FSX-SE Wales to England in an Ultralight

[P_7878 6,612]

Here are a few travelogue images of a flight with the Ultralight Trike (FW by John Cillis). The aircraft is modeled based on John's real-life Trike experience, of course, subject to the limitations of the SIM. The altitude of this flight is rarely above 1000', and the Trike's speed is rarely above 40 mph (often less) - with a touchdown speed as low as 25 miles (all as duly noted in the download Readme). If that's not the definition of "Low and Slow", I do not know what is! It does give a new and unique perspective to the enjoyment of VFR scenery, not achievable with any other aircraft. The landscape of this tour, although devoid of high hills/mountains, is picturesque with gentle rolling hills and scenic coastlines dotted with villages and towns. The flight takes off from EGNR (Hawarden in Flintshire, Wales) to EGCC (Manchester in England). I've utilized the colorful "Rainbow" livery of this plane. Hope you enjoy these pictures. [Orbx(Wales-England)/FW(Trike)/REX]

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Wow, never has my trike looked so beautiful, not even in my screenshots.  You got the speeds right on, although if you use the trim you can get up to about 45 mph, about the top speed for a single place trike with the Rotax 447 which I used here. 

This trike was a collaborative effort, the sounds were courtesy a simmer that made a Weedhopper Ultralight based on his real life Weedhopper.  The engine was courtesy another simmer, and the pilot courtesy a payware company that went out of business and gave me their source to one of their aircraft, a Titan Tornado, which sadly I lost for FS9 when my old computer croaked in 2017...  (Ribbet Ribbet).  I made a custom livery for a man in India for his daughter, cannot remember what her name was though.  He sent me a message thru my hotmail address and I agreed to make it for him. 

I designed the trike so repaints can be made easily but I forgot to include blank textures.  The trike comes in many flavors as you know--strutted wing, regular wing, with fairing, with wheelpants, with both and without.  I had help from another simmer who would critique my trike and make suggestions, namely in the front of the wing.  Dave Eckert was a big help, as the Trike was modeled in FSDS2 of which he is an expert. 

The trike was my only scratch built project for MSFS and as I noted in another post, it is P3D V4 compatible, works better in P3D due to a transparency issue with the prop in FSX when cumulus clouds are in the background.  My XML gauges can serve as a tutorial of sorts if someone is interested in XML coding.  I learned XML way back when, in the early 2000's, when my boss would give us video and VOIP lessons.  Now I do not use it, I create websites using Yahoo small business, easier....

John

P.S.  If you want a real challenge, reverse your pitch and roll axis in the sim, that is the way real life trikes are flown, with reverse control on the control bar.  Took me getting used to and my CFI would get on the comm and say "What the heck are you doing--this is not fixed wing!"

Edited February 8, 2019 by John_Cillis

[P_7878 6,612]

John: Yes, it would absolutely go up in speed (in fact, it did, if I recall correctly), but I just meant above that I deliberately kept it in 35-40 mph range while passing over this Orbx scenery...

Yes, I've only tried the No-Fairing model here...out of the many in there...would surely try the other ones later...

And, about "reverse your pitch and roll axis in the sim", it should be fun to try in the SIM...unless I quickly crash it back to the ground...🙂...not having a clue how a real Trike is flown...

[John_Cillis 2,406]

35-40 mph is a good cruise speed for a single place, Part 103 trike...  Sounds like you are very skilled in handling it and one of the few who reads the readme, lol  30 mph is a decent approach speed, you do not want it to drop further than that.  When you land you want to put the wing down to dump lift, that is how real trikes are flown.  A trike can only handle a 5 to 10 mph crosswind component, otherwise you can drag a wing, not good for the sails...  My trike instructor in Arizona no longer teaches, but we have many other instructors and if I want airtime it is about 150 for an hour.  Trust me, that is as much trike flying as one can stand, due to the cold at altitude and the vibration, as said in defending your life one's cajones vibrate for days afterwards, lol....

[Phantom88 3,287]

***Fantastic***

[P_7878 6,612]

Patrick: Thank you.

John: I did a quick touchdown recap with this, and yes, as you say, 30 mph is a good approach speed, and the touchdown is on the mark (~25 for me, as observed), as also noted by you, "The trike comfortably flies between 35 and 40 mph and touches down between 23-27 mph".