A New Player enters the Electric Paramotor arena – Yuneec International Ltd.

On the 15th May 2007, following 6 months of intensive design and development Yuneec International Ltd flew a prototype of their new electric paramotor unit in Shanghai for the first time.

After an initial 10 minute test flight, the unit was then flown with the same battery for a further 22 mins in the hands of Mr. Zhang, one of China’s top paramotor pilots who consults for Yuneec. An enthusiastic Mr. Zhang said the unit had plenty of take off power and was amazingly smooth and responsive in flight.

After a quick battery change Yuneec’s chairman, Mr. Tian Yu, a novice pilot who had only had only previously had one short petrol motor powered paraflight then took to the air with his own product. After a 10 minute electric flight Mr. Yu was thrilled with the motor pack saying that he had never thought the unit would be so light (unit weighs only 22Kg) and easy to use, especially for a beginner like himself.

“This will open up paramotoring to a much wider audience as well as offering existing paraglider pilots another quieter, more environmentally acceptable method of propulsion” said Mr. Yu.

Yuneec’s new ‘all in one’ factory in Shanghai which encompasses everything from design to mould making, motor winding, PCB and electronic assembly will produce the paramotor unit. Mass production is expected to start early 2008 after further extensive testing during this summer. Pricing has yet to be advised.

For further information, as it becomes available, on the Yuneec paramotor please contact Yuneec’s European Managing Director Mr. Clive Coote at clivecoote@yuneec.co.uk

Tel) +44 (0) 1707 664 111

Fax) +44 (0) 1707 665 444

Angelo Crapanzano, the creator of metamorphosi rescue parachutes, has died. It is believed that he killed himself by drowning in Lake Maggiore. Angelo’s work with rescue chutes is highly respected, and he will be sorely missed by the free flying community. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.

Paco Diaz, flying the support trike with the camerman onboard during Dani Martiniez’s recent record attempt, came away with the tandem trike record.

Although the weather conditions did not allow the Spanish record-hunting expedition to fulfil their objective of flying 1500 km across Sweden, last Monday 2nd of July, they managed to set a world record in Paratrike (PL2) and Dani Martinez announced that he will make another attempt in August. His team partner Paco Diaz, who flew with a cameraman in a tandem trike (Fly Products Eco 2 with a Gin Beetle glider of 41m2), set a new world record of distance for this type of flight after covering around 430 km. Paco is an expert trike pilot and reported to have found very strong conditions, with thermals up to 10 m/s! He landed at dusk with 40 litres of fuel in the tank.
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