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Skybolt Paramotor Gallery

Prototype

My first experience with the Skybolt was when Jeff showed up our local flying site near Joliet, IL, the Paradrome. I flew it and found that it felt completely normal which, to me then, was a  Sky Cruiser which itself was like the Miniplane. Then, a year or so later, at the same place, there were FOUR of them! Obviously it was a hit and sufficiently easy to build that they were actually being built. That said a lot to me.

A few years later, Jeff Baumgartner showed up at Marks Park in Wisconsin with his newest creation. It was ingenious. Having about the same geometry as his previous version, it was a lot easier to build. I didn't think it looked quite as elegant, but it would obviously be more approachable, especially since there were far fewer machined parts.

The v2 turned out to be not only easier to build, but easier to service for customers. Enough that he could dispense with needing a video to build it and could rather rely on just the plans. It's that v2 that we now offer here.

Jeff Lawrence

Here is Jeff's creation. He says (and the photos show) that "It came out very nice and I am thrilled with everything about it". He is replacing the MZ34's carb, a Tillotson, with a Bing 54 to improve the motor's operation. The photos are of the built and finished PPG.

You can see all the photos here.

His main changes to the basic design were to bend the radial tubes so the prop would be inside the cage, mounting the MZ34 and SD harness system, adding a second hoop, and some changes to the bottom frame to provide more protection and support for the fuel tank.

He's gonna have it at the Salton sea in February.

Ed note: Curving the radial arms like this ONLY helps if the safety ring is used as Jeff has done. Also, be aware that too much curve will can be a problem for forward inflations. The lines could ride up the safety ring instead of the outer ring. That friction would cause wear on both the netting and paraglider lines. Plus, it would make such inflations more difficult. Modifications should be done with great care and understanding of all the consequences!

1. Jeff Goin (yours truly) tries out the v2 prototype. Photo by John DeFranco who we have to thank for maintaining the original website for many years. Thanks John!.

2. Tom Mistretta flies by his new V2.