Video of the Day - Spitfire flying under a Bridge

Yes, I know... it's not a trike! But, I just LOVE THAT DAMN SPITFIRE. Did I ever tell you guys that I had a past-life regression and found out that I was a Heinkle HE111 bomber pilot in my last life during WWII? No, seriously! Maybe that's why I love the Spitfire... perhaps I spent a ton of time trying to avoid them and not get shot down??

Anyway, I digress (regress? ;) ....

This is a Spitfire MkIX MH434 in both shots. The main footage is Foyle's War, but the actual bridge shot is from Piece of Cake filmed in 1988. Wonderful footage and flying.

On those rainy days you need a little light reading material, yes? Well, how about reading about a man who has flown his Pegasus Quantum 912 over the

On those rainy days you need a little light reading material, yes? Well, how about reading about a man who has flown his Pegasus Quantum 912 over the Atlantic Ocean on multiple occasions?


Please introduce yourself to Brian Milton. Though I've not had the pleasure to meet the man, his name carries the type of controversy associated with legends. Whether you view him as a madman or an adventurer the likes of Shackleton, this gentleman is certainly carrying around a large pair.

Two of his books should do the trick. First is Chasing Ghosts




Second is Global Flyer: Around the World in 80 Days




You can also read more about Brian and his full adventures, conquests and controvery at his website.

Helmet and Headset Replacement Ideas continued...

I was browsing around today and came across this helmet today and thought it might be a great alternative to the Nolan N40 that I used for my custom Lynx modification package.

The thing that looks most interesting about this helmet is that it has a three-way face piece arrangement. There is a main shield, chin shield, and an eye shield. All of them flip upwards and out of the way. This could be good or bad, not sure, depending on whether one has a windshield on their trike. If so, then it would be ideal because I can see leaving the main shield upwards and using only the eye shield on sunny days, dropping the main shield during a cold spell, and leaving the chin shield "off" until the winter time, where it would make the chin and neck nice and cozy.


Has anyone every used this equipment before on their motorcycle or snowmobile?

Along the way, I also saw these audio inserts.



Now, I am a huge advocate of protecting one's hearing by using custom-molded earpieces like these, but for a passenger helmet, perhaps one might use this system instead of the traditional Lynx or Comtronics? With a passenger only going for an hour or so, and not continuously, perhaps the slightly lower decible reduction would not be terribly damaging?

Any thoughts?

Portable Tool Kit - Good to have onboard

We don't always think about what is needed once we leave our home airport. As part of an ongoing series of "must have" items to pack, I'd like to start with the basics. Nothing could be more fundamental than a tool kit.

What do you need to have with you? Well, though many of you would like to carry the entire workshop, at a minimum, I suggest a multi-tip screwdriver, crescent wrench, pliers, Needle Nose Pliers, Allen Wrench, Tape, Flashlight, and Hammer (for banging in stakes if you have to tie down or getting a tough nut loose).

I've tried many kits over the years, but have personally settled on a basic soft-pack that is easy to fit into my side pouch, lightweight, and inexpensive. Just enough to get me back into the air until I can make more permanent repairs.

Absolute MUST SEE Slideshow!

One of our newest members, Harrison, has surprised even me with a wickedly well-done slide show and some seriously catchy music. I would love for him to give us an article and insight into how he did those Fish-Eye images and who is the musical artist?

TrikePilot Social Turns 48!

Yes, it's true. You read about it in the NY Times... I'm sure. Trikepilot Social has now hit 48 members and we are earning $1,000,000 per day in Google Adsense revenue! See you guys later... I'm moving to my own private island in the South Pacific ;)

Seriously though, it is clear that our little "experiment" is taking off in a big way. We have over 489 photos and 67 videos posted in just 10 days, and now we have our 48th member Paul Noy. The importance of 48 is only obvious when you look at the member grid on the front page. We've filled eight rows!

All of you have helped to make this site a real fun place to visit, and some of you in particular like Abid and Miklos have been very prolific writers. I thank you all and hope that you will continue to enjoy the site and also tell more friends.

Did you know that you can now tell who is online by a green dot next to their name in the member's section? Or that you can now view any or all videos from within any video player just by using the scrolling feature? Did you know that Storks deliver babies? Well, did ya? (yes... I'm goofy and tired and it's time to turn in for the night!)

Ok, seriously (again), let's try to get a few more slowbies online by sending them a link or a cool badge (just post it into your email program if you send html mail) like this:



Visit Trikepilot - Social Edition

Oh, one more thing. We're merging the original Trikepilot.com site with Trikepilot Social and so you can now access Trikepilot Social simply by typing the URL: http://www.Trikepilot.com/social or the alternative http://social.Trikepilot.com whatever floats your boat!

Thanks gang and keep up the fun!

Video of the Day - Doug's Trike Adventure

Check out AirplaneGear.com for all your Trike Needs

AirplaneGear has a fantastic selection of trike equipment, including Bar Mitts, Strobes, Intercoms, and GPS units. Rob Rollison runs a great business, offers incredible support and warranties, and is always available to answer questions. Give them a look!

It's coming soon... don't think you can avoid it!

What is coming? Old Man Winter!! OMG you say.... it can't possibly be you are speaking of the cold and blustery Winter when it is 100 degrees in the Midwest and it is only August. But alas, it is true. Your fingers and lips will be turning blue shortly, as life moves very quickly these days.

So, it's time to start thinking of your cold-weather gear. As your faithful Trikepilot Social equipment guidance system, I am here to tell you about another one of my favorite "secrets"... Cabelas.

This is the ONE source for all outdoor gear. Better than all others (especially if you want to load up a batch of Turkey Jerky on to the back of your machine!). You can get everything from helmets to heated socks, from lanterns to lanyards. My suggestion is to go right to the outdoor clothing section and check out their ultra-cool snowmobile gear, which just happens to be "puuuurfect" for Trike Flying.

Helmet Camcorder System

Trikepilot Social will be offering regular reviews and previews of new and exciting equipment for your flying, photography and videography hobbies. As part of this series, we wish to suggest that you visit SportZshot and have a look at their helmet camcorder systems.

In the past we've had great success with fixed-mount camcorders. This has proven to be the most stable and effective way to capture various angles and shots from the air. However, there is a need and a place for "point of view" shots as well, especially mixed in with the fixed camera clips. A properly mounted helmet-cam system is an invaluable tool for getting that "special" footage... during landing, steep turns, or during an instructional video.

There are many systems on the market, but this one caught my eye today and might get your juices flowing for making a new "masterpiece" video for Trikepilot Social!

Trike Site of the Day - For the Love of Flying

Well, it seems we have a bit of a hidden celebrity in our midsts! Our own Larry Wallace has become a published "auteur" and a fine one at that. Please do yourself a favor and check out his recently featured article in the Tuscaloosa News entitled "For the Love of Flying".

Guaranteed to give you a smile

Flyday

This one just put a smile on my face. Don't ask me why. The video editing and camera work are actually outstanding... I think it's just the music. Silly... goofy.. and his voice-over as well. Love it! I was giddy with laughter and literally cracking-up as I watched. Does anyone know this man Barry Foer from Warrenton, Virginia? If so... get him signed-up to TrikePilot Social ASAP!

BRS meets the Dukes of Hazzard!

Ballistic Recovery

This is what the Dukes of Hazzard do on their days off? I thought it was a good way to see what your BRS might look like in the event you ever have to use it!

One of my all time favorite flying videos - an oldie but a goodie!

MXing It Up

Find out what it is like to pilot an ultralight aircraft low and slow over the Kansas prairie. Pilot and Director: Brian
FitzGerald of Witcheta, Kansas. Music also by him. This is one of my favorites because Brian does such a great job in combining the music and video. He has a website that is equally fascinating. Even if you have no interest in Quicksilver aircraft, his video editing and flying skills are a sight to behold!

Trike Site of the Day - SeaGull Escape Pod

What a wonderful piece of engineering! I witnessed the development of this incredible single-seat machine called the SeaGull Escape Pod between Oshkosh 2005 to 2006, but didn't see it this year.

Michael Riggs has an equally well-done website that has full details about the design, background, engineering, testing, and construction of this machine.

Mike has joined us recently here at Trikepilot Social, so I hope he will jump on board and share some of his insights into this fun and very slick looking trike, especially with the demise of the two seat "fat" ultralight. This might be a great alternative to the bigger machines?

Something to do when the flying weather isn't so great

Many thanks to Tal Newhart for turning me on to Gotham Dream Cars. It seems that a thousand bucks lets you drive a million dollars worth of fantasy cars! Wonder if that includes the hot girl in the right seat or not?

How to sign up for websites without getting spammed!

A little secret for those of you who would like to join various websites (flying or otherwise) without having to divulge your "real" email address to spammers!

There are many sites that will let you create a "one-time" instant email so that you can use it to receive the confirmation email from a website that you would like to join. Now, this would not be a good idea for a site like Trikepilot Social, because we need to continually send you email to notify you of messages or other posts that concern you. For a "one time" site, such as downloading software or obtaining a music player widget, etc., this idea is the best idea.

My favorite site is called Mailinator . You can create ANY name you want @mailinator.com and it will work. For example, trikepilot@mailinator.com is just perfect. When you need to submit an email, use whatever@mailinator.com as the address. Then, when the site tells you to retrieve your confirmation link, go to Mailinator and enter the "whatever" name you submitted in the upper right corner of the screen. This will take you to an open mailbox that should have your confirmation message waiting for you!

Now, a couple of caveats. First, this does not work with every site. Many savvy tech sites don't allow Mailinator email addresses because they know what the site does and they black list the domain. Second, this is an OPEN email address, so don't use it for private information or sensitive information because it is possible (though unlikely) that someone could randomly type your prefix name and see the email. The service typically deletes all messages within 24 hours, but you would never know for sure. You could use it to get a sensitive login name and then go to that site and change the login username and password after you have confirmed your membership however.

All in all, this is a fantastic way to complete the ridiculous and tedious confirmation messages that are almost always required these days, even for sites that have no chance of interacting with you in the future. Try it and see!

FlightAware is the coolest website I've seen in a long time!

If the flight animation does not play above, please ensure that you have Quicktime, a free media player.

Probably the coolest website I've seen in a long time involving aviation. FlightAware allows you to visually track the exact location and details of every aircraft flying an IFR flight plan within the Continental United States.

Even though it has nothing whatsoever to do with Trike Flying, you have to check this out. Extremely addictive and interesting. Useful too, if you are needing to discover the location of your connecting flight's aircraft during a weather delay or similar.

Bill Fortney is BACK and BETTER than Ever!

My friend, and professional photographer, Bill Fortney is back in action with another exciting adventure this year and a personal website that is gorgeous.

He is presently involved with America From 500 feet "Part II", this time utilizing the Predator powered parachute. Link

His personal website is typical Bill, only the best! Outlines his career, family, and some of his best work, including the original America From 500 Feet project done with an AC Fun Racer. Link

Definitely worth your while to check out both sites!

Profile Pictures... I've got your free icon pictures here!

Hi Gang.

Most of you have been pretty good with figuring out all the interesting features on the new Trikepilot Social, and that's what I was hoping for when we launched.

One item is still stuck under my fingernail, however, and that is the large number of "blank" Member Profile Pictures.

I know many of you are shy, or don't have a good idea how to get your images up there, so I'm going to help. The bottom line is that I would love to have "zero" blank profiles.

So how can I help? I'm donating some images for you guys to use.

Simply go to my public Flickr Account here: which shows a bunch of great shots from my recent adventure to Trikefest 2007.

When you see an image you like, simply right click on the "icon" image from the front page and choose "Save As" or "Save to Disk", then store it on a memorable location on your hard drive. Don't bother with the full-size image, you only need a minimum of 118px x 118px, which is fine with the Flickr thumbnail shown.

Then, go into the upper right corner of your "My Page" tab and choose "Edit My Profile".

From there, you will be able to click on the left upper side where it says "Change Your Profile Photo".



After a quick password check, you will be on the page that lets you upload that image you just saved on your hard disk.

Hit the "Browse" button, locate the file, then you can select the image you download, hit "upload" or "open" (depending on browser), and you are all set. The program will ask you to verify that you like what you have done and you are ready to go from Nameless and Faceless to super cool.

IF ALL ELSE FAILS... just do like my good friend Damien