Another one of my toys!

kpriddle wrote:Awesome pictures, Bandit.  It's been a serious thought of mine for quite some time to own my own hang glider or ultralight.  As a college student, dreaming is about as much as I can muster for now.  Regardless, it's neat to see you living your/my dream!  Happy flyin'!

KP

P.S. On further thought, can you share how you developed your interest in this type of flight and how you went about becoming a pilot/owner?

I garnered my interest in this form of flight from several of my friends who also had trikes and since these are simple straight forward easy to fly aircraft with fairly simple maintenance which is a lot of the cost of owning an aircraft, I though that it was the way to go. BTW my Trike is accualy Registered and not an Ultralite since it holds more than 5 gal of fuel (14.5 gal total) weighs 500 pounds cruises at 65 mph and carries 2 including the pilot and has full radio gear with com it does not qualify for Part 103. Instead this aircraft is known at a light sport aircraft (LSA). The light sport certificate is fairly simple to get and does not require any type of medical instead all you need is a valid drivers license, that is unless you've had an FAA class three medical that has been denied if that is the case, you will have to get a waiver in order to get a light sport pilot license. How I went about getting it was I contacted a friend of mine that knew an CFI (certified Flight Instructor) that specialized in WSC aircraft and took my training which took my about 9 months on and off it can be done faster. total time needed to qualify for your written and check ride is 20hrs total 15hr duel instruction and 5hr solo this includes 2hr xcountry and 2hr duel training in prep for your check ride. i had to get a trike to complete my solo so I bought my trike off of Barnstormers.com and at the time cost me $11,500. (Bandit)

Bandit,

Thank you for all the info. From what I've read, flying under Part 103 requires no license, check ride, or medical exam, but it sounds to me like you've done it the most practical and sensical way.

Just out of curiosity, do you keep your trike in a hanger or do you transport it? After watching online videos, it looks like it takes quite some time to set up the wing, et cetera. I'd imagine this could become bothersome depending on how often one flies...

KP

kpriddle wrote:Bandit,

Thank you for all the info.  From what I've read, flying under Part 103 requires no license, check ride, or medical exam, but it sounds to me like you've done it the most practical and sensical way.

Just out of curiosity, do you keep your trike in a hanger or do you transport it?  After watching online videos, it looks like it takes quite some time to set up the wing, et cetera.  I'd imagine this could become bothersome depending on how often one flies...

KP

I keep mine in a hanger however it is not really difficult to rig and de-rig the wing however there are two types of wings; One with a king post (The part that sticks up from the top of the wing) and luff lines and the strutted wing also known as the topless wing which has no king post and uses ridged struts much like a full size cessna that take all the flight loads. The topless wing like the ones made by NorthWing can simply be detentioned and folded up on the trike and rolled into a trailer. While the one with the king post has to be removed from the hang point, derigged and put in its bag for transport still not hard but can be cumbersome.

As far as Part 103 goes, yes it has no licensing and maintenance requirements as well as no need for record keeping or the requirement for an Annual condition Inspection which is required for LSA and experimental aircraft however this does not mean that there is no training required or no maintenance required you still have to go through training for safety sake. With the tough on safety if you elect to go with a Pt 103 I highly recommend that you do keep some form of records and every so often have someone who is knowledgeable on the type of aircraft you elect and have him or her go over it and check it out at least yearly. Again this is not required and you do not have to do this, it's just a real good idea that will help you spot potential problems before they can become bigger problems that could potentially hurt you. I'm an A&P and I do alot of work on both experimental and LSA. I also do work on Pt 103 aircraft and offer what I call an "Safety Inspection" which is a voluntary no fail inspection designed to help the owner spot problems and believe me, I've spotted some rather dangerous problems like a cracked LE on an old Quicksilver MX about two months back. The owner had no idea it was there. Pt 103 is the cheapest way you can safely fly a man carrying aircraft with acquisition costs which can be as low as 4k or even lower, you just have to use you head a little more to remain safe. I hope this helps man and sorry for the Essay. (Bandit)