Backpack engine? Paraglider? Technique?
Yes, one of these parachute-like contraptions with which you see them run and soar off mountain
slopes. But then one equipped with a small engine and a propeller on their backs! Taking-off and landing
on a dime! For Eppo Numan’s record flight one on a frame with wheels.
. . . this one can bicycle as well!
Skimming the Earth in the silence and freshness of the early morning
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Starting with a metal chassis.
Now a metal ring with safety net, so the Lines of the paraglider do not get entangled in the propeller, also as protection for the propeller itself and the pilot.
Add to that a complete engine, reduction gear and a propeller.
At the front a small seat with buckles, to the side of which two metal bars onto which the paraglider is attached. And voilá!
The backpack motor :
In eight steps from the planet! - Magic? – No, 100 years of aviation technology
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The Paraglider :
Paragliders are derived from the mattress shaped parachutes.
Originally used for free soaring, either solo or duo from hill tops and mountains. Recently they are more and more being manufactured for powered flight.
Class instruction
Father, child and even Pooh Bear taking to the air
The excitement of flight shared by two!
Charming company up front
The FLYKE - Razorblades through the sky and swishes through the countryside
The Xcitor, an excellent machine with which to circumnavigate the world. Only it has
one handicap, it can’t bicycle – So there you are, and there you’ll stay!
For a flight around the world it will still have to undergo many adaptations
The Xcitor flying over the factory. Left bottom corner 
click on the button
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MONSTER : German, carried on ones back without any mechanical support.
AIRCAT: German support system with four castor wheels, it carries all the weight.
American: seat-wheeling-frame, extremely easy and fast to disassemble.
PARAPLANE YVASION 2000: French single-seat trike. It has a fuel seat tank.
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SD Trike: in seconds from single to two-seater, even on skis. The motor unit can
be disconnected for backpack flying.
FLYKE: German flying recumbent bicycle, can even be had with a mountain gear.
(FOR A LARGER PICTURE PLEASE GO UP)
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SYLPHE-BI
: French two-seater with fins behind the propeller to counteract
the torque effect. Flies straight as an arrow.
PARAPLANE
YVASION 2000: French eccentric looking two-seater.
XCITOR: German two-seater, a high-tech and extremely solid build machine
with a revolutionary attachment system for the paraglider.
(FOR A LARGER PICTURE PLEASE GO UP)
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The sublimely executed PARAJET with which shortly an attempt will be made
to fly over MOUNT EVEREST. It has a 290cc. single cylinder 100hp fuel
injected,
supercharged, intercooled Rotary engine.
The very first ELECTRICALLY POWERED paraglider by CSABA LEMAK Canada.
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Naturally, for an epic adventure of this nature Eppo’s machine will be modified or specially constructed and placed on wheels. It would be irresponsible to carry the extra fuel, survival gear and luggage on ones back without some sort of support system, not to mention the weight of Eppo’s playful Jack Russell Oppi, a heart warming rascal to be reckoned with!
With the help of a skilled engineer, calculations are made and constantly brainstormed anew. Hundreds of drawings already have come off the board. His machine must and will happen! - Give up? - Never!
From initial idea to end product presents a long road filled with obstacles and setbacks. Still we like to reveal some of our basic ideas. By no means perfect. The final product? That’ll take a bit longer!
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© Design: Prof. Ir. Ruud van der Hoorn – The front skis will also work like castor wheels
A second design by Prof. Ir. Ruud van der Hoorn based on the Walkerjet frame.
The undercarriage has been left out ©
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Flying recumbent bike ©
Computer graphics by Edwin Deferante ©
Three-wheel bicycle – a trial design with thanks to Bauke Muntz,
the pilot pivots in a harness ©
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Above, the German Aircat (unfortunately no longer in production) has been further developed by Eppo, but only on paper. A pair of shafts, like those on a horse drawn carriage are to carry the extra fuel and luggage. It can be adjusted to almost anybody’s height.
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Suspensioned frame with four castor wheels ©
The same with a compartment for the dog in between the pilot’s legs ©
The seat and back panel swing backwards during take-off. The pilot
needs but a simple strap-on harness ©
A cut in half view from the back, showing the fuel tank and the front
castor wheel ©
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TILTING BIKE AND FRAME ALL-IN-ONE
Flies forward and bicycles backwards! One of Eppo’s ideas based on the Berg-Balanzbike. This concept could easily be further developed into a single-seat PPG which could, with a few minor changes, be transformed into a two-seater. The pilot in command and his passenger will both make a running start. See sketches below.
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The Berg-Balanzbike
The measurements in these drawings are not yet exact ©
Pilot’s seat swings backwards to become the backrest of the bike ©
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NOTA
BENE
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The success of any distance record in the world of aviation is in the first place decided by the durability, weight and fuel consumption of the engine. Secondly comes the all important and final decisive factor - the weather.
Assuming that all the other parts, navigational aids and survival gear are of top quality, it is thereafter up to the pilot to carefully consider - does he fly or does he not fly that particular day?
Also, assuming a pilot makes all the correct decisions, a successful circumnavigation of the world in a powered paraglider is absolutely feasible.
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