bushpilot

There a great plane, like you i was GA but ive nilly done my conversion and im looking foward to navs :P, like you said the preformance and the cost compared to some GA planes these days, well you know, i live im melbourne and to train and i shopped around for GA when i 1st started and it started out ok only $200 per lesson now since landing fee and what not have gorne up i was nilly $300 per hour! so i switched to the jab, $175 per hour and no landing fee and i feel it better for skills building and it way out preforms the old GA stuff by far. ide be looking to buy one 2 but im only 20 years of age and still have my ute to pay off :P but that is next on the cards :P

 

thats my 2c

My instructor teaches bar on the strut once rolling at about 20kts....onmy Airborne Redback - then, of course, pull in on lift off.

But lessons I took last yearin the USA - on a Cosmos trike - he taught neutral all the time.

I actually find the neutral position provides a bit more feel, particularly in roll response. i.e. ifyou are a bit off-centre you can feel it through the bar and adjust accordingly..

But, like John,I'm interested in other views.

Cheers

Chris

Good to get some more trikers on this forum!

I have a Redback - and just completing my conversion training from hang-gliding & nanos & PPL. So good to get some more healthy exchanges happening on our collective experiences.

Cheers

Chris

So has this forum had a poll or simple headcount on how many RAA or GA owners have ballistic recovery systems installed? It would be interesting to know - as a simple 'yes' or 'no' or 'intend to fit'...

Well that feedback sure is encouraging; I thought I was going to be denied the challenge is flying in anything approaching 'boistrous' conditions.

My instructor says that trikes are inherentlysubject to being 'flipped' in real turbulentair - much more so than hang-gliders, with which I have experience... but never had any real dramas, evenin Summer air.

Yet in the mags - RAA and HGFA - there are regularly stories of triking expeditions in places like Queenland, the Territory, South Africa, etc... and there must be some big air in those places...

Cheers

Chris bushpilot

Guys,

General update on my training in my Airborne Redback trike(Ref. my intro. post above..)

With just8 hours to date - I have to drive 340 kms return to my CFI - the biggest difference I'm finding from GA is the affect of summer conditions.. My instructor refuses tofly after 8:30am, so mostly we start at 6:30am (which means leaving home at 4:30am). He says trikes can bite hard in any real turbulence..

I'm interested in the experience of others, as I'm a bit disappointed by this aspect - having also flown hang-gliders for years (+600 hours), where we relished unstable air.

I did also did a few trike hours in the USA - where they fly in any air - but they domostly have ballistic chutes....

Cheers

Chris

I work for a relatively new company www.datadotdna.com that manufactures microdots for marking high value assets like motor cars and motorcycles;wehaven't done light aircraft yet - but it makes some sense..

The job allows me to travel overseas a lot - but only in the insulated environment of the big silver birds.. But on extended stays, I have done some local U/L flying - eg in Seattle, USA.

I guess that if the original log book was with the plane, it would be!!Your reply doesnt tell me anything I need to know

Just a hint Gary, if you reply to others posts like that you might not get too many more responses, these people are trying to help you.

 

Hi Scott,

Just stumbled on your post.. I'm 15 minutes on the Bathurst side of Oberon - at the foot of'The Mount'. Have a strip down here and buildinga hanger... and anew trike - Airborne Redback- currently hangered at Mudgee, until I complete my conversion from GA PPL and Nano-lights to RAA UL.

Let me know if you spot this post and we can arrange to meet..

Cheers

Chris

I was using a compact Canon for awhile - but recently took up my Nikon D70S - and the difference is amazing - clarity and ability to enlarge and crop; which meansI can point and shoot in the approx direction of the shotI want - without even looking through the viewfinder - then, whenback on the PC, fiddle away to produce a high quality result -cropped tojust the required subject..

D70S sized digital SLR cameras are a bit bulky - but if excellent results are required - are hard to beat.

Good job Ben!!

BTW: What's with the car thing - on a flying forum??

Hey Jetgirl,

Maybe there are folks from further afield that would also be interested in calling in... I'm in country NSW (but lived in Ballarat as a kid) and am travelling down your way in October...

So can you help with more detail on the museums, etc? Like an URL?

Cheers,

Chris

Nothing to do with the topic- but just thought I'd introduce myself to.

I've just moved up from a nano to a trike (Airborne Redback) and I have it at Mudgee (NSW) with my instructor. I have GA PPLlicenceas well- so conversion shouldnt take long.

I'll then bring the Redback to my farm near Oberon. The hanger is under construction!

Would be good to exchange with you guys. Any idea of how many trikers on the forum??

Guys,

This is all v'helpful info. - but can someone help me with this basic Q:

All I need is basic GPS functionality with built-in maps to assist in navigating around in my trike. I dont have a lot of room on my panel - but could fit a PDA sized device - either in 'portrait' or 'landscape' mounting position; but I dont need all the additional PDA / phone functionality...

Any ideas on the best value Garmin or equivalent??

Cheers

Chris

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

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

Hey Guys,

Your 'discoveries' could be of use to others too; it's always interesting to read allsort of technical and practical feedback - as it can often be related to other types...

Cheers

Chris

The way them thaYankees self-promote had me standing to attention looking for a stars and stripes flag to salute.... ;-)

I haven't had the fitting experience - but I have been investigating one for my trike.

My instructor has told me that their have been more deaths and injuries from accidental deployments and 'over-use', than lives saved by them being needed. i.e. re the 'over-use' he means deliberate deployments when there where other options to recover from the incident.. leading to crash landings into objects, water, etc.

So, if this is true, it becomes a bit of a disincentive to considering ballistics.

Also,theimporters (into Oz)of each of the two main brands no longer stock them - only bring them in to order; so you have to assume that the take-up rate is very low..

Having said that, I spent 2 years flying ultralights (trikes) in theU.S. -and EVERYONE has them. It seems that they have a lot more issues with mountain generated rotors and other strange climatic things in parts of the U.S. - But it's still interesting that it has been become an almost mandatory thing over there...

Any thoughts or views from others on the pros and cons??

Chris bushpilot

Wondering if anyone can help me here...

We live on a farm and have the usual problem with vermin - particularly rats and mice. We control them with baits but this winter we have had mice living part-time in the engine bays of 2 of our vehicles - and they have started nibbling on wiringsheaths and rubber bits.

I have just bought an Airborne trike and I'm concerned that the mice will love the dark, dry conditions under the full covers... (Not to mention snakes in Summer..)

Anyone had problems with mice in hangers or sheds? And, if so, how did you fix the problem? (And no, we dont have a cat.. and dont want one...)

Cheers

Chris bushpilot

If that is the basic circumstance, I wonder why all the fuss (earlier in this thread) about the need to be hush-hush in (not) discussing cause and effect....

Pic finallymade public. Ouch![ATTACH]1231[/ATTACH]

So are there any 'publishable' reports on the circumstances as yet?

Hi Arthur,

Well the Savanah would certainly do the job; I have read a bit about it elsewhere in this forum - but it is not the prettiest sheep in the flock (I am a farmer after all...)

The Storch is definitely worth considering - as is the Foxbat; both seem to have reasonable STOL capabilities.

I have decided to do this thing in 2 steps: I have just bought an Airborne Redback trike, for fun, out there inthe breezeflying - and willdo my 3-axis conversion training on a Jabiru. (I found an instructor nearby that has a new J160 arriving soon). Then in 2007 make the decision at to which 3-axis to buy.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Cheers

Chris

Update on my original enquiry here:

I have had2 GA pilots inspect my strip, and the consensus is that I need to do some serious tree clearing on the approach.

So, I have taken all the suggestions into account and gone with the one that suggested I haveboth a 2-axis and a 3-axis. I will do this in 2 stages:

Stage 1 - I have just bought an Airtime Redback and will complete my 2-axis training on this http://www.airborne.com.au/pages/ml_redback.html

Stage 2 - Clear 2 acres of gum trees before upsizing to 3-axis. At this stage a toss-up between Jab 160 or Foxbat. But keep the trike for fun.

Can any of you thathave beencurrent on both 2 and 3 axis at the same time tell me how difficult it is to deal with the opposite-direction control inputs? (A-frame and nose-wheel).

Thanks,

Chris

Wow - Is there some serious experience assembling here!

It 's great to see so many pilots that have tried a wide range of aerial pursuits. I figure diversity, in our sport, is the best form of experience - with each category, and type within it, having their own characteristics and learning challenges.

Any gal pilotsout there??

Cheers