Microlighters

I am in no doubt that asking a question such as "which trike is best" is somewhat contentious and could/would lead to heated debate... Accordingly I won’t be quite as brave...

Scanning through all of the available aircrafts on this site I have however noted a very wide price range. This would of course dependent on the normal factors such as hours and engine type etc, but what I do wish to TRY and ascertain is whether there’s a general “rule of thumb” in rating trikes?! Granted the purpose of the aircraft/wing plays a big part as well, but I’m looking for the 5 min answer, of available.

If, for instance, one looks at trikes on offer by Aerotrike or Solowings there is some overlap in price, but at the same time these two firms seem to differentiate on price – I’m trying to ascertain why + how...

Simply put, I don’t want to be the guy pitching at the airfield with an XYZ trike which I think flies horribly and then get the response that “of course it flies like a brick, it’s an XYZ afterall...”

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated, thanks!

What trike is best? there is one answer to this question... my one


I will try and add some objective input.

Firstly the engine is a big part of the price:

503 comes in several flavours the upside down single ingnition to the upright dual ignition. This engine is bullet-proof and good for two up at sealevel but battles on the highveld.

582 I have less experience with these but you get a blue top and another one...

912 is the super engine. And expensive.

The single biggest factor in a trikes flight charateristics is the wing.

Different applications, different altitudes, different air conditions all impact wing selection.

Some wings stand out but generally a good wing will be stable and at the same time easy to manouver. And for some people speed (but they should see the light and get a blik )

The ability to trim a wing in flight will be an added bonus.

The Stranger is teh most generally acclaimed wing I have flown with and it is indeed a nice wing. My wing is very stiff and you really have to wrestle it around but otherwise its good and handles the bumps well for a 15sqm.

Size and aspect ratio all define the basic characteristics of a wing. Big wing better lift but more of a handful in turbulance. Small wings faster.

Undercarriage:

I find that these are all abit of a muchness. I have flown Spirit II, Windlass, Aquila and Scout. The Scout with its steel undercarriage seems the sturdier of the ones i have flown. And as a passenger the Scout gives the passenger a more upright posture

Pod and instuments:

Radio, GPS, instruments can also add alot to the value of a trike. I am analog all the way:) (no analog GPSs though )

anyway I hope this helps abit.

Mmm

Ja, people do get very emotional about trikes - If I were to say BMW is much better than Mercedeces (Not neccesarily true OK, a little true ) then nobody will get too upset, but compare trikes that way and people do get upset

My car cost much more than my trike, yet I can give you all my trike's specs and none of my car's specs - I don't care what the fuel burn on my car is but I love bragging about my 912's low fuel burn

Planes make people emotional, and that is the way is should be

I have flown Aertotrike Spirit, Aerotrike Safari, Aquilla 1, Aquilla 2, Maverick, Air Creation Clipper, Airborne Edge X, GT450, Pegasus Quantum, Mainair Gemini, Mainair Blade and YES - They do differ quite substantially, what is good on one is not so good on another and vice versa - The GT450 being the exception, it is good at everything

To me the most important things on a trike is: Stability in turbulance and lift - All the other things like speed, fuel burn etc are not so important to me - Hence I fly a VERY stable aircraft with lots of lift (very fuel efficient too - Not that I was looking for that neccesarily)

Comfort of pax and speed might be most important to you, another guy might look for short take off roll etc

Best is to chat to alot of people and get alot of opions, in the end it is very much an emotional decision. I have owned 5 trikes in my 5 years of flying

To conclude, I think the following determines price

- Engine size
- Manufacturer
- Hours
- Availability of the tike, i.e. if not many Air Creation's for sale and it's popular, it will be expensive

D

Check this nice trike. Old , but mine!

Any Bad trikes? I think that they all do what they are meant to do, take-off and land.

Thanks for the useful inputs!

Rather foolishly, I was rating trikes based on their “body/undercarriage”, which I imagine equates to rating a car on the colour of the upholstery...

Thanks for the insights into wings and power plants! Will do some more research before I take the plunge..

LenM wrote:
Thanks for the insights into wings and power plants! Will do some more research before I take the plunge..

..but plunge you must Len.
You will regret that you did not doi it sooner.
Good Luck!

The nice thing about buying a trike or any aerie is that unlike a car it has to have some form of paper trail. And insist that it is APed before you buy and that you have a word with the AP about the trike. Its also worth asking an instructor along for the test flight.

I don't think you can really go wrong, but it seems you are more worried about paying too much. There are heaps of people who will tell you if a price is right (just PM).