Took a "Trike" ride yesterday

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

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Every year for my birthday, Eren gets me a gift cert for some aerial adventure.
So far we've done hot air balloon, glider, paramotor, powered parachute, and this year it was listed as hang gliding but I think the street term is "Trike"

I asked the pilot and he even gave me a list of Powered Hang glider, wright shift, trike, LSA, etc terms.

Much like the powered parachute, treetop level to about 500 feet, it was about the most amazing experience ever. Over 1000 feet, I started to get really uncomfortable. I am the same way in planes only my comfort altitudes are higher. No idea why this is.

The up and down controls are reversed from a plane. Push to go up. Pull to come down.
Left and right have a significant lag in response time. If you are a pilot of fixed wing aircraft, your intuition will do more harm than good.

We did a few "Scare the cows" high speed passes over farm land which was awesome.
I think we topped out at around 50 kts but when it's just you and the trees with the wind in your face, 50 feels like 100.

It was a good time and I recommend it if you are good at ignoring that part of your brain that is telling you are doing something scary. The one we flew did have a BRS and each of us had a red handle so that took some of the edge off.

I did this at www.flytexas.com If you are around the hill country (lookin at you @SCCutler) you should take a ride.

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If you want real hang gliding near you for next year, try these guys. They show some trikes on the site, but they also do real hang gliding (no motor).

https://cuhanggliding.com/
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Every year for my birthday, Eren gets me a gift cert for some aerial adventure.
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Happy birthday.
SixPapaCharlie said:
So far we've done hot air balloon, glider, paramotor, powered parachute, and this year it was listed as hang gliding but I think the street term is "Trike"
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I look forward to your tiltrotor birthday. :)
SixPapaCharlie said:
It was a good time and I recommend it if you are good at ignoring that part of your brain that is telling you are doing something scary. The one we flew did have a BRS and each of us had a red handle so that took some of the edge off.
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Looks like you were up close and personal with the PIC. What was the weight/size limit?
 
asicer said:
Happy birthday.
I look forward to your tiltrotor birthday. :)

Looks like you were up close and personal with the PIC. What was the weight/size limit?
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With him and 5 gallons, he had 280 lbs to spare
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Every year for my birthday, Eren gets me a gift cert for some aerial adventure.
So far we've done hot air balloon, glider, paramotor, powered parachute, and this year it was listed as hang gliding but I think the street term is "Trike"

I asked the pilot and he even gave me a list of Powered Hang glider, wright shift, trike, LSA, etc terms.

Much like the powered parachute, treetop level to about 500 feet, it was about the most amazing experience ever. Over 1000 feet, I started to get really uncomfortable. I am the same way in planes only my comfort altitudes are higher. No idea why this is.

The up and down controls are reversed from a plane. Push to go up. Pull to come down.
Left and right have a significant lag in response time. If you are a pilot of fixed wing aircraft, your intuition will do more harm than good.

We did a few "Scare the cows" high speed passes over farm land which was awesome.
I think we topped out at around 50 kts but when it's just you and the trees with the wind in your face, 50 feels like 100.

It was a good time and I recommend it if you are good at ignoring that part of your brain that is telling you are doing something scary. The one we flew did have a BRS and each of us had a red handle so that took some of the edge off.

I did this at www.flytexas.com If you are around the hill country (lookin at you @SCCutler) you should take a ride.

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First that chute thing and now this. Maybe she’s trying to tell you something. I look into the Crystal Ball and see a C206 in your future.
 
Flying planes for 30 years. No sense of fear of heights. Bought wifey a balloon ride for her (and me) a few years ago. It scared the living crap out of me. I was truly terrified.

I'm guessing it has something to do with not being enclosed.
 
Lndwarrior said:
Flying planes for 30 years. No sense of fear of heights. Bought wifey a balloon ride for her (and me) a few years ago. It scared the living crap out of me. I was truly terrified.

I'm guessing it has something to do with not being enclosed.
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Maybe. Maybe not. I'm very afraid of heights. My wife's favorite story was the time we went on the roof of an office building to watch fireworks and my legs shook like jelly. The budling was four stories tall and we were standing in the middle of a flat rook with easily 30 yards to any edge. But the trike didn't bother me. I think it has more to do with a sense of control.
 
I got a trike flight four years ago. I really liked it, and seriously thought about getting my weight shift rating, but came to the conclusion that it would be too difficult to get rated and then have to maintain a specialized aircraft that would be more than an hour away, so I bought a waverunner instead.

I'd recommend it to any pilot, I think nearly everyone here would enjoy it.
 
Lndwarrior said:
Flying planes for 30 years. No sense of fear of heights. Bought wifey a balloon ride for her (and me) a few years ago. It scared the living crap out of me. I was truly terrified.

I'm guessing it has something to do with not being enclosed.
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Outside of an airplane, I have a mild fear of heights. Inside of an airplane, I feel safer the higher I go. Altitude=time/options. During primary training, it took me a couple sessions not to flare too high.
 
midlifeflyer said:
Maybe. Maybe not. I'm very afraid of heights. My wife's favorite story was the time we went on the roof of an office building to watch fireworks and my legs shook like jelly. The budling was four stories tall and we were standing in the middle of a flat rook with easily 30 yards to any edge. But the trike didn't bother me. I think it has more to do with a sense of control.
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Never thought of it that way. You might be right.
 
Did it have one of these?

10972b669d873e7b9f739d15d033d254.jpg


Other than that I got nothing. Although I do wish we had horns.
 
eman1200 said:
Did it have one of these?

10972b669d873e7b9f739d15d033d254.jpg


Other than that I got nothing. Although I do wish we had horns.
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I have a friend that installed a horn on his rv.
Sitting in the hanger when he hits the button it sounds like a damn diesel truck but in flight and on the runway it's hardly even noticable.
 
My wife and I did a ride in Hawaii in the early 2000s and it is a very fun experience.

It is nice to hear that local guys are offering rides to get people more interested in aviation.
 
I have to be enclosed for a sense of security. Did a cub on floats with the doors open ,took me a little to get used to it.
 
"According to Chaytor Mason, a retired professor of aviation psychology at the University of Southern California, the rate of acrophobia is upwards of 90% in some of the pilot groups he’s encountered"

- https://rodmachado.com/blogs/learning-to-fly/it-s-a-long-way-down-isn-t-it

Rings true to me; seems like every pilot I ask says they are afraid of heights. I'd like to try one of these to see how I feel about the open air experience.
 
Lindberg said:
Try a Cub. Low, slow, open, carries more than 5 gallons of gas, and doesn't need a parachute.
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The two seater trikes are light sport aircraft, and typically have have a fuel capacity somewhere around 18 gallons. Most are powered with a Rotax 912, but you can find some older ones with a 582.
 
FormerHangie said:
The two seater trikes are light sport aircraft, and typically have have a fuel capacity somewhere around 18 gallons. Most are powered with a Rotax 912, but you can find some older ones with a 582.
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Bryan mentioned 5 gallons above. But maybe that's not full.
 
Lindberg said:
Bryan mentioned 5 gallons above. But maybe that's not full.
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No not full. Looked like it was about 1/3 full.
He said he burns 3 GPH so he had plenty for our 30 minute fight.
 
asicer said:
Outside of an airplane, I have a mild fear of heights. Inside of an airplane, I feel safer the higher I go. Altitude=time/options. During primary training, it took me a couple sessions not to flare too high.
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I still struggle with that. I have to mentally force myself to get lower.
 
Here in Baja, there’s a man that frequently flies his trike to La Fonda for Sunday Brunch.

He lands it on the beach, just near the restaurant.

Can’t see much that sucks about this.
 
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