Microlighters

Stratomaster Extreme + Garmin 695 transform Aquilla for IFR flight . . . . .
OK, OK, not quite, but it is still very cool to have this level of instrumentation to hand!

Safe Skies!

John

Did you do some night flying?

topflight wrote:Did you do some night flying?

Now . . . . would I really blog that with CAA trawling these pages??

No, this was just a 6.30am take-off from Aeroden en route around Harties and back home!!

With that said, I am REALLY intrigued with the whole spacial disorientation topic and would love to "fly blind" (on the GARMAP 695 instruments only) with say an instructor in the back on the training bars to see whether you could in fact fly a trike IFR and navigate in level flight, etc.! Anyway, that remains just a thought at present . . . .

Here is a another picture or the GARMAP 695 providing a projected flight path over the Magaliesburg based on current rate of climb. Look at lower section of screen - it shows a cross-section of the mountain with a yellow trajectory line, indicating whether you will/won't clear the terrain at your current rate of climb!
Safe Skies!

John

John.com wrote:

topflight wrote:Did you do some night flying?

Now . . . . would I really blog that with CAA trawling these pages??

...I don't think anyone will even think about night flying in a trike

Do you have an AI on that GARMAP of yours? I do like the flight trajectory and the elevation info, but I don’t think you will ever have the use for it in a trike. We can see rising ground miles away and start to estimate our climb rate…but it is still pretty cool. Enjoy your new toy.

topflight wrote: ...I don't think anyone will even think about night flying in a trike

Dunno?...... the Chain Gang are experts when landing at FASK!

Seriously, some really nice features on that GPS John....prob far too complicated for a Tech retard like me to understand though, let alone operate

Why dont you get Tailspin or DH to take you for a flip in the Pink Lady.....then you will see what "instruments" you really need!

Seat of the pants bud! Best way

Baie indrukwekkend!!!
Maar vir my sal dit nie werk nie..
Teen die tyd wat ek die informasie op die skerm ontleed het sal ek alreeds teen die berg vas gevlieg het..

As n ou nie n oorlosie het nie kyk n ou maar na die son om te weet wat die tyd van die dag is.!!

OK, dumb question but besides the legal issue (obviously and I am not suggesting that you break the law), why would you not fly a trike at night? Serious question.

If you had the standard "T" set-up on the dash, it would be any more diffecult than in a AC, no?

To be honest Fat frank, regardless of the instrumentation on board, flying ANY single engine piston aircraft at night scares the crap out of me.... I dont care if it's a trike or a Cessna. Even the night flight I took a few months ago in a Robbie 44 had me decidedly nervous, especially over the "unlit" areas

One of the scariest flights I ever had was as a passenger in a Cessna during 1996 (I was 16 years old ) We took off from a Private strip in Olifantsfontein and flew to Maputo (Via FAWB). Taking off into the "black death" is something I will never forget....spent most of the time praying for the dawn

The chances of a succesful forced lob at night over a dark landscape are almost nil?

Anyway, I'm sure others will disagree....just the way I feel about it

Bundy wrote:The chances of a succesful forced lob at night over a dark landscape are almost nil?

Hi Bundy,

That is what the landing light is for. You switch it on, and if you don't like what you see, you turn it off again!

The odds of an engine out during night time is the same as during the day. To extend the thought, think of how many times you have flown over terrain with no place to land. Are your odds better at survival than during the night. I don't think so.

Anyway, a trike is just as safe to fly at night than any other aircraft(It is a VFR flight). In USA they do issue a night rating for trikes. Maybe john young can give more info. Don't think CAA will ever clear us for that. Pity!!

Trike Flying at night has been done. _ anyone see the full moon last night.... remote little places faaaaaar away from the big city??? i will put money on it being done more than we think...

DIDNT say it was clever !!! so do not take swings at me...

Agreed...no difference between day and night when we talking about the chances of an engine failure. But...I think your chances of surviving the inevitable descent to earth are much higher during the day.

Some terrain would be inhospitable regardless though (as you've mentioned) and to a certain extent I agree, but at least during the day, over hostile terrain, you have the ability to pick a spot to crash

At night... descending down towards the black abyss beneath you.....you may as well be the passenger. If you had a chute.....it would be a great time to "test it"

Not for me thanks....

I think the USA is the only country that allows a Night rating....be interesting to hear John Young's take on it.

I would think that the Snake formation team is pushing the boundary with their dusk show.
Looks awesome though.

I know of a bunch of trike oaks (no landing lights-or any lights) who flew around Oudtshoorn at night pitch dark but 100% vis of town night lights and landed no problem on night light runway.

I will get some night vision goggles for night flying .

Night flying VFR is not fun; I have done it before with friends in a Cessna...only using a map (which I don't understand because we could not seen anything on the ground). I do disagree that there is no difference between an engine out at night and in daylight. At night it is not even possible to spot and open field somewhere; you will go down blind and in daylight you have a bit of a change to put the aircraft down in an open field.

I have a PPL with NR and did mine in my Bonnie F33A that I had a the time. I know there are some people that have written about the dangers of night flying on a single on the "other" forum (that shall rmain nameless.. ) but I loved it. Hence my question. Do ML AC have more engine outs per flying hour than "normal" AC and if not, why is night flying then not allowed. Are there other dangers that I am unaware of?

Nothing nicer than being up there in the still of the night air, you can see towns many, many miles away. Landing is a breeze. I really have absolutly no problem in flying a single at night (or in the day for that matter). If it was so bad, how come it has not been stopped?