Advantages and Features of a Blue Heron PPC

Why Should I Fly a Blue Heron?

The question that comes up time and time again by newcomers to powered parachuting is why should I choose your machine over another? Buying a powered parachute takes an experienced eye. Sizing up an aircraft for purchase is very different than buying a car. Be careful not to get an aircraft with the features of a terrestrial vehicle, as you may indeed find yourself spending more time on the turf, than in the air.

The main difference between the Blue Heron and other ppc's is in the sensible engineering detail, in which case things are not just done to please or deceive the eye. When an aircraft is designed with attention to technology, research, testing and feedback, it is built to give you the fullest satisfaction of flight. This is why Blue Heron powered parachutes are recognized as the lightest weight and highest performing aircraft in the industry.

Safety and Style - Keeping a craft lightweight and strong depends on proper geometry. We use triangulated bracing and strategic engineering that utilizes the least amount of materials in the most effective way. Many aircraft manufacturers beef up their materials in ways that do nothing more than add weight. Sometimes these craft look rugged, but a closer look reveals that the additional materials are not effective in doing the job and, in fact, decrease performance by making the aircraft heavy. The most important performance and safety factor is the weight of the aircraft. The Blue Heron has not only nice lines and an appealing look, but is also the lightest aircraft in its class. This, together with the other factors below, makes Blue Heron the obvious choice for both safety and style.

The Monkey Bar roll cage is a practical alternative to the intrusive and ineffective front bar type systems. Most front bar systems are bracket mounted to the craft in a way that has no triangular bracing. The Monkey Bar roll cage is a pyramid structure, triangle braced from the pylon plate to the end of each outrigger giving greater strength and roll over protection.

The loose mount aluminum fuel tank - Hard landings can flex an airframe. If the craft is not engineered for this condition, things will break. Several manufacturers will hard mount their fuel tanks to the airframe using bolts; in which case, if any flexing occurs, it will be transmitted to and stress the fuel tank. This does happen, especially on rail mounted fiberglass tanks. The loose mount aluminum fuel tank on the Blue Heron is not rigidly mounted to the airframe. The tank is tucked under the passenger seat in front of the main axle and is held onto the rail mounts with rubber strapping. If a hard landing occurs, the tank can actually lift off of the rail mounts and return to its original position. Because the Blue Heron fuel tank is aluminum, it is a fraction of the weight of typical cross-coupled polyethylene or fiberglass tanks and is not affected by gasoline additives, which will eventually erode fiberglass resins.

Low center of gravity radiator mount - First time pilots often look at features such as roll bars as a means of determining safety. The fact is roll bars are a device that comes into play when poor pilot judgment is made or the aircraft design limit is exceeded. Keeping the weight of an aircraft low to the ground is of utmost importance especially in a powered parachute. Maintaining a low center of gravity weight keeps the aircraft planted on the ground during taxiing, take off, landing and contributes to roll-over prevention. The radiator is one of the heavier components of the aircraft engine system. The Blue Heron radiator is mounted in front of the propeller and as low to the ground as possible to keep the weight below the aircraft's lateral center of gravity. Aircraft with radiators mounted above the engine behind the passenger's head makes for the possibility of several hazards. First, it adds unnecessary weight above the lateral center of gravity, promoting a greater possibility for roll over. Second, the airflow through the radiator is often restricted by the passenger's helmet. Also, think about this, do you want your head just a few inches away from near boiling coolant under pressure?

True throttle quadrant with tension adjustment - Heldeberg Designs LLC manufactures a throttle quadrant specifically for the Blue Heron aircraft. Its mount, control arm, cable adjustment and tension adjustment features are in tune with the specific needs of throttle control and pilot safety on the craft. The throttle is mounted on the outboard right side of the pilot seat where the pilot can have easy access to it. The tension adjustment is easily reached at the lower part of the throttle arm and can be easily set for desired flight. Throttle up is forward on the Blue Heron. Pulling back for "throttle up" between the leg controls of some ppc's have proven to be counter to the instinctive nature of most pilots and in some cases have had tragic results.

Comfort - A comfortable flight requires many things to be in order for the pilot. First, the cockpit arrangement must be sensible and spacious. The Blue Heron has a very roomy cockpit with the throttle and ground steering controls ahead and outboard of the seating area. These controls are easily accessed but do not interfere with boarding the craft, or with the pilot's legs or passenger area. The instrument panel is low profile, easily read yet unobtrusive to the pilot's view. The custom designed seats are wide and high with an ample 4" of padding. They are the most heavily padded seats in the industry using two different types of foam for ultimate compression.

Steering Tube Selection - Everyone has personal preferences and everyone is not built the same. This is exactly why when ordering a Blue Heron ppc you will be outfitted with foot steering tubes that fit your needs. We make three different styles of steering tubes. The short throw steering tube is ideal for an average height person who wants maximum canopy input. Our medium throw steering tubes take the pilot's foot position and move it 6" further toward the nose of the craft. A taller individual may prefer this style tube for greater leg comfort during flight. Our long throw steering tubes are not only an additional 4" forward of the medium tubes, but are also curved downward. This unique style of steering tube is designed for the individual who wants to take as much bend out of the knee and hip as possible. These three choices combined with the ability to select a double-back steering line configuration give the pilot the greatest amount of custom comfort control.

Structure - Non-symmetrical propeller ring design; think of a bell. The bell shape carries the symmetry necessary to resonate vibrations throughout its structure maintaining an emission of sound produced by its designed containment of energy. That's good for a bell, but not for an aircraft. Resonation amplifies airframe vibrations to higher, more damaging levels. The symmetrical single ring, curved support tube type of prop guard used on several aircraft is much like a bell. They are more susceptible to containing resonate vibration than a non-symmetrical design. As the propeller rotates within the cage it induces resonance to the airframe during constant speed as the blades synchronize in the timing of their passing by airframe components. The Blue Heron utilizes a full double ring prop guard with triangulated brace points that break the physical symmetry of the airframe. This anti-resonant design allows the vibrations to exit the frame as apposed to becoming contained resulting in less vibration, less wear and tear.

The Blue Heron also has a full double ring prop guard. One ring is in front of the propeller and the other is to the rear of the prop. This method protects your canopy lines from contact with the propeller. Many craft have single ring curved tube or partial double ring construction, which can allow catastrophic damage to the propeller and canopy.

The main airframe components of the Blue Heron are made from 2" x .125 wall 6061 T6511 aircraft aluminum. Unlike most who use 1-5/8" thin wall tubing, the 2" rail, pylon and outrigger tubes of the Blue Heron give it tremendous strength. Also because of the 2" aluminum rails, the Blue Heron saves about 20 pounds of excess weight in comparison to the more traditional 1-5/8" steel rails. These rails in conjunction with undercarriage truss outperform any of the sub frames typically used.

Redundancy - One is good, two is better. Certain areas of aircraft design are well served by the use of duplicate features. On the Blue Heron this philosophy is applied to the most critical components, the attachment points of the canopy to the airframe. All cable components use military spec thimbles and stainless steel cable. The gauge of the thimbles used on the Blue Heron is twice that of any other manufacturer. All of our cable ends are also double swaged and have two sandwiched stainless steel tangs per cable attachment. Combine this with the fact that we use two canopy support cables on each side of the aircraft, and you see our commitment to redundancy in the most effective way. Although these components are expensive, this is an area that we feel requires ultimate attention.

Undercarriage Truss - Have you ever seen a powered parachute touch down on the runway a little too hard and witness the flexing of the main rails? Have you ever taxied your powered parachute down a less-than-perfect airstrip and found yourself doing a little more bouncing than you appreciate? Most ppc pilots can relate to these circumstances.

font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> It is typical for the main rails of a powered parachute to distort at their critical load point approximately midway along their length. In most cases this distortion is temporary as the rails respond to normal loading and rebound in accordance to the properties of the material used in manufacturing. Any unsupported beam-type of construction is subject to these characteristics regardless of the type of material used. In circumstances of over loading, the beam will not return to its original position and, hence, you will develop bent rails. Such action is cumulative. That is, even the most rigid materials slowly give way with repeated overloading and will eventually sag. We have all seen machines in this condition.

The triangulated structure of the Blue Heron Undercarriage Truss System provides the needed support for the critical load point of the rails. The truss is easily installed beneath each rail running from the axle to the nose section. The ability of the truss to pre-load a counter-arc to the rail tubes themselves further prevents rail flexing and material failure. This is similar to the arc that can be seen on a typical flatbed trailer before it is loaded.

Many of the advantages of this system are obvious, especially the additional support given to handle the harder than normal landing. One of the greatest benefits of this system, however, went unperceived. The Undercarriage Truss System also plants the aircraft firmly onto the runway upon touchdown and maintains a more stable taxi roll. There are two reasons for this. First, the rigidity of the supported rail components prevents the more typical spring action on the rail materials. Secondly, due to the rigidity of the rail support system, adverse landing and taxi forces are transmitted to the rear axle of the aircraft where the suspension system can properly handle these forces.

Stainless Steel Junctions - A minor detail? Not by far because the attachment points of the supporting tubes of the aircraft are a critical design. The Blue Heron was the first ppc with plugs in all of the support tubes on the machine. This in conjunction with our stainless steel brackets makes for a "Clamped Junction" that utilizes the shear properties of the fastener as well as the clamping grip of the bracket on the solid end of the support tube. This also results in the reduction of vibratory wear, reducing the possibility of radial fastener erosion that can result in bolt failure. The 1" stainless steel attachment brackets used on the Blue Heron greatly outperform the aluminum brackets used on other planes. Laboratory pull testing performed by Heldeberg Designs LLC indicate that our brackets out-pull aluminum brackets 4 to 1.

Helical Plugs - The standard 1" tube plugs used on the Blue Heron are helical turned PVC. The spiral cut nature of these plugs serves two purposes. First, they augment installation by providing a snug fit as they have the ability to conform to the interior of the tube. Second, the spiral cut allows for tube ventilation. This gives the tube the ability to "breath" preventing possible moisture corrosion inside the tube.

One-Piece Nose Section - What difference does an inch make? A lot, when it's an extension of the nose wheel of an aircraft where great landing forces are sometimes applied. The distance from the center of the front wheel to the rails is a critical leveraging dimension. Not only is the front wheel of the Blue Heron closer than the others, the extension member that attaches the pivot for the front wheel is a single un-welded piece attached to the top and bottom rail plates. This configuration gives the nose of the aircraft incredible dimensional stability and strength. Aircraft with longer welded nose extensions are subject to breakage; an all too common occurrence.

Self-Centering Front Wheel - The front wheel is self-centering for safer taxiing and landing control. As the pilot corrects the course of the craft on the ground, the dual spring mechanism works to help maintain a straight course with less need for pilot input. The automatic centering also allows the pilot to land with less concern on having to use the ground steering control. This is of the utmost importance during an engine-out landing where the pilot will need the use of both hands to perform additional flare by pulling in on the canopy steering lines as opposed to being distracted by an off-set front wheel. Upon landing with an engine out, the self-centering front wheel keeps the craft on a safer straight course. .

Rugged Suspension - Weight, as it relates to performance, is the underlying philosophy behind the Blue Heron design. The recent changes to the Blue Heron landing gear were not done to simply follow the trend of the industry, but occurred because we were ready to improve the big picture without adding unnecessary weight. The Blue Heron Strut utilizes traditional suspension technology along with innovative engineering to build a rugged, lightweight alternative to conventional ppc suspension systems.

The Blue Heron Strut utilizes a scissor action strut, which is loaded by shock cord. The compression action and tension can be adjusted by the positioning of the shock cord along the upper and lower scissor arms. A traditional stabilizer arm checks the front to back movement of the axle. Full compression occurs after 5" of axle movement where the lower scissor arm travel is limited by resting against the airframe. This removes any dependence on the shock cord for safety, as over-compression cannot occur even with the cord completely removed.

The Blue Heron Strut weighs only 1 1/2 lb per side more than the fiberglass spring rod system, and a fraction of the weight of conventional spring/car shock type systems. This entire weight savings, along with dramatic improvement to the overall suspension dynamics, has made the Blue Heron Strut the best system on the market.

b>Dual Media Vibration Isolation System - The dilemma facing the aircraft designer is that of building an aircraft with the component strengths necessary for a rigid airframe, yet with the flexibility to dissipate vibration. The more rigid the airframe, the harder it is to dampen vibration because firm structures are better transmitters of movement. Vibration is repetitive movement. Traditionally the engine mounting system governs engine vibration. The engine mounting plate is isolated from the airframe by rubber dampeners that reduce the conductance of vibration from the engine to adjacent components by having a layer of rubber in-between any part of the contact area. This rubber intermediate compresses and expands to absorb the engine movement, therefore, preventing the continuation of that movement to the airframe. The types of mounts vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but they all serve the same purpose; there is a single vibrating media, the engine, which is isolated by the rubber intermediate component. Different densities of rubber (durometer) can be chosen for the mechanical and frequency characteristics of the application.

Have you ever grabbed the ring of a Blue Heron ppc and given it a shake, or picked it up off the ground? It's solid! This quality, which we all admire, has further challenged us to a new level of engineering accomplishment, which has reversed the odds of vibration control. The development of the Dual Media Vibration Isolation System is revolutionizing the mechanics by which we reduce vibration. The system uses a two-tier approach to vibration dampening. First, the engine plate (media #1) is rubber- shock mounted to the cross mount components of the airframe. This allows the engine to move, reducing the amount of vibration transmission to the cross mount. Although in this configuration the cross mount does not vibrate nearly as much as the engine, it continues to transmit a certain percentage of the vibration energy produced. Next, the cross mount component (media #2) is shock mounted at its attachment point to the main airframe. This final isolation allows the cross mount to move as an intermediate media taking the previously reduced amount of vibration energy, and diminishing it even further. Use of the Dual Media Vibration Isolation System results in a flight experience that is unprecedented in comfort and greatly reduces wear on airframe components.

The difference is so dramatic from that of any other aircraft that we had to do a comparative test. The test we performed compared the relative vibration energy transmission to the pylon tubes of the Blue Heron airframe at all frequency levels. The results are plotted below, and the advantage of this new system is visibly obvious. As the traditional single media method shows a steady increase in vibration energy from 3000 rpm to full throttle, the dual media method is distinguished in its ability to actually reduce the amount of transmitted energy as the vibration frequencies increase with engine speed.