Bluey

Hi John; The ministerial safety review released in 2007 covers aviation in Australia from 2001 to 2005. It looks at all types of aviation including sport aircraft. However, it does not include crashes in this category as part of their analysis (due to lack of reliable crash data). The report is quite long but worth a look. You will find it here: http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/2007/pdf/aviation_safety_rev.pdf It states that there were around 2000 aircraft in the ultralight category in 2004.It doesn't mention the number of microlights as I first thought (I must have read that somewhere else). Although it implies that the number of microlights is greater than the number of balloons (~350) as balloon operators are the smallest group. Based on your comments regarding the ratio of HGFA to RAA registered aircraft for ycab. A currrent figure of around 600 aircraft might be realistic. Regards: Giorgio.

Hi everyone; After a bit more searching and much reading, I discovered that many trikes are also registered with HGFA. The problem is, I haven't yet found out how many that is. However, it seems as though there may be much more with HGFA than with RAAUS. Based on a recent ministerial safety review the total figure may well be around the 500 or more mark? Regards: Giorgio

Hi everyone; Just wondering, does anyone know how many trike pilots there are who regularly fly in Austraila? According to the Raaus website in 2006, there were only 130 registered trikes! Does this mean that there were only around 130 or more regular trike pilots in Aus in 2006? I thought there were alot more! Regards: Giorgio.

Thanks for all the advice so far Hi guys; Great advice from all of you. It's clear that many of you have been doing this for some time and so have formed many strong opinions which is great. What I have learnt so far is that the wizard wing is not really liked too much by the more experienced pilots. Probably due to its slowness and poorer handling in turbulent air. Just wondering how much harder is the thing to land in thermals? At the moment I am favouring the wizard because of my lack of experience and the fact that my budget is somewhat limited to under 25K. I would be looking at a new or near new machine because I don't want the hassles of dealing with major engine work not long after getting my own trike. The kind of flying I am likely to do for the next 3 or 4 years at least is probably going to be limited to flying up and down the coast and a little inland. Due to having a young family I can't see myself going too far as I would not fly anywhere that I could not confortably get back home from the same day. I assume that with a trike, that means staying within about 100km of my launching strip if this is with a wizard winged craft. If anyone has done this sort of flying in a wizard, I would very much like to hear about your experiences. Now, my training will be on an xt912 with a streak 3 wing (a lovely machine that I aspire to one day own). So I will not get any experience with a wizard. Given that I am due to start training on Friday weather permitting, my thoughts on what type of aircraft to but may change with some real hands on experience with a faster wing. But for the moment, the slower wing may well fit my requirements just as well as a faster wing. Please keep up the excellent posts, I'm really enjoying reading them all. Regards and blue skies to all. Giorgio.:)

Hi Guys; Thanks heaps for all the great advice. I am doing my training at Camden in a Xt912 machine with streak 3 wing. The plan is the get through the training over the next 5 or 6 months then spend a similar amount of time doing regular flights in the 912 before deciding on a purchase. At this stage a wizard wing is what I'm thinking about probably out of caution. Who knows how I'll feel in 6 months time? Either way, I'm limited to under 30K for a first up purchase. So that means either a new Red back or well kept used machine. Another question: How does the 503 handle two people on board. Say 160kg total weight? Regards: Giorgio.

Hi; I'm about to start my training and am looking to get my own trike. I'd love to get into a new one which would probably be a redback 503. A really good starting option from what I've heard. I was wondering if I could hear from any owners about their experiences with the redback whether positive or negative. Also, would it be a better option to get a used low hours trike which would probably be at least a few years old in good condition with full log books and service history. Can't wait to read the replys. Regards and good flying to all: Giorgio.:)