The future of trikes?

[Cali]

Well said.

[The Agent]

Well said Demon just one Question are we allowed to use the other airlines as well.

Cali nice to see you still around bru.

I have again come to a point in my flying activity where it is time for a change but again as long as it took me to buy the Bantam hopefull not so long this time round BUT with the gained knowledge decisions have to be made.

[loansharkblv]

If you want a lifelong hobby, with wonderful social flying, and still enjoy the occasional long away trip, you have to fly a trike

Now that is the truth Demom...

Over the last two years or so I have made an incredible amount of good friends in the flying community and there seems to be a lot more camaraderie between Trike fliers that the serious metal guys.

And this is definitely not an us vs them statement just the plain truth and I think I know why.... Trikes are "fairly" wx limited (at my level at least) and I have given up counting how many times I have gotten to the airfield early looking forward to a flight only to be "self" grounded due to local WX. More often that not there are others there in the same boat and the inevitable circle of "K@k praat" forms..... This is where deep and long lasting relationships are formed.

We are more a brotherhood of the air than a loose association of chaps that store our various a/c in the same location.

At this stage of the game I am gravitating towards 3 axis for one reason and one reason only ..... well maybe two.

With the coastal winds (and bearing in mind my skill) we have more trike non flying days than flying days - I live to fly so am often disappointed.....

Also, my softness, who is just as flying crazy is REALLY battling in winds and IMHO is tempting fate will, I think, be able to handle the "stresses" easier in the SkyRanger.......

Now having said that, Annie is the perfect example of a brilliant women aviator, she handles a trike better than most (men and women) and has got incredible skill levels by all accounts......

My worry is that Elize's pot of luck will run out before her skill pot has filled up adequately.

Now if there was only some way I could financially manage to hold onto both the SkyRanger and the Trike i would then be the world's happiest and fortunate man.........

[Bacchus]

Now why would anyone dare to shoot at demon about his statement?
He is absolutely correct!!!
The social part is very true as well. I always say at this stage of my life :" EK MAAK MY VRIENDE MINDER, NIE MEER NIE." But since i started flying, the amount of friends stayed the same. Exactely the same. The only thing that happened is the poor NON-AVIATORS that dropped of the bottom of the list, cause my fly mates is such great guys i HAD to accommodate them. Now is that windgat or what?!

[DarkHelmet]

I went up in the resident Cheetah at Aviators Paradise today.

After take-off Piet let me loose on the stick and the rudder.

I felt like I was sitting in my lounge having a lekker chat with Piet about how to fly a fixed wing.

It is an awesome experience, I would not mind to have a fixed wing too.

But I like my trike (ada laaik ada laaik)!

[Junkie]

I do love flying my trike

I do love it's take it anywhere ability

I do love the wind in the face

I do love the adulation & adoration one gets from the youngsters when swooping down from on high and landing at that beach party you spotted (us old guys need that you see)

I do love how much it made a change to my boring life i had before

I do love the fact that it introduced me to many people I would not have had the privelage of meeting and of course getting to sprout here on this vey forum (some will probably disagree and secretly wouldnt want anything to do with me )

... but

I do hate and get gatvol of hanging on for dearlife just going from Goedverwacht to Morningstar, never mind trying to get to the coast and back in one piece

I do have a burning need to build something

I do want to go places and back with a little more haste without planning a 5 mission every time

I do want to be able to take along the missus without making it a mission or messing up her hair - ya know what i mean! ... the mistress is another matter all together, especially the young un! :D

I do hate the fact that i cant afford to do it all and keep all the toys

but i do thank my lucky stars for the privelages i have and continue to enjoy so i aint giving up on this trike lark yet ok - and besides i still got at least 20 years to destruct a few more students before i hang up ma spurs

[Big-D]

I went up in the resident Cheetah at Aviators Paradise today.

After take-off Piet let me loose on the stick and the rudder.

I felt like I was sitting in my lounge having a lekker chat with Piet about how to fly a fixed wing.

Well said DH - I flew with Piet yesterday too - First time ever in a 3 axis for me. It's cool and I enjoy'd it but I am a triker through and through, I missed the wind in my face and unobstructed view - End of story (PS: I am a trikeless triker now seeing as though I sold my baby yesterday - Hopefully I will not be planeless too long - Need to make a decision though, very hard..To GT or to DTA....or to be sensible and phone Ratman and keep my wife from killing me....)

[rooikat]

OK, as someone who is on the very edge of buying an aircraft, let me ask you okes some questions.

What I want out of flying is this:

Wind in the face, unobstructed views etc etc - that's why I fly

The ability to go cross-country two-up with at least SOME gear, eg a tent and a sleeping mat for me and my co-pilot

The ability to fly all day long (right now I live in Joburg) without being grounded by midsummer thermal activity (and I don't mean CBs, just ordinary, hot and bumpy days)

A rugged, stable machine. Speed not the most important thing but would at least like to be able to do around a 100 klicks an hour in still conditions

So, trike or 3-axis microlight?

I grew up in blik aeries from the age of 5 and flew everywhere with my old man for the next 30 years. I have a lapsed PPL. I could get back into bliks but that's not the kind of flying I want to do. I don't need to fly anywhere for work, but I would like to go touring.

The things that make me nervous about trikes (remember, I grew up in a "blik" home so there are a lot of prejudices that were handed down over the years ) are these:

stalling
"tumbling"
not being able to fly all day long (a misconception, perhaps )

I was the one who posted the question on Quicksilvers. It's a 3-axis thing, I guess, but I'm really open to any advice. And yes, I have flown in a trike ...

cheers

Rooikat

[rooikat]

Yesterday in JHB was pretty windy asnd thermic.
But Ellis SPark has been asking me to take the GT-450 to Tedderfield for ages, so I did.
Top ground speed in the trip via Tarlton, Randfontein, Lenasia was 130mph (40 mph wind), and she rode through the bumps like a star.
Cross wind landing at Tedderfield with 25-30 mph wind was easy as a normal landing.
I took Ellis for his demo over the high ground south of Tedderfield to find some big bumps - flew through them with one hand while showing Ellis the performance of the trike.
Flew back home down the N1 in a 25 mph headwind, with 65 mpg groundspeed still.....
What more could one want

Ja, this is the kind of stuff I want to hear! Thanks!
Rooikat

[Leprachaun]

Demon me man , you said it all :D , have you seen the accident stats for 2005 and 2006 - scary stuff , The MISASA committee is busy eying those facts and fiqs and when they are done some of you wannabe Trike deserters are in for a moer of a shock !!
They stats have been collected for the past two years - Gyros , fixed wings and weight shift - by type per month with probable cause .
Any guesses how many are still flying Gyros / trikes / Fixed wings in the LS1 microlight cat . As soon as it has been approved it will be publishe , --- So dont become a statistic , fly safely Leprachaun
CAA have an interresting scenario - for every accident reported there are 8 incidents not reported ????

[Yoda]

Rooikat, looks like you need a Gyro . I some days stand amaized at the ability of the Gyro to handle bad weather.
Its been a year now since I last flew a trike and I must admit, I sometimes do miss that open free feeling you can only get from a trike. I just could not handle looking at the weather all the time no more. Still I think the trike will remain because its the most affordable way of flying and it just is a uique experience.

[rooikat]

Rooikat, looks like you need a Gyro . I some days stand amaized at the ability of the Gyro to handle bad weather.
Its been a year now since I last flew a trike and I must admit, I sometimes do miss that open free feeling you can only get from a trike. I just could not handle looking at the weather all the time no more. Still I think the trike will remain because its the most affordable way of flying and it just is a uique experience.

Thanks, Yoda, but not for me

I grew up in the back of a Boere Boeing (Cherokee 6) so I have a lot of prejudices to get out of my system re what my pa used to call "experimental aviation".

Mainly, it's that unique experience that I want.

But thanks anyway.

Rooikat

[RV4ker (RIP)]

RK
Don't knock it till you tried it. I have never fancied eggbeaters because of the price, but those who do swear by them. it may just be for you. Must admit I prefer side by side seating of a RAF or Xenon rather than tandem, esp if in social flying toy...

[rooikat]

RK
Don't knock it till you tried it. I have never fancied eggbeaters because of the price, but those who do swear by them. it may just be for you. Must admit I prefer side by side seating of a RAF or Xenon rather than tandem, esp if in social flying toy...

RV4ker,

Price is a major consideration. But I'll see if I can arrange a flip in a gyro

Softness prefers flying tandem. She's been spoiled, I guess :D

Rooikat

[RV4ker (RIP)]

Agree. Price is the major drawback for me. Although many disagree I would rather have a 3axis and a trike than only a Gyro? Maybe I missing the boat, but it a bit like having a double cab rather than a car & a bakkie for same price?