The Paramania Vortex is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

paramotor Paramotor is the generic name for the harness and propulsive portion of a powered paragliding, powered paraglider ("PPG"). There are two basic types of paramotors: foot launch and wheel launch. Foot launch models consist of a frame with harness ...

that was designed by Mike Campbell-Jones and produced by

Paramania Paramania LLC is a British aircraft manufacturer based in London. The company was founded by powered paraglider competition pilot Mike Campbell-Jones in Le Chillou, France in about 2002 and later relocated to the UK. It specializes in the des ...

of Le Chillou, France and later of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for

powered paragliding Powered paragliding, also known as paramotoring or PPG, is a form of ultralight aviation where the pilot wears a back-pack motor (a paramotor) which provides enough thrust to take off using a paraglider. It can be launched in still air, and on ...

. Introduced about 2002 and now out of production, when it was available the aircraft was supplied complete and ready-to-fly.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 71. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. ISSN 1368-485X

Design and development

The Vortex was designed to comply with the US

FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles Ultralight aircraft in the United States are much smaller and lighter than ultralight aircraft as defined by all other countries. In the United States, ultralights are described as "ultralight vehicles" and not as aircraft. They are not requ ...

rules as well as European regulations. It features a

paraglider Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...

-style wing, single-place accommodation and a single engine in

pusher configuration In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in nor ...

with a

reduction drive A reduction drive is a mechanical device to shift rotational speed. A planetary reduction drive is a small scale version using ball bearings in an epicyclic arrangement instead of toothed gears. Reduction drives are used in engines of all kinds t ...

and a diameter two-bladed composite propeller. The engine and propeller used varies by model. The fuel tank capacity is . Early wings used in 2002 included the

Paramania Reflex Paramania LLC is a British aircraft manufacturer based in London. The company was founded by powered paraglider competition pilot Mike Campbell-Jones in Le Chillou, France in about 2002 and later relocated to the UK. It specializes in the des ...

, while this was later developed into the

Paramania Action Paramania LLC is a British aircraft manufacturer based in London. The company was founded by powered paraglider competition pilot Mike Campbell-Jones in Le Chillou, France in about 2002 and later relocated to the UK. It specializes in the des ...

wing by 2004. As is the case with all paramotors, take-off and landing is accomplished by foot. Inflight steering is accomplished via handles that actuate the canopy brakes, creating roll and yaw.

Variants

;Vortex Corsair :Model with a Cors'Air M21Y engine in pusher configuration with a 2.6:1 ratio reduction drive and a diameter three-bladed composite propeller. ;Vortex Corsair 70X :Model with a Cors'Air M21Y engine in pusher configuration with a 2.6:1 ratio reduction drive and a diameter three-bladed composite propeller. ;Vortex Solo :Model with a

Solo 210 The Hirth F-36 is a single-cylinder, two-stroke, carburetted aircraft engine designed for use on ultralight aircraft, especially powered paragliders and ultralight trikes. It is noted for its extremely small equipped weight of including exh ...

engine in pusher configuration with a 2.3:1 ratio reduction drive and a diameter three-bladed composite propeller.

Specifications (Vortex Solo)

References

{{reflist

Vortex In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...

2000s British ultralight aircraft 2000s French ultralight aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft Paramotors