UL stats in OZ

Hi all

What are the number of microlights vs GA etc in OZ? Is it possible to break that down do trikes / 3 axis?

From one guy I spoke to in OZ, he said trikes weren't that welcome, perhaps just in the area he stays?

as far as i know, Trikes are as welcome as a drifter and a CT2, but sadly from the GA perspective, ALL Recreational aircraft from trikes to technams are looked upon in a negative light. but fortunately, the number of people in GA with the negative views is rapidly becoming the minority.

As for the Trikes Vs 3 axis, i am not sure, but i certainly do see quite a few trikes at fly-ins, as well as flying along the coast and on trailers behind cars, so there are certainly a few out there.

I've landed trikes at 100+ airfields in Aus (from unanounced precautionaries on private property strips to Cairns International) & I've never felt unwelcome. Perhaps I'm too thick skinned !

Rather than my trike being looked on in a negative light, the most common reaction is complete ignorance of what they are & how they work - not just from GA people but the majority of ultralighters as well.

Re the numbers of different types in AUA - the RAA website contains the register at http://www.auf.asn.au/admin/aircraft_register.html.

95-32 is the category pretty much all the RAA trikes are registered in but the category also includes powered parachutes like the Aerochute. Probably the majority of trikes won't appear in this database because they are registered with the Hang Gliding Association not the RAA.

Hope that helps

John

Thanks for the replies and link, I see Crezzi you fly a trike and 3 axis, which you prefer?

Now thats an question best answered on a long night with plenty of beer

Short answer is I love 3-axis because of the variety of different types so always easy to find a challenge & learn something new. But when I moved from the UK to Aus I could only buy one & I got a trike.

I might be able to help on this one: I've flown GA in my earlier flying years - then hang-gliding, and now trikes. But I intend to make myself current on 3-axis again (RAA/LSA), and to keep on trikin' as well.

So my view is that trikes are closest to 'real' flying - like a bird - but not as close as foot-launch hang gliding - so the fun factor is very high; and modern 3-axis is more practical in the sense of covering longish distances in comfort.

Doing a bit of both is the optimum outcome for me...;)

Cheers,

Chris

You are quite right Chris - doing both is the ideal answer.

Before I moved to Aus I owned both a Shadow (2 seat 3-axis) and a Chaser (single seat UK trike) which I thought that was a pretty optimum arrangement.

Since I can only own one aircraft at the moment (partially financial but mostly hangerage) it makes sense to have the trike. You description sums up trike flying pretty well & owning it means I can blast off on 5-6 hour xc whenever I have the time and the weather.

Very few schools have trikes available for hire & certainly none round here. But theres several schools with 3-axis which I can rent which has the additional bonus that I can fly in a variety of different types - Drifter, Jabiru, Gazelle, Tecnam & Thruster (regretably not available now). Since a lot of what I enjoy about 3-axis is the challenge of the different techniques for various types this arrangement makes sense to me.

I absolutely see the appeal of HG - I've never tried it (yet) but several of the trikers up here did it for a long time before going powered. For me the drawback would mostly be the inconvenience of it compared to pushing the trike out of the hanger.

Cheers

John