Originally
an Australian copy of the original Mosquito, Airtime Products has developed
and improved their offering with the current LD model. http://www.airtimeproducts.com.au/
They are also a good source for the Bolly prop for other units.
Mosquito
The original Swedish motorized harness, on the market since the
late 1980's. The original models had old Keller style harnesses
and 10hp motors. The power was later increased to 15hp, although they
stayed with the old harness style until around 2000. This allowed
many other manufacturer's to get into the market, as the harness style on the
original Mosquito was quite cumbersome. Then they released the NRG
model which was greatly improved and has put it at least even with, if not
ahead, of much of the competition. It is front opening with
snap-buckles for the
chest and leg loops, and the controls have been stream-lined and made
more easily accessible. There is a folding prop option and there
are several harness sizes available. http://www.swedishaerosport.se Also great information on the USA Mosquito site: http://www.mosquitoamerica.com/
Doodlebug
NOTE: THE DOODLEBUG IS NOT BEING PRODUCED AT THIS TIME BECAUSE OF LACK OF SALES - IT MAY
RESUME PRODUCTION IN THE FUTURE IF THERE IS ENOUGH INTEREST.
This is a British supine version of the powered harness and the only
harness made that does not use the prone flying position. The pilot flies
inside of the control bar, similar to the old “suprone”
harnesses. There are a number of enthusiastic owners of this model, who claim it is more
comfortable for extended flights. Also there are many positive reports
about responsive service from the Doodle Bug dealer network.
http://www.flylight.co.uk/footlaunched/index.htm Paul Olson, is the current North American (US & Canada)
Distributor. His official business is "Foot Launched Power, LLC" and he runs the Scooter Tow Hang Gliding School in Whitewater Wisconsin: http://www.scootertow.net/ where he can be contacted at
paul@scootertow.net
Eckehard Fiedler, from Germany, put together a nice series of videos in the form of an introductory Guide to the
Doodlebug, which are in the Video Gallery
Wasp
Another British variation on the Mosquito. It came on the
market
while the Mosquito was still using the old style harness, and improved
upon that with an easy front entry. The harness can be custom
made
to your dimensions. This manufacturer also offers a kit to
modify
older Mosquitos to their harness for about $1k, something worth
considering
if you have an older Mosquito (or find a really good deal on
one).
This is a first class quality product, and they are continuing to
develop the unit and add options.
The latest option is the same Vittorazi engine first used by the Hidden
Mountain X1. http://www.waspsystems.co.uk/
Zenon by SkyGear
This harness comes from Cyprus. The unique feature of the
Zenon is that the harness (made by Aeros) and power plant are separate
pieces. You can free fly using just the harness, or attach
the motor unit to be able to fly with power.
http://skygear.com
Fillo (Czech)
This is apparently another new FLPHG manufacturer, in the Czech
Republic. The web site is in Czech, so I don't know much about it.
http://www.fillo.cz/
X1 by Hidden
Mountain
NOTE: THE X1 IS NO LONGER IN PRODUCTION. Too Bad.
This is a very recent entry to the
flphg world. Dave Little and Ken Osage have been
thinking
"outside the box" and developed a powered harness from scratch, with a
different power (Vittorazi) plant and other modifications. It
has
demonstrated significant improvements
in power and climb performance, and is the only unit to be made in the
USA. It has also brought flphg capabilities to pilots living at higher
altitudes than was possible with the Radne powerplant. The link is dead,
but left for historical reference:
http://www.hiddenmt.com
Raven
NOTE: THE RAVEN LINK BELOW NO LONGER WORKS. THIS ENTRY IS RETAINED FOR REFERENCE ONLY.
Originally an Italian model, it is now under German ownership. It has
also been sold with the name DV8. It uses the same Radne
engine as all the others, but they
claim higher power and thrust values because of a special exhaust
system
and other mods.
http://www.powerplanes.com/raven.html
Booster
NEWER UPDATE - THE UPDATE INFORMATON BELOW IS PROBABLY OUT OF DATE - THE WEB LINK STILL EXISTS, BUT THERE
IS NO EVIDENCE OF ACTIVITY
UPDATE - The Booster may be coming
back to life. According
to an email I received, "two enthusiastic British guys Simon and Neil
have taken the Solar Wings
Booster activities into their own hands". For the latest info see
http://www.soarfoot.com
The original Booster was a British variation on the Mosquito. This unit
has a hard shell that is
designed to make it possible to adapt it to some existing
harnesses.
Other unique features of this model are a folding prop and wheels
instead
of skids on the legs, and a drive chain instead of a belt.
NOTE: The Booster is no longer being made, the old link below appears
to be dead, but I'll leave
it for now for historical purposes: http://www.pegasusaviation.co.uk/Pegasus/Hang_Gliders/Power_units/Booster_Mk_2.htm
Radne
Radne produces lightweight 2-cycle engines. The 120cc model is used by
all of the power harness manufacturers listed above. You can get parts
lists and numbers, specs, owner's manuals and other information from
their
web site. The site has been recently (as of 6/2003) updated and now
offers
encryption for secure ordering:
http://www.radne.se/Store/
A scan of the complete engine manual has been scanned and put in Adobe
PDF format:
Radne 120 Engine Manual
It
contains engine diagrams, parts lists, and maintenance recommendations.
It is about 2MB in size. Probably the best way to view the manual is to
click the right mouse button on the link above and then select "save
as"
to store the file on your computer. You can
download the Adobe
Acrobat Reader here The diagram in the manual
is for the pull-start
version of the engine - here is the Electric
Start Engine Diagram