Gyro or Trike

[Guest Newflyer600]

I am an interested newcommer to the sport of recreational flying and am interested in some feedback from experienced operators of Gyros and Trikes, and perhaps those of you who have flown both. I am currently deciding which of these to learn to fly. I am wondering about the performance differences (when learning and when more experienced, as I have heard that gyros are more stable in wind), minor luggage capacity, future options for two person machines etc.

 

Sorry to bore you all with some basic questions, but need to start somewhere!!

 

 

[bushpilot]

Welcome Newflyer,

 

I am relatively new here as well; and I have never flown a gyro - but have a friend who has one.

 

I like the relative mechanical simplicity of trikes; I have just bought an Airborne Redback - as I like the out-there-in-the-airstream flying - and the Redback is a 'bare' frame.And I have had many hours on hanggliders - so know the fundamentals of 2-axis.

 

My feeling is (and its only a feeling) that a trike is going to be more forgiving in a range of situations; but like you I would be interested to hear the views of any others out there.. (There are not a lot of trike flyers on this forum - but I'm sure there will be some views...)

 

Cheers

 

Chris bushpilot

 

 

[Guest MMax]

Also have a look at flight training sylabus and who runs each 'governing body'. Find out the pros and cons of each by comparing.

 

Trikes have better freedom of the skies.IMO

 

Very stable, slower than Gyro.

 

Gyros are usually noisey and faster .IMO

 

can fly in rougher air without buffeting due to rotary flight.

 

Both are very manurverable and trailerable. Gyros can land in a shorter distance. Both are pushers and therefore require good airfeild surfaces..IE a badly placed stone can ruin your flying day...I know...!

 

Go for a TIF in each and lay out some criteria for your budget, type of flying you wish to do...etc. (your goals).

 

Everything in aviation is a compromise...!

 

regards Arthur...ex triker.(400hours)

 

 

[bushpilot]

Arthur,

 

This is good advice. I am also interested in what you mean about 'pushers' and stones; are your referring to prop damage?

 

I have a somewhat rough strip on my farm - its been graded but has cattle wandering around on it. So my precaution is a stone guard on the undercarriage; I'm hoping that will be sufficient..

 

Do you have a view on the over-sized 'tundra' kit wheels? Airborne promote them as enabling trikes to land "anywhere" - but I wondered whether those big balloon tyres might pick up evenmore stones, etc..

 

See: http://www.airborne.com.au/images/galleries/outback/index.htm

 

Cheers

 

Chris

 

 

[Guest Fred Bear]

Having flown most ultralights andGA and having been in a trike and gyro, it's a tough call. Gyro's are probably definitely better in turbulence as someone has already suggested, however they probably require more skills to learn how to fly and are no forgiving in the event ofa problem. Maintenance on the gyro is important too. That being said there are some very slick looking 2-place gyro's about the skies these days with full cabin enclosure, radios, etc. My personal concerns would be about the safety aspects of gyros, however this has probably been tarnished by a few cowboys that were getting around in them years ago and dropping them from the sky like flies, as they say. I suspect there are a lot more trikes around than gyro's, so possibly more social in flying clubs, etc. Trikes seem to go on longer trips from what I've seen, whereas gyro's tend to keep close to home.

 

They are my observations, however I'm still on the fence.

 

 

[Guest MMax]

Gidday Chris,

 

Yes......... prop damage due to stones. Steve Neal and myself invented the stone guard net for trikes in 1993....someone copied the idea and is now making money out of it. (good on them). They are a must have item for a trike. I have seen mud flaps on wheels....nothing seems to work as well as the stone guard net.

 

Tundra tyres? "but I wondered whether those big balloon tyres might pick up evenmore stones, etc"( And sticks)

 

Yes absolutely........probably great for beach landings as the photo shows but I would be suspicious of stoney paddocks...again back to the net.

 

Newflyer600.......Try

 

http://www.asra.org.au/(Gyros)

 

and http://www.hgfa.asn.au/ (Trikes)

 

regards Arthur

 

 

[Guest Crezzi]

The vast majority (>95%) of trikes are factory built & as such owner modifications are limited.The majority of gyros (at least that I have seen) are homebuilt (from kits or home designed).

 

This difference does seem to be reflected in the enthusiasts for each type - trike pilots seem to enjoy flying whereas gyros seem to atract people who like engineering & fiddling.

 

Gyros are better in "rough air" but I've rarely seen one out of sight of the airfield they took off from (whereas there are many examples of huge expeditions in trikes). Almost all trikes are 2-seat but quite a few gyros are single seat.

 

Gyros are harder to learn & there are less instructors / schools around. For whatever reason, the safety record doesn't seem to be as good as trikes.

 

I'll admit to be being biased with (> 1000 hrs in trikes) though I have been in gyros a couple of times.

 

Best advice is try both & see which grabs you

 

John