What can you do with a Trike, Well...

Weight Shift Control Light Sport Aircraft in New Mexico

Trike flying in New Mexico. A really nice video of one pilot's view of trike flying in New Mexico.  It is good to see more exposure for this unique form of aviation.

The Air Creation Racer is back

After discontinuing the FAA FAR103 compliant single seat Racer awhile back, Air Creation has introduced a new version.  The new Racer renamed the Pixel comes in 2 flavors the XC version and a standard version.  With a 13 sq meter single surface wing it is analogous to the old Fun 14 wing.  The main difference is the power plant.  With the loss of the Rotax 447 a new power plant was required.  Air Creation chose the Polini Thor 250 engine, a single cylinder water cooled 2 stroke to power the Pixel.  Below is a photograph of the aircraft's specifications.

Visit the Pixel website provided by Air Creation USA 

Specs on the new Pixel from Air Creation

Sky Surfing

A different take on the concept of Sky Surfing by a pilot in California.

Low Level Canyon Flying from the Philippines

Some more low level flying in a weight shift control trike from the Philippines. Carlos Frias created another adventure of flying low down a river at the bottom of a canyon in his homeland of the Philippines.  Just another example of the varied uses pilots find for these small light aircraft.  Of course there is an inherent risk associated with low level flying but the virtual white water trip that resulted from the video only demonstrates the capabilities of these aircraft.


An R-rated Flying Video from Carlito frias on Vimeo.

Air Creation North America

A new entity, Air Creation North America, is coming online.  With operations in Washington State and Arizona, Air Creation North America will be handling all Air Creation models and service and can assist in all your weight shift control light sport aircraft needs.

Denny Reed, a long time Air Creation pilot and instructor is heading the operation.  Their website mat be found through the following link:

Air Creation North America

Air Creation Tanarg

Trikes have multiple uses

Weight shift control light sport aircraft have multiple uses besides simple recreational vehicles. Here is a video of what the Russians envision. Cool music accompanies the video.

Canyon Running in the Philippines

Below is a video shot in Bukidnon. Carlito Frias shot this video from a weight shift control aircraft in the steep canyons of this province in the Philippines. It captures the beauty of these deeply eroded canyons as well as the surrounding countryside.

THE GREEN CANYONS OF BUKIDNON from Carlito frias on Vimeo.

1920's Style Aviation with 21st Century Technology

This is what it is all about. Wind in your face open cockpit aviation.

This is not an ultralight trike

The aircraft pictured here is familiar to many but do you know what it is? At first glance many would respond, “well it’s an ultralight trike“. But according to the FAA it is a weight shift control light sport aircraft. At this point those who have been flying trikes sneer and say bull, it’s an ultralight, has been always will be. But that is incorrect, the aircraft pictured below does not meet the definition of an ultralight. To be an ultralight and therefore require no training or license it must meet the requirements of FAR 103, that is:

1. Weight less than 254 lbs.
2. Hold no more than 5 gal. of gas.
3. Its top speed at full power in straight and level flight must be no more than 58 knots (65 mph).
4. Its stall speed must be no more than 24 knots (28 mph).
5. Has a single seat.

If it meets these requirements then it can be called an ultralight (and is considered a “vehicle” in the regulations). If it busts any of the requirements listed above it is considered an aircraft. Under the old FAA exemption the 2 seat aircraft were permitted to fly under a training exemption but were not considered ultra lights and the pilot in command would have held at least a basic flight instructor rating so they could have a student on board. The rising popularity of the larger faster aircraft was one of the reasons for the Sport Pilot rule.

So where does this particular aircraft fall short of being a vehicle?

1. It has 2 seats, front and rear (the rear seat is covered in the photo).
2. It carries 10 gal of gas.
3. It has a top speed above 65 mph, in fact the VNE is 87 mph on this single surface wing.
4. It weighs over 300 lbs.

So the aircraft pictured does not qualify as an ultralight vehicle but is instead an aircraft and to legally fly it requires training and testing under the supervision of the FAA.

LED Landing Light

Here is an evaluation of a 2700 lumen 100 Watt LED light . With the low power required by LEDs this might make a good aircraft landing light, much better than the fog lights used by many. Although the tested LED costs $500.00 a less expensive version is available for $118.00 on this page.

The Government is out to get us, the Death of Aerotrekking?

Those who have never flown a weight shift control light sport aircraft or ultralight trike seem to always have an opinion, frequently negative. For some reason if it does not have an enclosed cabin, a tail, weigh several thousand pounds, and cost hundreds to thousands of dollars/hr to operate it must be dangerous. But geesh, I didn’t know the Air Force had decided to do something about it. This call for proposals from the Air Force is looking for a “non-lethal weapon utilizing net launching technology” to take out utralight aircraft/paratroppers. This Counter Ultra Light Aircraft/Paratrooper System (CULAPS) system will be based on a ground launched lightweight net which will enclose the aircraft and spoil the lift causing it to gently come down. They would like it to be light weight (man/vehicle held) and have a vertical range greater than 500 ft. Oh and it should be automated for remote operation so sensors can set it off.

Somebody watched this video on how to catch a bird and decided it would work for aircraft.

Hat tip to Skydog Skyblog