Try reversing controls on Trike!!

[Guest bfindlay]

I am a real world pilot, and am planning on taking a flight in about a month with hangglidingmaui.com on vacation. I would like to get 'soloed' on the Trike, and having never flown weight shift aircraft before, I have been doing some research on it. Turns out that '3-axis pilots' as we are known in the weight shift community take much longer to solo than a raw beginner! Why? - our reactions are already trained in to manipulate the controls for the desired flight attitude, but ALL CONTROL INPUTS are reversed!!To pitch up you push away on the bar, whereas you pull the yoke towards you in a Cessna. To bank left, you push the A bar to the right, whereas you turn the yoke to the left in a Cessna. And finally, even on the ground it is backward, as to turn right, you must push on the LEFT pedal. So, - cocky as I am, I thought - no sweat - won't affect ME!! I reversed the three axes in FSX, and tried flying the (easy to fly) trike and voila - I crashed repeatedly while maneuvering close to the ground.After a few hours now, with the controls reversed, I am getting the hang of it, but I have to consciously think about each input. Cranking and banking near the ground is VERY hazardous. If you have not tried it, give it a shot - it completely changes the feel of flying the trike - to a much more realistic one! Makes all of it that much more challenging.So - for the next six weeks, I am ONLY flying the trike - reversed. See if it helps when I sit in the real thing!!Cheers.

[Geofa 108]

I was going to take a flight with Hang gliding Maui when I was there last year but didn't get around to it. I look forward to hearing of your experience as I may give it a try next time I am there...http://mywebpages.comcast.net/geofa/pages/rxp-pilot.jpg

[Guest Vilk]

:-)

[Guest IMM22]

Try to install and register FSUIPC4 for FSX . You can get all the configurations you want with that. Very nice piece of software.see the featureshttp://secure.simmarket.com/product_info.p...roducts_id=2068Jorge

[FlyingsCool 3]

So all that sledding as a kid has some use, eh? It always screwed me up in training 'cause I alwasys wanted to push with the right foot to turn left and vice versa.:)Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180

[delta november 0]

>So all that sledding as a kid has some use, eh? It always>screwed me up in training 'cause I alwasys wanted to push with>the right foot to turn left and vice versa.>>:)By golly.....and I thought I was the only one:-lol

[Guest Thunderchief]

Having flown a real weight shift ultralight, I would say that the transition is not quite as bad as reversing the controls in the sim. For a start while it is true that the actions are reversed, the "upside down" controls of a weight shift make it more natural that you would expect. You are in effect directly positioning the air foil into the correct attitude. The fact that you are holding a bar rather than a stick or yoke also goes some way to reprogramming your reactions.It does still take some getting used to, and I don't talk from huge experience here, but its not as bad as reversing the controls.I've actually been thinking about creating a custom controller based off of a CH yoke, but I don't have the room for the large A frame rig I came up with.Simon.

[Guest bfindlay]

Good to know! I too thought about converting a controller into an A frame - but decided against it.