Miniplane ABM Flex Cage Paramotor
The Top 80 Engine
The Top 80 is an Italian single cylinder, 2-stroke aircraft engine designed and produced by Per Il Volo for Powered Paragliding. It was the first purpose-designed Paramotor engine! The Top 80 was developed specifically for the Per Il Volo Miniplane, which was introduced in 1989. Learn more about the History of this HERE.
This engine is well known for it's reliability and ease of repair, not to mention the immediate availability of parts here in the US by Miniplane-USA. In a survey taken a few years ago, the Miniplane Top 80 was rated by pilots as the top paramotor in many aspects (LINK).
The engine features a centrifugal clutch that allows idling without turning the propeller, a useful feature in its main application on a paramotor, where it improves ground safety. The engine itself is light, only a little over 24 lbs, and this makes a huge difference when it's on your back! One of the best features of the Top 80 is it's efficiency. The fuel burn is extremely low, less than 1/3 the consumption of the Vittorazi Moster 185, another popular Paramotor engine. Learn more about this remarkable little engine HERE.
Miniplane ABM with Low Hang Points and Weight-Shift
The term "Flex" Cage is a bit misleading. The Fiberglass outer ring flexes to the round shape while assembling, but once it is ready and all the Side Sticks are attached, the cage is quite rigid even though it is not welded aluminum. The advantage here is the ease of assembly and the ability to minimize size for transport.
Light, yet Powerful!
The Miniplane Paramotor is extremely light, which makes it nimble and accessible, even for the smaller and lighter pilots. This unit can accomodate pilots up to 200 lbs, and even higher if they have good launching and flying skills. Bob weighs 205+ lbs, and does tandem flights with his wife on his Miniplane and Ozone MagMax Tandem Glider using our own propreitary Tandem Bar!
There are two Frame types that are available for the Miniplane: Classic and Cateye (or New). The main differnce is the Classic has a slightly wider frame and stance on the ground, making it a bit more stable when sitting on it's own. (LINK)
The Miniplane Paramotor is also available in a variety of standard colors, as well as custom colors of almost any shade if desired. Have a look a some of the -Beautiful Colors- you can be flying around! We now have a Rigid Cage version of the Top 80 Paramotor, with a larger cage made for a much larger, slower propeller - a true innovation in paramotors in terms of xthrust and sound (or lack of).
Perfect Paramotor for Crossing Over
This Paramotor is the easiest, most reliable, most efficient and lightest unit available. It is especially good for free flight pilots looking to cross over to paramotoring.
It features natural weigh-shift, similar to that experienced on free flight systems but somewhat less due to the paramotor frame. It is extremely well-balanced on the pilot's back and is light enough to move around easily.
One of the best features of this light and powerful machine is that it allows the pilot to use their normal free flight glider almost always.
Free flight gliders tend to be more efficient and have more lift that paramotor "Power Gliders", allowing the pilot to become airborne quite easily. There's no need to buy a paramotor wing in order to enjoy the benefits of powered paragliding.
This paramotor is good for pilots up to 200-220 lbs as long as they are not heavily loaded on their wing and they have a recent, modern, efficient paraglider. Pilot skills have a tremendous influence on how a pilot will transition over to paramotoring, so work on those kiting, launching and landing skills!
Learn more about "Crossing iver to the Dark Side" from an article Chad wrote with Lee Anne many years ago (LINK). Bottom line is it gives you the ability to get more airtime! |
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