Hi Gordon,

I agree with you. I was interested in Seiji Kurihara's's trike-launcher in Japan. I was in correspondence with him and he sent me all the details. I think he's the Japanese agent for Adventure.

Have a look at:

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=mh1f-6nGs ... re=related

Here are Seiji's own words from his mail to me: "Unlike a wheely trike which fixes an unit, it does not fall down sideways by rolling of glider. Since it separates before fall down, so it is safety. If the trike launcher is made tandem specification, both persons do not need to run."

Cheers,

>>> Dara <<<

Yes Dara- the trike launcher is an interesting concept..... the logic being that once you're airborne, you no longer have the wieght and drag of the wheeled chassis. There would be a strong merit for this on tandem units- where foot launching can be difficult to co-ordinate with the passenger.
My own personal opinion though- for single seat PPG would be that footlaunch would be more versatile and easier. I do like the FB Excitor and the 'Flat top S-Trike' from Dell......... I've got the S-Trike on my 'long term' objective list.

Gordon,

Have a look at the Bailey Quattro. It's a joint venture between Bailey (for the engine) and Adventure (for the trike). It's also sold in France as the FunFlyer. Later on this year it will be available with the new Bailey 4V-200 engine giving 75kg static thrust. It's also available as as Quattro Plus which is the paramotor and the trike as separate, connectible units. The design is quite clever and minimalist e.g. the plastic seat is also the 22-litre fuel tank!

More details at: http://www.baileyaviation.com/trike.htm

Cheers,

>>> Dara <<<

Dara, Yes i like this machine- the fuel tank/seat is a great idea, the whole unit looks really good too.

The reason i like the S-Trike though is that it has a lot of new innovative features - not seen (yet) on any other trike.

The main pros for the S-Trike are-
-Independent braking on the rear wheels: allow you to reverse launch
-Fabric cowling can be added to the forward frame: Keeps the wind out on those cold days!
-Cargo pod can be attached to the bottom of the unit: You can carry additional fuel, camping equipment, etc... great for a weekend 'fly in' without bringing your car!
-Also the robustness of the construction is notable: If it can survive the antics of SuperDell, then that's something.....



On the downside though-
-US Dollar rate is bad, and the machine is already expensive
-Wont be as fuel efficient as a foot launch machine
-Only one dealer for the UK/Ireland as yet...