This site was created for anyone looking to fly a paratrike and build one themselves. The information contained in it is based on more than 10 years of personal experience, several successful paratrike builds and experience shared by the flying community over a long period of time. The site is an attempt to arrange and present information on how to build your own paratrike which has been gathered during the course of many years in an effort to make this hobby, sport or whatever you call it , even more accessible.

 

Flying a ppgtrike is probably the easiest, most accessible and cheapest way to get involved in powered flying. The technological developments that went into paragliders in recent years make this type of flying easy and relatively safe. If you have a powerful paratrike, all you need to take off is 50 meters of flat mowed lawn. Landing it takes just as much. The slow takeoff speed of paratrikes is one of the main reasons for their safety. All of this means that you could keep your ppgtrike and your paraglider in the garage and whenever you feel like flying, just go to a nearby meadow and be airborne after just 10 minutes of preparation. This allows you to get the enjoyment of flying without the hassle of equipment transport, storage, airport fees and any other activities that eat up your precious spare time during the weekend.

Learning to fly a paratrike does not require huge investments of money and time. All you need is to find the right instructor to teach you the basic principles of flying a paraglider and a trike so you can start building on them by practicing. The regulations vary from country to country so obviously you will have to educate yourselves. Although the applicable laws vary widely across the globe, this is usually the most accessible and the least regulated way of flying as a hobby.

The accessibility of flying a paraglider and a paratrike is likely predicated upon the simplicity of the trikes’ construction and the fast development of paragliders. On the one hand, wings are becoming increasingly faster, safer and more accessible, and on the other, there is a healthy supply of paratrikes, engines and propellers on the market. The simplicity of the construction of paratrikes allows for an easy installation of aeroconverted motorcycle and car engines. This is a sufficiently reliable and accessible alternative for people with a modicum of technical expertise to build their own trike.

Building a paratrike does not require special knowledge or skills. You need a sufficient amount of technical literacy, welding experience (or at least friends who have such experience), and knowledge of the basic principles and paratrike designs. You will find an overview of both the basic principles and the basic designs on our site http://ppgtrike.com/paratrike-geometry/. There are several key designs in terms of the paratrike’s geometry which are important for your safety and comfort in the air. We will present these main building principles and when you understand the processes involved, building the paratrike will become easy and efficient.

We take a look at the principles involved in building single-seater ppgtrikes because we assume that if you want to build a two-seat machine you have already familiarized yourselves with the plans and principles involved if you have decided to carry passengers. Also, there are more peculiarities involved into building two-seater trikes which depend on the way you intend to use the paratrike.

We have presented the main methods for selecting the engine, propeller, and reduction. We have provided various plans for paratrikes including drawings of the geometry of some of the most important elements. The plans shed light onto the principles that should be applied to the construction process and do not depend on the particular configuration you have chosen. The proper understanding of these design principles guarantees that you will be able to install almost any engine and design your own paratrike to fit your own needs and capabilities.