Wayne is legendary in the Trike Community, a superb pilot, and just an all around great guy. Buy him a beer some day and ask him to tell you the stories of his incredibly interesting life and travels...you will not be dissapointed.
I'm featuring Wayne's photos today because he's REALLY selected a couple GEMS on his member page, and this is a great use of this site. He runs First Light Aviation, when he is not globetrotting or spending time with his little girl.
Check out the superb slideshow of his photos:
CAP pilots fly reconnaissance missions for homeland security, search and rescue and disaster relief, and even counterdrug reconnaissance at the request of government or law enforcement agencies. They transport medical personnel and supplies, blood and live tissue. In times of disaster, they assess damage and transport emergency personnel from site to site.
If you’d like to become a CAP pilot, you must be at least 17 years of age and hold a valid FAA private, commercial or airline transport pilot certificate. You must have a Class III or higher medical certificate and a current flight review.
As a CAP pilot, you perform some of the organization’s most important work. CAP is also a great place for you to meet and work with people who share your interest in flying and want to use their skills in a meaningful way.
Thanks to Mick Balaban for this vid link. Love the announcers' reactions in Japanese and the way-cool formation flying of the trikes near the end.
This is probably one of the best little "gems" I've recently found on the internet. It is a series of articles written by Mike Stratman of California Power Systems (and RotaxParts.net) that appeared in Ultralight Flying! Magazine starting in June of 1987. These articles detail many important topics regarding the ownership and maintenance of an ultralight and its power system. Some information is out of date, but CPS has the complete series reprinted in its Catalog as well. It is an absolute "Must Read" source of information.
LINK
Not sure if he is trying to get a viral ad-campaign going for Nestle, but Barry is one wild and crazy dude. I'm always cracking up at his videos ;)
An absolute "Must Read" resource for learning about our amazing flying machines
LINK
Well... you guys are great pilots, and terrific photographers, but you are LAZY LAZY LAZY contest entrants!! ;) Not a single pilot bothered to enter his or her images into the contest. Maybe I'm just a horrible promoter! ah ha!
So, I took it upon myself to go through the almost 800 photos presently on the site and pick some of my personal favorites. Not for any particular reason, but just because they caught my eye in some way. I know there are a ton of other fantastic shots there, so if I didn't pick one of your favorites, NOW IS MY INVITATION to send me a link to your photo so I can consider adding it to these "keepers."
Without Further Delay... here they are: (click to go to the original shot)
There are has been much debate about the safety of modern ultralight trikes. Many of the newest safety features such as four-stroke engines, BRS Chutes, etc., all come from the "trial and error" of the early pioneers. These men and women had to learn by their mistakes (and crashes) about what could...and did... go horribly wrong. Watch...
More fun from the Flight Sim crowd! This one is in FS2004, but it is the creator's choice of music that had me grinning from ear to ear ;)
Ah, finally we're starting to cover the planet with trikes! (ahahahh.... just kidding. I mean "Greenland, New Hampshire!) ;)
A unique player in the Trike market is GibboGear (Mark Gibson), who for many years has created a specialized niche by offering "topless" wings. In other words, wings that have no kingpost and wires to support the wing while on the ground or during negative loads. These wings are also known as "strutted" designs, because the two lower struts serve to carry both the load of the wing as well as to handle the positive and negative "G" forces while in the air.
GibboGear seems to be moving in the direction of many in the lower-price market, by specializing now on some new Part 103 legal machines and wings. This may be a good move for them as it would be otherwise hard to sell a lower priced SLSA or ELSA two-seater when one considers the high-cost of certification, and the individual ownership costs of obtaining a Sport Pilot certificate. It seems logical that many Ultralight Trike pilots may simply shift into one-place Part 103 legal machines and avoid Sport Pilot altogether.
LINK
Mark is also marketing a slick line of LSA aircraft that also utilize the "topless" wing design, called the "Manta Ray". To be quite honest, I have to check with Abid Farooqui and Mark to understand whether there is any cross-marketing going on as these machines are incredibly similar to the Apollo line being sold by TampaBay Aerosport. More info on the Manta Ray HERE
I just stumbled upon an incredible "why didn't I think of that" Trike from Russia. It is side by side seating rather than Tandem, and is available in both 582 and 912 Rotax Models. I've sent an inquiry to the company owners to verify details, but they claim that they sell it in kit form and can ship around the world. No word as to whether the machine will be ELSA or SLSA legal. Check out the slick cockpit!
Some Details from their website:
Features
The “Cruise” is ideally suited for the:
It also may be used for the:
Company owner, Kamron Blevins, has been a member of the Hang Gliding Manufacturer Assoc. and has certified many hang gliders. He brings this experience of flex wing design and flight testing to North Wing. Jose & Maria (sail makers for 18 years) and Cliff (airframe department for 4 years) bring their professional skills to North Wing as well. Angela brings her customer service expertise to the front line, most likely you will speak with her when you call.
These and our other qualified associates will bring their experience in customer service and manufacturing to build you one of the best microlight, trike wing or Hang Glider in the world. Check them out if you are looking for a quality American Made Trike or Hanglider.
LINK
Billed as "The Most Comfortable Trike You'll Ever Fly", the Raven Soaring Trike is an FAR Part 103 legal trike that is powered by a 28hp Hirth Engine. It is also an engine-less soaring trike.
It is basically the undercarriage and power unit, and can be used with a variety of wings. Fully transportable, quiet, and convenient. A nice alternative to the two-seat trainers and SLA machines more commonly in use. I can imagine that one of these machines would be incredibly relaxing to fly on an early Sunday morning with calm winds and the sun coming up in the East....
A brief description from Bob Corbo's article in Hang Glider Magazine:
Although first conceived in 1999 it wasn’t until the spring of 2000 that the first Trikosoarus™ as originally named, got airborne. What it is in one form is a rigid supine harness with a tricycle landing gear, and rigid connection to a hang glider, designed to be aero towed or roll launched. In its other form it’s the most fun powered micro light trike you could ever fly. Capable of both super slow powered flight (18 mph indicated airspeed with a 160lb pilot) and engine off soaring with electric restart. And the real neat thing about these two very different flying machines is that it only takes 10 minutes to convert from one to the other.
LINK
My good friend, and former head of P&M Aviation, Bill Sherlock, was involved about ten years ago in a great project to exceed the speed of sound in a land vehicle. They succeeded. The first ever supersonic World Land Speed Record of 763.035 mph was set on 15th October 1997 by Andy Green in ThrustSSC, on the Black Rock Desert, Nevada.
Bill's job was to fly the a Quantum 912 over the course during operations - looking for incursions onto the playa and giving members of the media rides. Though Bill has since moved on to other interesting endeavors, the Thrust Site is still up and running and makes a fascinating read.
LINK
An interesting article describing the cast of characters who actually did "fly" at the same time or before Orville and Wilbur, but were never given the same recognition. Check out the video then visit the article
LINK
Pretty cool site, and simpe to use. Just click on the location you are planning to visit to see a comprehensive list of Aviation museums. Includes details of exhibits, aircraft on display, and user reviews. Photographs on the front page would be nice, but overall a decent resource.
LINK
Two pilots were killed performing aerial acrobatics at an air show in Poland when their aircraft collided head-on above thousands of spectators. From Planenews.com
The latest in my "Not a Trike" flying machine series... this cute little critter is like a combination of helicopter and hovercraft. It has no tail rotor, no collective control, and redundant engine and control functions. They promise a price below $50,000 as well. Sign me up!
Check out the details from their site:
By eliminating the need and complexity of swashplates, collective and cyclic control through a coaxial rotor design a number of benefits beyond conventional helicopter designs are immediately realized. First; enhanced, intuitive flight controls are achieved by simple motorcycle-style handlebars and the absence of a tail rotor. To gain altitude, simply throttle up like you would on a motorcycle, turn left or right on the handlebars for craft rotation and move the handlebar assembly as a joystick for directional control (including reverse). No pedal controls are necessary, which means someone without the use of their legs can just as easily fly the AirScooter. Handlebar controls represent the most distinguishable feature of the AirScooter. AirScooter's patented design also provides an amazing level of stability while in the air and during flight.
Ok, so I'm about to do my "website of the day" and I find a new trike website that has very professional graphics, a logical layout, detailed information, and all the elements of a "winner!"
So, as I'm browsing the site, looking for some form of contact info... ANY form of contact info... I find the STRANGEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN ONLINE! A complete and total OXYMORON. The site has the following on their "Contact" page (click below to enlarge):
"Currently we are not taking any requests from the web. Thank you."
In other words... thanks for visiting this really great website, with tons of great info on how we can help you to train, visit us, sightsee, give us your money, etc.... but "oh, by the way" PLEASE DON'T CONTACT US IN ANY WAY!
I always thought that trikes were pretty "maneuverable"... man how wrong I was! One night last week I fell asleep in front of the television. When I woke up, there was the craziest sh*t onscreen that I had ever seen!! These guys were flying a closed-course of gigantic inflatable cones with small overpowered aerobatic airplanes at speeds over 200mph! Unbelievable!!
You have GOT to check this video, it's called the "Red Bull Air Races" and they have "legs" held in different countries. This video is from Porto Gaia in Portugal.
It seems that you can actually find a pretty decent flight simulator built right into the free Google Earth! It requires a couple simple steps to find this "Easter Egg", but once you find it, a menu items appears for future use.
Full Details can be seen at Marco's Blog HERE
From a few of our new members I have discovered that there is a thriving microlight community in India. Wow, we are finding trikes all over the planet! (still waiting to hear from our friends in Russia....?) Check out our membership map, with 3400+ visitors from 55 Countries!
From the LearnToFlyTrikes.com website:
A great little "I learned about flying from that" story about wet grass, brakes, and paying attention!
LINK
Found this very interesting site today that gave me some inspiration for creating new trike mounts to hold my camcorders, bullet cams, and digital cameras.
Most of the equipment can be made from off-the-shelf aluminum and pvc, with minimal machining. Perhaps this might spark a bit of an idea in one of you as well?
LINK
Do you or your spouse have a "fear" of trike flying? Have you found cobwebs growing on your brand-new Quik912 because of lack of use? Well, maybe they have an answer for you HERE
From their website:
Many people develop fears as they mature and life seems more precious, while others may have experienced a bad flight. You may have a strong imagination, recently began a family, or feel a need to be in control. Young mothers often feel protective and nervous flying with their kids or babies. Regardless of how fears develop, those who suffer can experience sleepless nights, elevated anxiety, and fear of panic attacks. Friends and family often don't understand the problems caused by a fear of flying.
Concerns may include weather, turbulence, take offs, flying over water, claustrophobia, crowds, losing control (panic attacks), terrorists, hijackings, fear of falling, and fear of heights. Many times these worries are caused by a lack of understanding about what to expect during a flight. Most fearful flyers just need a little help in the form of education, reassurance, and guidance.
I must have put something into the water because you guys are amazing! We went from 70+ members to over 100 members in one day... Incredible! There's no doubt we are on to something here, as the number of visitors, contributions, photos and video postings is growing exponentially.
Look at our stats. We had been averaging between 100 to 150 visitors per day until yesterday and then the number shot up to 326!
