Author Topic: Fly cheap and have a blast (Read 425 times)

Habu · « **on:** January 14, 2003, 06:48:44 PM »

Anyone in here fly trikes? If you are thinking of learning to fly in real life you should check them out. You can buy one for starting in the low teens up to 30k or so for a top of the line one.

They are small enough to store in your garage and can be trailered on a modified jetski trailer.

But the best thing about them is that they are probably the closest you can be to flying like a bird.

Here are some pictures of the type of trike I bought. Mine is white (I really like the yellow though). This is a rugged trike built for exploring. If you go to the DTA website you can read about trike adventures from the tip of South America to the tip of Africa.

The above picture is kind of neat as I own an identical helmut with a built in headset. This is the prototype of the trike and they have a more aerodynamic fuel tank and some other minor changes.

Different view and a production model. The cannister under the front is an emergency chute you can pop if you get into catastrophic situations.

Closeup of the rotax 912 engine. I like this picture as it gives you a good view of the quality of the construction of the trike. Aircraft grade components all round.

Here is one taking off. They are a blast to fly. You are totally out in the open and have nothing blocking your view.

JB73 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 14, 2003, 06:55:22 PM »

what is the real difference from one of these and an "ultralight" for about $5000-8000 US new ???

also what happens if the engine cuts out .. will it glide well or fall like a block of concrete?

Habu · « **Reply #2 on:** January 14, 2003, 07:04:45 PM »

Lots of difference from a 3 axis ultralight.

The trike in the post is no toy, has a 100 hp Rotax engine and can fly up to 80 mph easily. It can climb as high as you want (best to keep it below 11k unless you have an oxygen system) and holds 70 liters of fuel.

It is able to soar if you cut the engine and you can totally change the performance of it by just replaceing the wing. A smaller wing will give you faster more manoverable performance while a larger one gives you better glide ratio and slower cruise and landing speeds. A single surface wing feels much different from a double surface one.

Trikes are very robust and easy to maintain. The wing breaks down into a long bag for easy storage. You do not need to rent a hanger. Keep it in your garage as I said.

You can turn on a dime and land and take off in a couple of hundred feet.

Biggest difference though is that you are holding the wing in your hands and total feel for what the air is doing. They are really like no other experience.

NUKE · « **Reply #3 on:** January 14, 2003, 07:35:25 PM »

trikes are cool.

I've flown Quicksilver's, a Rans (s-12?) and a paraplane.

I would buy a RANS S-12 over a trike, just because (even in Arizona) it's cold up there!

I love ultralights.....real fun

NUKE · « **Reply #4 on:** January 14, 2003, 07:39:29 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by JB73
what is the real difference from one of these and an "ultralight" for about $5000-8000 US new ???

also what happens if the engine cuts out .. will it glide well or fall like a block of concrete?

you are not going to get an ultralight for 5-8k new. ( even used I doubt)

Maybe 14k- 20k new is more like it.

But, they are more fun than a car or motorcycle

XNachoX · « **Reply #5 on:** January 14, 2003, 09:50:56 PM »

I would never get into one of those things. They just look like a deathtrap.

Habu · « **Reply #6 on:** January 15, 2003, 07:55:33 AM »

Trikes have a very good safety record. They are very robust (especially ones built by DTA and Pegasus and Airborne).

When I have heard of anyone dieing in a trike it is usually for one of 3 reasons.

Lack of proper training. In the US you do not need a license to fly one and some people think that means they can buy one and fly it without lessons. It happens. Not the fault of the trike.

Modifications to the design without proper qualifications. Occasionally an owner will start to make all kinds of modifications and repairs to thier trike without using proper techniques or parts. It is rare but I have heard of a couple of accidents caused by this.

Flying in weather when you should be on the ground. Some people push the envelope and fly in horrible weather. Trikes (like all small light aircraft) are not able to handle high winds and excessive turbulance in all cases.

Outside of those 3 reasons I have not heard of many trike fatalities. They are very robust and very forgiving to fly. And they can handle very challengeing weather if you have the experience and know what to do.

I would say they are far safer than other sports such as snowmobileing. Trikes have flown around the world and across the Atlantic many times. In Europe and South Africa they are the most common type of private aircraft.

Ripsnort · « **Reply #7 on:** January 15, 2003, 08:07:51 AM »

How regulated are these by the FAA?

CyranoAH · « **Reply #8 on:** January 15, 2003, 08:09:27 AM »

Yes, they are fun, but can you do this in one of those?

Daniel

lazs2 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 15, 2003, 08:19:51 AM »

I flew ultralights for a while and there were some trikes out at the field.. On older guy would buy a different one all the time... older used ones were very cheap, often under 1K.. I kinda like the idea of em but wanted 3 axis.

rip.. if you keep them "ultralight" or, under 285 lbs there is no regulation on em. Just like an ultralight. The no regulation is what drew me to ultralights in the first place. I took lessons tho..I believe the engines are the real weak point in ultralights right now with most being 2 cycle rotax... Also... the "regulation" of having no regulation.... I mean... in order to be unregulated... they gotta weigh in at under 285 lbs.. I think they could be a little more robust and be made safer. I am against regulation tho. Lighter, more dependable 4 cycle engines are what I am waiting for. Even now tho... some safety features like the rocket deployed chutes are not counted in the weight. a good thing

Other than that (engine failure).... most deaths occur in very bad weather or because of some other poor judgement.
lazs

gofaster · « **Reply #10 on:** January 15, 2003, 08:39:33 AM »

I'm not so sure that the lady in the 2nd picture should be smoking a cigarillo that close to the gas tank. In fact, she shouldn't be smoking at all.

Habu · « **Reply #11 on:** January 15, 2003, 08:57:11 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by gofaster
I'm not so sure that the lady in the 2nd picture should be smoking a cigarillo that close to the gas tank. In fact, she shouldn't be smoking at all.

She is French what do you expect?

But they make a good trike none the less.

lazs2 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 15, 2003, 09:20:09 AM »

How long does the trike take to set up from trailer to takeoff?
lazs

Habu · « **Reply #13 on:** January 15, 2003, 09:31:01 AM »

If a trike is on a trailer then it is completely broken down. You need to assemble the wing then lift the wing up and attach it to the trike. Some people store them with the wing off but still assembled and some people store them with the wing on but the post tilted to minimize the height. I just mention this to show that you do not have to completely break down the trike after each flight.

For this job you need 2 people. To assemble a wing takes about half an hour if you know how to do it. It is very straightforward.

To mount it on the trike takes about 5 or 10 minutes. One person can put a wing together alone but you need the second guy to mount it on the trike.