During the course of this month of July 2022, I received from the people of SkyMax their new Paramotor model, the Pulsar. This comes to accompany his “All Terrain” Paramotor option called the Star.
The SkyMax Star has been an excellent product over the years thanks to its mix of features that make it the favorite of many pilot communities worldwide. Very robust, resistant, withstands punishment and above all, a very light unit. Excellent attributes and hard to beat.
The Pulsar…
Now SkyMax comes with the “Pulsar” model. And after several days of use, I’m going to make some comments, both positive and negative about the unit. Here we go…
Facts…
1) The Pulsar model has been developed, (at least in its first version), only to accommodate the Vittorazi Moster engine in all its generations. This Vittorazi engine has been the industry leader for the past few years thanks to its reliability, service and power. There’s a possibility that in the future, a Pulsar frame would be provided for other models and/or motor mounts.
2) The “Pulsar” is not for every pilot… The Pulsar is the Lightest Paramotor in the world using a Vittorazi Moster motor. To achieve this objective, SkyMax created a Paramotor Frame completely in Titanium material taking in consideration the structure and aerodynamically form, and they succeed in the purpose. Although it is robust for general flight, it is not designed for inexperienced pilots who do not have control in their landings and takeoffs. In other words, it is not designed to absorb a “Butt Landing” like other Paramotor options on the market.
3) SkyMax has developed a Transport Case (included in the purchase) that allows easy disassembly of the unit. It could be transport inside vehicles and even to take the unit on International Travels. My experience on this later…
4) The Sway Torque Bars have a manual and easy-to-use adjustment to compensate the torque of the motor in fly.
5) The Flight Harness was designed specifically for this model. The fuel flexible tank for the Pulsar is installed into the bottom of the harness. The capacity is about 8 Liters of gasoline. Although some might question the durability. The construction of it looks very robust. Also remember that this type of flexible tanks have been used by SkyMax for some years and even survive exigent test as throwing it from a building.
My experiences…
1) As mentioned above, it’s not for every pilot, but it may be the ideal Paramotor for some pilots in their adventures.
2) In my specific unit, I installed a Custom Titanium exhaust instead of the original iron exhaust from Vittorazi. That let me subtract an extra 4 pounds from the total weigh of the Paramotor. My entire unit weighs about 42 pounds. Some pilots that put the Paramotor in their backs commented that feels like it weighs less than 40 pounds!. The entire Paramotor is very close to the center of the back of the pilot, which makes the Paramotor feel even lighter.
For comparison, a Miniplane Top80 Paramotor weighs about 42 pounds. The Pulsar feels lighter, and has a 25/27 Hp motor compared to the 14 HP of the Miniplane…
3) Assembly and disassembly… I was surprised of how easy the complete process is made. With a little practice, the unit can be assembled and disassembled in just 10 minutes!!!!
4) Fly Duration… His 8 Liters Gas capacity, could give you from one hour to one hour and a half of flying time. That will depend of your paraglider efficiency and size. If you’re looking for a Paramotor that let you do long Cross distances flights, this is not the Paramotor for you. There’s better option in the market with bigger Gas Tanks. But for some pilots one hour airtime, and a ultra light and dismountable equipment it just what they need.
I need to mention that fill the Tank is a little tricky, you’ll need to develop a technique for do it correctly.
For reference, my weight is about 215 pounds, and using a sporty and fast BGD Luna 2 18 meters Paraglider, a full Tank 8 Liters gas tank give me 1 hour 12 minutes or air time. the speed of my Paraglider was always at the north of 30 mph, so I was burning Gas at all time.
4) Transportation… The fact that everything can be disassembled and convert in very small in size, is a super plus! It is possible to carry the complete Paramotor inside any compact car. (Check the Video below). Is very important to mention that the flexible gas tank, does not need or have a return or bread line for the Gas. The connection is completely insulated from gasoline odors that could come out of the tank. That prevent bad odors to affect those who go in the vehicle. This is not the case for the paramotors that have return/bread Gas line in their tanks.
5) Here is a short video of my experience taking my SkyMax Pulsar in one of my compact vehicles to the beach. Nobody imagined that I arrived ready to fly to the beach.
Note… Some clips of the video came dirty. The camera lens gets dirt in salty conditions at every minute…
My name is Luis Ruiz, USPPA Tandem Instructor, and CEO and Founder of Team Kamikazes Paramotor Puerto Rico. Any doubt about the product or Quote for products, just let me know! Blessings!
Photos…
