaking. Been there done that. The Piuma L 186 has a stall speed of 28 km/h with my 110 kg hookin and there is no way that my 52 year old legs will run that fast with that rig on muscle power only. Actually with glider and gear 10 km/h is the max speed we have measured without motor. So from 10 km/h to more than 28 km/h this is the nilwind challenge. And the way to do it is to run the initial part up to 10 km/h. Then proceed with 35 kg thrust pushing behind - allow your legs to act as wheels by doing the moonwalk and try to stay in an upright position so to support the weight of the rig until the motor has pushed the speed beyond 28 km/h. It happens very fast and on video looks easy. But in real it take a few seconds of very desicive piloting and take off skills. On the video here I do a very lazy takeoff becs it was 4-5 m/s wind in my face. Then takeoff is as easy as winch launch. The motor do the job for You. As u see I almost just leap up and into the air because I know the thrust and benigne Piuma will just fly off from almost no running or fancy technique. With a small wind it is almost easier to launch than regular hg from ramp.

[@eco_guardian]

So amazing

[@ariffbasri]

thanks for sharing

[@Flyit37075]

when is this going to be available for purchase. ?

[@gargoyl173]

Hello, Raidar, Interested in building could you please send specs batteries mAh, motor(any modification) props?

[@Alexsgolastra]

Hi, where can you see or buy?

[@svesom]

Whats that? New Iteration of the E Help? Carbon Frame?

[@AcrodesignerLNSNI]

svesom Not much new development lately. Not needed. Works pretty well as it is

[@dev9mm]

How much extra weight does that version of the E-HELP add, please?

[@AcrodesignerLNSNI]

The Student version is 11 kg and the flatland version is 16 kg

[@dev9mm]

@@AcrodesignerLNSNI So wonderful.

[@nomoreprospecting]

Are you selling these units?

[@AcrodesignerLNSNI]

No unfortunately. Mostly because all the fuzz around logistics, guarantee and approvals for Lipo batteries. However I support a lot of homebuilders that have build good copies.

[@jamessherman4092]

What kind of wing were you flying?

[@NoTengoIlusiones]

Icaro Piuma 180

[@AcrodesignerLNSNI]

It is the L which is 186 sq feet. Sized like that for flatland takeoff in nilwind with 110 kg in the hook.

[@ricardocozar]

This level of the sea Reidar??

[@AcrodesignerLNSNI]

10 m to 750 m