Blog Posts Across Trikepilot - Social Edition - Trikepilot

Learning to Fly - 34 hours in the seat and near to Solo

For the last two weeks every time I arrived at the airfield for my flight training the weather as turned out to bloody diabolical, too windy, cloud too low, too much rain, too much bloody English crappy figgin weather….. oh…how low I felt “Shitttt!!!!” Last night, the weather bird said scattered showers, low cloud, …. ooooh Bollocks! Bugger it, I will get up early, get my arse down the field and get Gunny rigged for a 0900 slot….. I arrived at Plaistow’s; the wind was 090 across the runway at a… Continue

Posted by GT on July 3, 2008 at 3:00pm — 2 Comments

Course plotting help....

I'm now just a practical test away from my SP - having been endorsed this morning to take the test, but I have one concern. I'm a little shakey on plotting a course (my new GPS didn't help that situation) and I was wondering if anyone knows of a good step-by-step tutorial on course plotting - hopefully something online. Any suggestions? Fred :) Continue

Posted by Fred Rafilson on July 1, 2008 at 11:05am — 1 Comment

Is it possible to fly a trike (with pilot) on Vancouver Island (Tofino area) Cananda?

I hope there is someone out there to give me info about possibillities ! Pleass alo share info on other places in Biritish Columbia Canada. Continue

Posted by Eric on June 29, 2008 at 4:44am — 3 Comments

Last Flight of Another Trike Aviator

I am a recent member of this wonderful goup and unfortunately the first blog I am submitting is depressing. However, it will serve as a poignant reminder of how important a consistent, comprehensive pre-flight is to each adventure we initiate, no matter how minor it may seem. Last Saturday, June 21, 2008, we lost another trike pilot. His name was Daniel White from Aptos California, he was 60 years old. I had orignially met Dan at an EAA meeting in Watsonville Calif. about a year ago, and had occ… Continue

Posted by David Hinojosa on June 27, 2008 at 6:27pm — 1 Comment

The Inner Art of Airmanship

This is a favorite web page that I wanted to share with the rest of you. Check it out, it will cause you to reevaluate everything you used to think about while flying. "You should not worry about the friend to beat, or the government minimum standard to meet; this is a long game of solitaire. You must not stop if you have beaten the other student or have passed a test. The real exam will come when you are alone" http://www.hikoudo.com/index.h… Continue

Posted by jeff_trike on June 25, 2008 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Learning to Fly - Gunny meets her Designer and the new GT450 QuikR

Whilst dragging out the other flex wings at the front of the hangar to get at Gunny, this takes about 20 minutes, that is taking them out and putting them back in, at the moment I am scared to death that I might damage one, so I am really over cautious, but I think its best to do be that way. By the time Rob walked over to the hanger, Gunny and her wing were out on the grass apron and ready to be put together. OK GT, today it’s a bit of a funny one, I have Bill from P&M flying over in the… Continue

Posted by GT on June 24, 2008 at 3:00am — 5 Comments

So I decided to check out the fixed wing side of LSA.

During a nice flight out of Chandler Airport in Fresno, Ca. with an instructor freind of mine we encountered a problem.... It was 6 p.m. We were cleared for takeoff in the beautiful A-22 Valor LSA high wing aircraft. Takeoff was uneventful even with the fair 12 mph headwind. We climbed out being careful to stay under 1,500ft. and outside of the first ring of Fresno International Airpot's Class C airspace, paying attention to the GPS. We headed N- NE to look at Friant Dam from the air. I had the… Continue

Posted by Sean Copus on June 18, 2008 at 8:00pm — 3 Comments

Pre Oshkosh Trikefest

So who's registered to come to the Trikefest this year? It is only a little more than a month away and I wonder if everyone has registered so they can figure out how much food to buy. All that is difficult to calculate withe the price of fuel so high. I wonder if that will stop anyone from attending? And then who's flying on to Oshkosh after the trikefest? Dave Continue

Posted by Dave Wallis on June 18, 2008 at 11:26am — 1 Comment

Soloed!!

OK - I know its no big deal to most of you - but I'm excited and had to tell someone other than my wife... Today I finally soloed!! I's all downhill from here since I've already passed my written. A few more hours, X-country and practical and that SP will be mine. Spence - I should have my trike in the MI City Airport within a month if weather/scheduling, etc., cooperates. Look forward to flying Harbor Country with you soon. Fred :) Continue

Posted by Fred Rafilson on June 18, 2008 at 9:51am — 6 Comments

Learning to Fly - Plaistows to Sandy - 2nd Cross Country

The weather in the UK today looked pants, however i had to sort out a few odds and sods at the airfield. When i arrived at Plaistow’s the weather had actually picked up, so i did what i had to do, and wheeled out the wing, (i keep the wing flat because there is no room anywhere to keep it rigged, and on a "T" Trolly") and the trike, and then some Guy called Brian, helped me put Gunny together, as it was a little breezy. Brian Told me that he had flew to Cyprus once, wow! some trip hey! With in… Continue

Posted by GT on June 13, 2008 at 3:00pm — 3 Comments

"Scare" Harbor

Greensboro has an active airport called Air Harbor, which is located under the outer ring of Class C airspace. It is also surrounded by reservoirs and runs in an east-west orientation. I flew the Clipper there yesterday morning for my first aerial visit ever. Local pilots refer to Air Harbor airport as "Scare Harbor". The trees, rocks, water, and wind all contribute to an interesting affect on takeoff and landing. The last few days have been close to 100 degrees, and I hadn't been flying since… Continue

Posted by Doug Boyle on June 9, 2008 at 8:23am — 2 Comments

Learning to Fly - First Lesson with G-CFGT or as we know her "Gunny"

Today, I had to meet the inspector to, have the radio installation certified, all went well but the flycom intercom that the radio is connected to is playing up, I can receive but the transmission is very quite. I will write to Dave Grey at flycom and ask him if there are any switches in the box that can sort the problem out. So after that, I had to wait for my slot with Rob. After a few hours, it was time to take Gunny up for a spin, this would be my first flight in control of her. The weathe… Continue

Posted by GT on June 8, 2008 at 3:21pm — 1 Comment

Fly UK 2008

Hi all.

It's the annual "Fly UK" Round Britain microlight event this week starting Sat 7th. For more information visit... www.fly-uk.org For those not in the UK, this is a great event where normally around 30 pilots spend 6/7 days circumnavigating the UK, flying by day, camping… Continue

Posted by Ian Parker on June 5, 2008 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Learning to Fly - Touch & Go's "NOW CRACKED"!

I finished a night shift at the fire station and over a cuppa in the kitchen I texted Rob to see if there had been any cancelations for today, with a few moments Rob had replied and said it would be possible to get up around 1800hrs, if that would help. Sure would was the reply. Today I also chased up the permit to fly from the BMAA. The nice people said that they are still awaiting for its return from the CAA. So I rang them too. The assistant assured me that it would be sent out today to the… Continue

Posted by GT on June 5, 2008 at 2:25pm — 6 Comments

FlyCamOne2 Micro Cam - Tail Mount anyone?

FlyCamOne2 Micro Cam - Tail Mount anyone?

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Posted by Spencer Forman on June 4, 2008 at 11:36pm — No Comments

OBX '08

The annual trek to the Outer Banks of North Carolina included 65 people this year. I went down to fly my SeaWing on longer stretches than last year, where I mainly stayed local. The temps started off in the 70's for the first two days, which made for some chilly flying on the longer distances. On the way to Ocracoke Island, I had to land midway just to warm up! My knees were shaking....Once there, I landed again for the same reason and later found out that the beach was a protected area for the… Continue

Posted by Doug Boyle on June 3, 2008 at 8:51am — 3 Comments

Over New Mexico - HD video

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Posted by jeff_trike on May 29, 2008 at 2:00pm — 8 Comments

Learning to Fly - Touch & Go's Get Better

The postman arrived, several letters hit the floor, “bugger”, none of them were from the BMAA, no flying gunny today… When I arrived at the airfield, the weather was shit (as usual). Rob and I moved the school GT450 out, walked around a while, well said Rob, what do you think, are we up or what GT?, well the wind is still the cloud base is about 900ft, com’n lets go.. We scrambled into the GT, and soon screaming down RW15, up we climbed to about 800ft but the cloud base was a little to low, so… Continue

Posted by GT on May 28, 2008 at 4:00pm — 2 Comments

PUT YOURSELVES ON The "New" Pilot Map!... Click on Pilot Map Tab

PUT YOURSELVES ON The "New" Pilot Map!... Click on Pilot Map Tab

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Posted by Spencer Forman on May 27, 2008 at 11:41pm — No Comments

Permit to Fly - GT450 912s

I was just leaving the doctors, when the old dog and bone rang " Hi tossa, get your arse down here and lets put your bird together", I’ll be there in 40mins mate. When i arrived at the airfield Rob had removed all but my trike, OK GT, lets get your trike out and lets rig her up. within 20 mins the wing was rigged and ready for hooking up to the trike, and Rob talked us through the procedure and again in no time at all G-CFGT was rigged. Rob then set about checking the whole aircraft over, soo… Continue

Posted by GT on May 23, 2008 at 4:54pm — No Comments

Engine out hard landing

Here is the latest on my engine out mishap. The FAA sent an investigator and a mechanic to Espanola yesterday to inspect the wreck. They saw the first point of impact on the centerline, then the second impact 90 feet further, and skid marks for 200 feet after that. We had been flying for about 30 minutes when I noticed the water temp running warmer that it usually reads. Could it be that I didn't tighten up the radiator cap fully when I preflighted? I wanted to land and check it out. I greased… Continue

Posted by John Cortesy on May 22, 2008 at 11:10am — 13 Comments

Arrival of New GT450 912s

It was a lovely sunny day as I drove out of our close towing the trike trailer, I was filled with both excitement and apparitions, all that money on one item, am I doing the right thing, we could have had a new bathroom and a kitchen…. “TAKE THE SLIP ROAD ON TO THE M1 NORTH” screamed the SatNav! I don’t know how I had got to the M1, must have been on autopilot. Ah fuck it!, its done now, so I turn on the cd player and turn up one of my favourites by Free “Alright now” . Three hours later I arri… Continue

Posted by GT on May 21, 2008 at 10:00am — 6 Comments

Crash hellmets / Coms etc.

Hi all, Im looking around at crash hellemts etc, i like the Lynx stuff but it,s expensive, (Is it worth the money?) The Flycom stuff looks good to, I like the intergrated headset. Any out there know any other makes that are worth looking at? Continue

Posted by Tom on May 20, 2008 at 5:47am — 14 Comments

What animal do you worry about crossing your runway on final?

Looks like both of these guys were at the wrong place at the wrong time. No winner here. Continue

Posted by John Cortesy on May 19, 2008 at 9:08pm — 3 Comments

What we have here, is a lack of communication....

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Posted by Rob Caya on May 19, 2008 at 8:09pm — 5 Comments

Flying with the RAAF

I won’t bore you with the actual flying bit. But just a little about flying with the RAAF. (Royal Australian Air Force) Before take off, I call in and let them know who I am, what I am, how many people on board, etc, etc. Usually (At weekends) the base downgrades to a MBZ, so no problem with talking to a computer. But sometimes, when the base becomes active, the tower will want to know where I am and to watch out for the Star Lifters taking off or the Hurcs coming back from their exercises . I b… Continue

Posted by mark wright on May 19, 2008 at 8:00am — No Comments

My location

As you may have figured since reading my blog entitled "Hello" I am a trikeless student pilot. So i've place my icon over the direct location of my house. Cool things we've got on this website. :) Continue

Posted by Sean Copus on May 17, 2008 at 8:11pm — No Comments

Learning to Fly - More Touch and Go's

It was raining when i lifted my head off the pillow, and thought "Bollocks", no flying for me today! However as the morning progressed the rain came in and out. I texted Rob and said i wished that i had bought a Boat... Pop down if you want, could do with an hand to sort some stuff out, ... OK, see you in 40 mins mate. As i drove onto the airfield, the rain started to filter out and a smile grew on my face. Soon after we were airborne, and flying the circuit, i was on finals, looking good, i w… Continue

Posted by GT on May 16, 2008 at 11:00am — 6 Comments

Almost There....

Almost There....

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Posted by Spencer Forman on May 16, 2008 at 2:00am — 1 Comment

ENGINE FOR A 103 TRIKE?

I'M TRYING TO EDUCATE MYSELF ABOUT ENGINES. I'VE LOOKED AT ROTAX, HIRTH, MZ, SIMONINI, KAWASAKI AND OTHERS. I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR COMMENTS, POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE, FROM THOSE THAT HAVE USED THESE ENGINES. EACH MANUFACTURER OR DISTRIBUTOR CLAIMS THEIRS IS THE BEST. I'D LIKE TO KNOW THE REAL SCOPE ON THE ENGINES. THANK YOU. Continue

Posted by Ed Weaver on May 14, 2008 at 1:02pm — 4 Comments

TRIKER CUB PLANS

UPDATE: I finally made the right connection, ordered a set of plans and received the plans today from Mark Overson. I appears to be a great set of plans with a lot of helpful information included. Continue

Posted by Ed Weaver on May 14, 2008 at 12:44pm — No Comments

Great Flying Weather in Chile

Great flying weather, click here for more details.

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Posted by jeff_trike on May 10, 2008 at 9:30am — 9 Comments

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Posted by Spencer Forman on May 9, 2008 at 3:51am — No Comments

NEW TRIKER

Everyone welcome a newly soloed triker named John Mcclenny who is a member of Trikepilot!!! He will be home tomorrow evening sometime. He made his solo flight this evening in his Pegasus Q trike in nothing but perfect conditions with nothing but perfect results! Sorry to spoil it for you John! I just couldn't resist!!! Gator Continue

Posted by gator blevins on May 4, 2008 at 7:53pm — 3 Comments

Carb Tips..

Rebuilding your Bing Carburetor Check out this great "How To" from

and this one from Ultralight News:

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Posted by Spencer Forman on May 3, 2008 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Learning to Fly – 1st Cross Country Run

I rang Rob at Exodus this morning to ascertain if the planned cross country lesson was on. His reply was, the wind is constant at 20kts, but things could improve, why don’t you pop down to Plaistow’s and we shall take it from there. As I rolled up at the airfield, Rob was up flying around in the GT450 with John who was carrying out pre GFT.. he looked good and I thought as he landed, Wow only if I could do that, as his landing looked smooth and controlled, even in windy conditions as we were cu… Continue

Posted by GT on May 1, 2008 at 3:33pm — 3 Comments

Spring winds, go away...

The paradox of Chimayo-Religion VS drugs.

Lest you think I have not been flying lately because I have not been posting stories of adventure, I decided to scribble a few lines to assure those who are interested (very few I'm sure) that I am indeed still flying and loving it. I we… Continue

Posted by John Cortesy on April 28, 2008 at 9:15pm — 3 Comments

Throttle splitter

Does anyone out there have a suggestion about the best throttle splitter for the R-582 with dual Bing 54 carbs? I don't want to use the aluminum body with the aluminum slider disk inside. The cables and ferrels are all good just the splitter juntion is sticking. I ordered a spltter from CPS but they sent the wrong ends and cable disk for dual carbs. Blue skies! Continue

Posted by Rob Stapleton on April 27, 2008 at 10:30am — 6 Comments

Video of the Day

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Posted by Spencer Forman on April 26, 2008 at 9:21pm — No Comments

Clipper 582

Tonight was the third hour on the Clipper since its inspection. The winds were light and the turbs were non-existent. I practiced 360's in both directions and shot several landings. The Kiss450 wing is predictable and light on the roll. I'm starting to investigate the trim mechanism now and feel there is some performance still to be gained through getting the slight pressure off the trim bridle. I'd like to see the bridle "give up" any pull on the top wires. There is a slight deflection where th… Continue

Posted by Doug Boyle on April 24, 2008 at 11:19pm — No Comments

Learning to fly - Hour 21 - Circuits

After 3 weeks away from flying, I was eager to get airborne, but more so to continue to land the GT450 consistently. My circuits were good, my approach is good, the works, but when it comes to doing the business, things just go to pot. I have tried most things to get things right but alas; I am not consistent enough to get it right time after time. My instructor said, to fair, the weather I have been learning to fly in has been windy, and I have not had many calm days, but I should be able to… Continue

Posted by GT on April 24, 2008 at 4:14pm — 7 Comments

Two New Videos of my last trip to Monument Valley

I finished up my two new videos which cover Day 2 and Day 3 of my trip to Monument Valley in November 2007. You can watch it in the viewers below, or go to the "Movies" page at my website to download a copy. If you like it, leave a comment. en… Continue

Posted by jeff_trike on April 23, 2008 at 9:04am — 2 Comments

SeaWing annual

Since the Clipper is flying now I figured this would be a good time to tear the SeaWing all the way down. It hasn't gone back together since return from the Splash-In, and for good reason. If it were back together I'd fly it at the first hint of decent weather, thus postponing the maintenance once again. I flew it long and hard in Florida and want to make sure it is ready for the annual OBX trip, at the end of May. I made a list tonight while walking around the bird, and it ended up being two pa… Continue

Posted by Doug Boyle on April 22, 2008 at 11:01pm — 2 Comments

TRIKE CRASH! Anyone see any similarity to that other Spot Landing Crash Video? mmmm? :-)

TRIKE CRASH!

Anyone see any similarity to th… Continue

Posted by Spencer Forman on April 22, 2008 at 8:04pm — No Comments

Vote to Regulate Gas Prices

OK so our trikes do not use a great deal of gas. But, when you take a five gallon gas jug to the gas station it hits home hard just how expensive just five gallons of gas is today. Jacksonville, FL the price of premium is now at $3.67 a gallon or $18.35 for just five gallons. Add to that 13 ounces of full synthetic oil and your 5 gallon tank of gas is well over $20.00 If your fuel burn rate is only 4 gallons per hour (less than a 582 with 2 people on board) your one hour flight just cost you a… Continue

Posted by Ron_ Rocky_ Bertsch on April 19, 2008 at 7:09pm — 9 Comments

new video...

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Posted by Mick Balaban on April 18, 2008 at 4:32pm — No Comments

Clipper flight

The Clipper flight went well this evening. The air was calm and the flight was very enjoyable. The engine is purring like a kitten and the temps are all in the green. The wing makes my SeaWing seem like a truck! I'll be sorry to see this one sell! Inspection was had yesterday and all went well. Love those Air Creation machines! Continue

Posted by Doug Boyle on April 16, 2008 at 11:36pm — No Comments

Welcome every one

I live in Saint John NB CANADA EAST I'M a instructeur pilote and i Like to fly!! See you Richard Continue

Posted by Richard Paradis on April 14, 2008 at 5:59pm — No Comments

Trikepilots on the GPS City Gallery

Thanks to Rob Caya for the free publicity on GPS City Gallery ... he submitted our RAM Mount setup and won a free T-shirt and a great link to Trikepilot.com!

thanks Rob! Continue

Posted by Spencer Forman on April 12, 2008 at 7:00pm — No Comments

Video of the Day! - The "Sky Rats" are back!!

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Posted by Spencer Forman on April 12, 2008 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Learning to Fly - Hour 20 - Engine Failures / Circuits and Balls Ups

What a bloody Nightmare… I took three days leave to have three days flying, and what blooming waste of time, as no matter what I did, whilst trying to land I fucked it up… On the 2nd April I arrived at Plaistow’s with a big smile on my face as I was about to ordered my new GT450 and to continue good things i.e. landings, .. things were going well, I made a couple of good ones then off we went and completed a few engine failures and on the return, and after setting the QFE, lining up, someone re… Continue

Posted by GT on April 5, 2008 at 3:30am — 6 Comments

Monument Valley - Expedition 3 - Day 1

I have been working on this video since last November, and here it is, finally for your enjoyment. This was my third trip to Monument Valley, and I saw more, flew more, and was more impressed by the scenery than ever before. I made this video mainly for myself, because I can watch this video and mentally,… Continue

Posted by jeff_trike on April 4, 2008 at 11:00pm — 4 Comments

Who says that the music doesn't "make" the video... TURN UP THE SOUND! Crazy!!

Who says that the music doesn't "make" the video..…

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Posted by Spencer Forman on March 31, 2008 at 12:19am — No Comments

Aiptek HD Trike Cam Project...

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Posted by Spencer Forman on March 28, 2008 at 10:00pm — 2 Comments

Site Changes...

Hi Gang! Just wanted to let you know that the site has undergone some styling changes this evening because Ning (the social network upon which we are built) has made the changes. As a result, some things may need to be checked and tweaked, etc. You may notice that there is a new la…

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Posted by Spencer Forman on March 27, 2008 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Learning to Fly – Forced Landings Without Power - Exercise 16A

Today, I arrived at the airfield and met Stev (the guy that took the footage of my landings in the Quantum), we had a coffee and waited for Rob to return from the fuel run. Soon after that Rob came bounding into the office “Morning GT, morning youngun I said, sarcastically, fancy a coffee boss, I replied, love one said Rob… with that Stev said I’m off now guys and with that he went and left Rob and me to discuss my next flying lesson. Today GT we will be learning how to do Forced Landings Witho… Continue

Posted by GT on March 25, 2008 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Aerotrekking Utah's backcountry

I am interested in flying Utah's backcountry and camping at remote strips and following the routes of one of the Cub Caravans that have an annual trek throught he back country. These pictures will give you an idea of what the area looks like.

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Posted by John Cortesy on March 23, 2008 at 10:35am — 4 Comments

Some amazing things happen when you put a turbine on a J3 Cub "kit"...www.turbinecubs.com

Some amazing things happen when you put a turbine on a J3 Cub "kit"...…

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Posted by Spencer Forman on March 21, 2008 at 1:39am — 1 Comment