Airparamo GRAZhopper Owner's Manual - page 4
GRAZhopper Owners Manual
Version 1.3, Updated on June 2010
©2007, Airparamo LLC
www.airparamo.com
Page 4 of 10
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Strong design. The design of the GRAZhopper is basically a triangulated truss, where
the cables act in unison with the rigid frame to form a strong, stable, lightweight
structure. Additionally, all tubing on the GRAZhopper is round, which is the strongest
and most efficient shape for uneven loading. The GRAZhopper has been thoroughly and
rigorously field and flight tested with heavy single and tandem operations and has
withstood many hard landings with usually no damage.
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Stable. The low center of gravity, wide wheel base, and the placement of the mass of
the motor ahead of the rear wheels minimizes rollovers and turtling (where the trike tips
backwards onto the prop).
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Protection for pilot and passenger. The
main frame wraps around the pilot and
passenger to protect the occupant(s) in the
event of a crash or roll over. It is made of
super-strong, thick walled, military grade
4130 Chrome Alloy tubing.
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Light-weight. The GRAZhopper weighs
only 32 lbs 6 ozs, without harnesses.
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Quickly folds up for transport or storage in
less than 5 minutes with no tools.
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Quickly disassembles into a small
footprint for easy shipping.
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A universal motor mounting system
accepts just about any PPG motor frame
available and connects or disconnects the motor to the trike frame in under a minute.
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A unique rear wheel alignment system makes it easy to keep the rear wheels
tracking straight. This adjustment can be done in the field in 5 minutes or less with a
pair of pliers or a wrench.
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Designed so that motor thrust angle points slightly upwards on takeoff and then
slightly downwards in flight. This helps with inflations and take-offs since the motor does
not disturb the layout of the wing on the initial motor run up. Additionally, the slight
upwards thrust line helps to minimize dust and debris from getting airborne and
consequently getting sucked into the prop or bothering bystanders.
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Designed and built for years of trouble free operation. For example, saddles,
spacers, or inserts are placed in the most stressed places to absorb and distribute forces
and keep the adjoining pieces moving freely as designed. As such, the GRAZhopper is
capable of absorbing repeated hard impacts with grace and ease.
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Aircraft grade materials used throughout: 6061-T6 Aluminum, 4130 Chrome Alloy,
and AN hardware are examples of the quality materials used. These are the same
materials and hardware used in certified aircraft. All AN hardware on the GRAZhopper is
sized, fitted, and fastened using certified aircraft standards. Any other hardware on the
GRAZhopper is aircraft or marine grade or is of the highest quality available.
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Designed and built using sound, tested, proven aircraft construction principles and
standards. For example, structural welds are made by certified welders (there are only
6 welds on the entire trike, all on steel). Every other connection is mechanically
fastened, which is the strongest method of joining aluminum parts (welding aluminum
often significantly reduces the temper, and thus its strength).
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Cables are aircraft grade, coated with a UV resistant PVC.
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All machined parts are finished with a tough powder coat or are anodized.
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Designed to accommodate the premium 12” (30cm) Rolleeze wheels with standard
with 1” nylon bearings on all wheels. These wheels are ideally suited for PPG trikes with
low weight, suberb suspension capabilities, flexibility and robustness on all types of
surfaces, puncture resistance, easy field repairs, and flat tread with low grip to help self-
correct wing oscillations
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The rear wheels can be upgraded to 16” (42cm) or 19” (49cm) sizes for a greater
ground clearance, higher weight tolerances, and better suspension capabilities.