Flying the flycycle

The Flycycle is rather a unique type of powered hang glider as it was designed for use on the road and in the air. Most attempts at roadable aircraft result in a poor flying machine and road vehicle. However in this case, the aircraft flies very well and the total weight penalty for road use is only a few kilogrammes. The entire aircraft weighs 74kg including 10L of fuel and a total recovery parachute. Since it stalls at just under 20kt, it meets the UK requirements for a SPHG (self propelled hang glider).

On the road, it is like a kind of electric goods tricycle. The steering in road mode is very straightforward. The first version was totally pedal powered, but pedalling 160kg up hills is - slow. The electric scooter rear wheel allows a more compact and lower drag solution. It can be built as a hybrid or with full electric drive for road and air. With 3kwh of batteries, about 70miles range on the road or 30 miles/40minutes in still air should be possible. To be legal as an electrically assisted pedal tricycle in the UK, it has to have pedals for propulsion, no more than 250w power and a maximum speed of 15mph. The “pedal for propulsion” is a foot throttle. Up hills with 250w, it can be assisted by paddling on the road with both feet. To exceed this performance requires road certification, more cost and weight.

Note the following instructions are my personal experience and I accept no liability for accidents.

Flying -

To be safe, the pilot MUST be competent in flying a standard type of flexwing trike, or be a competent supine hang glider pilot. Assuming this is the case and that the weather conditions are smooth with light wind less than 5mph for initial flights:

1) Rig the aircraft being certain that it is in flight mode, a full preflight inspection has been done and that nothing can get caught between the power unit and the wing. Ensure all controls are full and free. A full description of the rigging and de-rigging process will follow in another article.

2) Sit in the aircraft, harness and helmet on and practice taxiing at low speed including full turns both ways. Since the wing pitch is fixed fully nose-up, there is little to do except to control the throttle and steering.

3)Carry out the vital actions before takeoff. Warm the engine or start the electric motor.

4) Line up into wind and progressively open the throttle, keeping straight down the runway.

5) At about 20mph airspeed, the wing will lift. Allow the control frame to float back towards you. Ground steering will become less effective and weight shift roll inputs must be used to keep straight. Allow the airspeed to rise to 25-30mph. (All this happens quickly. If you are suddenly 10ft up and in good control, it’s probably best to continue climbing straight ahead, focussing on a point on the horizon.)

6) At this stage, it is possible to control the throttle and fly level at say 1-2ft above the runway. Keep looking well ahead.

7) Gradually close the throttle and keep the aircraft at the same 1-2ft level as the airspeed decays. Keep it flying as long as possible by steadily pushing the control frame out. Ideally, it should touch the tailwheel first, with the control frame pushed fully out. The flycycle MUST ALWAYS TOUCH THE GROUND WITH THE CONTROL FRAME AT FULL PUSH-OUT! Failure to do so will result in you swinging forward through the control frame and nosing in with certain damage and potential injury. Transfer from air to ground steering. Practice these short low flights until fully confident in control.

8) Take off as before and climb out steadily, the best climb rate is at about 27mph. Experiment with gentle turns and corrections. Keep looking well ahead and avoid over controlling in pitch. The handling is very similar to a conventional trike.

9) Explore gentle pitch inputs and simulate low speed handling and landing. Typically, the wing should just be on the point of stalling at maximum push-out.

10) For landing, as per hang gliding, it is a low energy machine with a low flying speed so airspeed MUST be maintained in a glide approach to avoid stalling in the wing gradient. Maintaining at least 25mph also helps keep good roll control. Flaring out to land is a 2 stage process. a) Check the rate of descent at about 10ft b) flare enough to fly along the surface at 1-2ft c) Progressively push the control frame out until the aircraft lands tailwheel first at maximum angle of attack.

11) Advanced control - one advantage of the pilot-in-control-frame layout is that the aircraft can be flown with one foot in a control frame corner. This allows both hands free e.g. for photography. As with all open pushers, there must be NO loose items that can go into the propeller! Use a lanyard. Using flight control by foot also allows more powerful control corrections e.g. when coring a thermal. I also find I can put one foot on the control bar and pull the control frame back for faster cruising with less effort. I will put these techniques on youtube soon.

Bill BrooksJune 24, 2019