Microlighters

Hi, this one is for the “old timers” out there.

I was having a chat to a mate of mine at work (Bliks) and we where discussing the limitations of trikes in wind (excluding landings)

He had it on fairly good authority (?) that trikes where unable to handle winds in excess of 5knots – I explained to him that this was not the case but I was wondering if any of you had stories to share regarding what these a/c can actually do in what type of winds?

I think Demon will probably enjoy answering this one :D

I am a girl trike pilot and regularly fly in winds up to 15 knots at ground level, and not so regularly up to about 20knots. I don't often fly in much more than that , as taxiing becomes very difficult, and because of wind gradient, the winds higher up can make you "hover" above the ground.

About 2 months ago, we were doing a coastal flight, and the wind was so strong, that into wind the dogs and kids playing on the beach were overtaking us, and after 20 min or so feeling like you are stuck in the same spot, it gets a bit much. Although I must admit the first 15min or so were fun (until I started to get a sense of vertigo for not going forward, and pulled the bar in a bit more )

David, my dearest skygod, has landed at Margate in winds in excess of 30knots on the ground. It was uneventfull, but the tower still invited him up for a Brandy and Coke, as none of the other light aircraft were flying, and he thought this triker was a bit nuts. David declined as he was missing me, and after re-fueling, took off and headed home.

So no. Trikes can handle pretty much anything a light aircraft can.

Just remember, thermic wind, wind with big gust factors or windshear, and winds behind mountains can be dangerous, so if you don't want to take a bit of time studying micro-met, rather don't fly in wind.

As far as I am concerned, anyone who does not fly in some wind, is missing out on a lot of flying, and its probably just due to a combination of ignorance and laziness.

If you want to learn to fly in the wind, come to La Mercy for a couple of hours of advanced training. We just about never have less than 5 knots to fly in

Yep, here in the Cape you very rarely fly in anything less than 5kn and generally 10 to 15 and it is perfectly safe to do so. As FF said there is no point in trying to fly in a headwind that will slow your groundspeed to a crawl. Some of our guys were flying in to the Swellendam weekend from Saldanha, and that weekend we had 30 to 40 mph headwinds. After about an hour and only 20miles of the 120miles covered they opted to do a precautionary landing and trailer the trike the rest of the way.

As long as your runway faces the wind then it's fine, but high crosswinds and a trike can cause havoc, so, eventhough it's quite safe upstairs, landing can be deadly.

Doesn't really have to do with wind but can you miss bumps and thermals by flying faster?
"65 litre tank - 6 to 8 hours endurance at 8 to 10 lt/hour! Cruise at 65MPH, don't feel the bumps!"
viewtopic.php?t=1669

DieselFan wrote:Doesn't really have to do with wind but can you miss bumps and thermals by flying faster?
"65 litre tank - 6 to 8 hours endurance at 8 to 10 lt/hour! Cruise at 65MPH, don't feel the bumps!"
viewtopic.php?t=1669

If you increase your wingloading, i.e. the amount of weight per Sq meter/foot on your wing you will reduce the felt bumps/turbulance. This can be done in many ways, a) increase the all-up weight, i.e. load the trike with PAX, luggage etc, at the expense of performance and climb ability but not beyond the recommended MTOW, b) decrease the wing size, which usually increases speed with reduced lift.

You could increase the speed of the trike wrt the wind. Reduced wing size, bigger engine and courser pitch on the prop. Don't expect a dramatic increase here.

Choose a cooler time of day to fly

Or my favorite if you do not have a height restriction due to TMA etc, and you have to do a cross country, climb. When I came back from Plett to Cape Town, which was a 5-hour flight, by mid morning you are being thumped around like a yoyo. It's amazing what even just 500 feet will do to make the journey more comfortable. As soon as I felt some bumps, I climbed a little higher. I was happily cruising along at 5000feet, about 4000AGL, while my flying buddy, who loves the thermals was cruising and bouncing along at 2000ft.

Fairy Flycatcher wrote:About 2 months ago, we were doing a coastal flight, and the wind was so strong, that into wind the dogs and kids playing on the beach were overtaking us, and after 20 min or so feeling like you are stuck in the same spot, it gets a bit much. Although I must admit the first 15min or so were fun (until I started to get a sense of vertigo for not going forward, and pulled the bar in a bit more )

Only difference is severity or the bumps. I know little about trikes, but light 3 axis get thrown around plenty and it can be quiet uncomfortable. As long as little thermic activity it is great when it from behind, but not nice head on. I fly taildraggers which like trikes (I assume) are a bit of a handfull when xwinds are thrown in da mix, more so on ground. Did trip from FABL to FAGC in a Piper cub in just over 4h15mins. Way down was only 2 hrs with no wind. Landing was non event as wind was stright down runway, but had it been Xwind we would have landed on taxi way. In air it was smooth and quiet pleasant other than even the odd bicycle at time passing us. At stages the ground speed was less than 30kts while indicating almost 3 x that.

Agree with all. I would not go looking for it, but when faced with it do not shy away. It can be great fun and nothing quiet like greasing it in 15kt x wind.... (and if at first you don't succeed, go around and try again)

I'm a 3-axis boy and the fun part of the landing stage is being at a 45º angle with the runway getting closer and closer and then some nifty footwork and stickwork just before you touch the runway :D

Duck Rogers

Duck Rogers wrote:I'm a 3-axis boy and the fun part of the landing stage is being at a 45º angle with the runway getting closer and closer and then some nifty footwork and stickwork just before you touch the runway :D

Duck Rogers

yeah, 3-axis rules da X-wind

Trikes will fly in stong winds. Gusting winds may be unpleasant but as long as you are moving forward, it's a breeze.
On one particular flight, a group of us flew at only 3kn (5km) ground speed. This would have been great if we were traveling with the wind. We would have reached our destination in record time.

flintstone wrote:On one particular flight, a group of us flew at only 3kn (5km) ground speed. This would have been great if we were traveling with the wind. We would have reached our destination in record time.

What worries me about this is having to turn around and land into the wind, if you leave it too late you will be hoering on finals for days

The stronger the wind, the shorter the finals.

Taxi back to the hangar is the real challenge.

demon wrote:

you will be hoering on finals for days

Must be a CT thing to go hoering for days

I meant hovering, h-o-v-e-r-i-n-g. Mind you there is enough hoering going on on the road leading up to the airfield.

The other day we are busy in the hangar and this sorry character, looking very forlorn walks into the hangar and asks if we can help him jump start his car. Then came the excuse, He was on a trip from Namibia and stopped to have a sleep. when he woke up and tried to start his car the battery had died. A reasonable excuse except of course, he had turned off the N7, up a prossie frequented rd, in to the sand path that leads to the airfield, then up a little narrow cul de sac with very soft sand. Now any body travelling would not find this sort of place to sleep but rather a secure filling station with toilets and stuff. Also his 'aunt' was hiding on the back seat under a blanket, (maybe just very shy ). The fact that his aunt was younger than him, had a risque dress sense, was a different race group, whose face, for some reason looks remarkably similar to one of the ladies who always seems to be idly standing around on the road outside didn't seem to phase him.

This sorry ass wasn't driving an old Merc perhaps?

Morph, I used to live on the farm Platrug less than a mile uproad from the airfield. This one Sunday 3 years ago, I went off-roading with my bike in the canola fields, lifting my 10-year old cousin, around a small hill and nearly smashed into this old Merc, right there in the middle of the farm.

After k@kking this oke out I realised he had no pants on and this girl, similar to your earlier description, her mouth was attached to the lower part of his body. Quickly had to cover the youngsters eyes to avoid seriously awkward questions and then insisted he starts his car and leave the farm at once. Well, he tried but the flattery was a bit batt. After a bit of pushing and shoving the car started and off they went.

The next morning he was back, looking for me, pleading and apologizing for his bad judgment begging that I must forget what I saw and please, please, never ever contact his wife

This immediatley reminded me of your own experience.

Could have been, a different vehicle this time.

It's bad enough he embarrassed himself once, but coming back again to apologise and to beg you to forget is beyond me. I would have disappeared into the sunset, never to return.

demon wrote:Stormy, gsuty winds, and winds near mountains are to be avoided

This is a topic I believe deserves much more coverage in the theory of an MPL. There appears to be a lack of micrometeorology covered. Many pilots have no idea what a rotor is and how dangerous it can be to flying and how far away (above or beyond) you need to be from a mountain to nit get caught in one.