Still loving that thing Mike. Thanks for the video. If I didn't have my gyro I would be all over that trike. What's the scariest thing that has happened to you when flying your trike? I would think some thermals would hit you pretty hard out there in OK.
Nothing scary yet. It is the same type air conditions I flew hang gliders in for years. Except for take-off and landing, I keep my altitude well above the mechanical turbulence near the ground. This flight required some focus on landing because the wind sock was moving in every direction and going from limp to straight out, indicating a thermal breaking loose on the airstrip (I landed in the opposite dirction of take-off). I just keep the speed up and the prop spinning just enough to keep it open for a slightly quicker spin-up in case I need to hit the throttle for a go-around. A few times the thermals been so ragged it was more work than fun, but not scary.
It depends on several factors, such as how high, how fast you want to get to a given altitude, overall length of the circuit, and wind and temperature. Here at 625'MSL, on an 80F day into a 5mph headwind, I may use 8% of charge to get to 400'AGL, cut power, glide in a circle back and land. I fly from my private airstrip, so there is no defined "circuit" to comply with. On a 100F no-wind day, I may need 10-12% of the charge to do the same (longer take-off run at full power and more time at high RPM to climb in the thinner air). Below 35% remaining charge, you begin to notice a reduction in peak RPM. I could probably do touch and goes for about 20 minutes before I didn't have enough power for another take-off. That factors in taxi time and % charge used to get back to the end of the airstrip for another take-off. Generally, after take-off, I make an initial slow climb to above 750' and then maintain level flight. Using 20kw at peak power vs 6.5kw for level flight makes a huge difference in flight duration. This would not be a trike for a new pilot in training.
So cool !! 👍👍👍
absolutely stunning
👍
Still loving that thing Mike. Thanks for the video. If I didn't have my gyro I would be all over that trike.
What's the scariest thing that has happened to you when flying your trike? I would think some thermals would hit you pretty hard out there in OK.
Nothing scary yet. It is the same type air conditions I flew hang gliders in for years. Except for take-off and landing, I keep my altitude well above the mechanical turbulence near the ground. This flight required some focus on landing because the wind sock was moving in every direction and going from limp to straight out, indicating a thermal breaking loose on the airstrip (I landed in the opposite dirction of take-off). I just keep the speed up and the prop spinning just enough to keep it open for a slightly quicker spin-up in case I need to hit the throttle for a go-around. A few times the thermals been so ragged it was more work than fun, but not scary.
With your current setup, how many takeoffs/landings circuit rounds can you do.
Cheers
It depends on several factors, such as how high, how fast you want to get to a given altitude, overall length of the circuit, and wind and temperature. Here at 625'MSL, on an 80F day into a 5mph headwind, I may use 8% of charge to get to 400'AGL, cut power, glide in a circle back and land. I fly from my private airstrip, so there is no defined "circuit" to comply with. On a 100F no-wind day, I may need 10-12% of the charge to do the same (longer take-off run at full power and more time at high RPM to climb in the thinner air). Below 35% remaining charge, you begin to notice a reduction in peak RPM. I could probably do touch and goes for about 20 minutes before I didn't have enough power for another take-off. That factors in taxi time and % charge used to get back to the end of the airstrip for another take-off. Generally, after take-off, I make an initial slow climb to above 750' and then maintain level flight. Using 20kw at peak power vs 6.5kw for level flight makes a huge difference in flight duration. This would not be a trike for a new pilot in training.
@@mikedillonhaswings thanks