Mike Gillam has at last got his BioniX wing. Mike flies in Thailand and has been emailing me with many questions over the past 8 months, but now he has the new wing he is as enthusiastic about it as I am.
Well done Mike, we are looking forward to the latest videos.
Monday 20 December 2010
Wednesday 8 December 2010
BioniX is selling
The BioniX wing seems to be selling all over the place.
Mike in Thailand is waiting for his to be delivered. I will be be happy when he gets it as he has made some great flying videos, that will be even better with a wider speed range. See his videos on his blog at http://mikethaitanargadventures.blogspot.com/
Henry, in the US has had his delivered. Henry is another great video maker and editor. Henrys videos can be watched on www.trikepilot.com.
My mate Derek came over from the UK this summer to visit. He very kindly brought me a years supply of PG Tips tea bags (can't get them in France), so as a reward I took him for a BioniX flight. He ordered his within a week! He is flying it in New Zealand this very day. He still has his Tanarg/iXess in the UK, but that is because the BioniX is still not certified in the UK.
I have not heard back from the factory about the fuel gauge option. My email must be another of those that have disappeared into the ether!
Mike in Thailand is waiting for his to be delivered. I will be be happy when he gets it as he has made some great flying videos, that will be even better with a wider speed range. See his videos on his blog at http://mikethaitanargadventures.blogspot.com/
Henry, in the US has had his delivered. Henry is another great video maker and editor. Henrys videos can be watched on www.trikepilot.com.
My mate Derek came over from the UK this summer to visit. He very kindly brought me a years supply of PG Tips tea bags (can't get them in France), so as a reward I took him for a BioniX flight. He ordered his within a week! He is flying it in New Zealand this very day. He still has his Tanarg/iXess in the UK, but that is because the BioniX is still not certified in the UK.
I have not heard back from the factory about the fuel gauge option. My email must be another of those that have disappeared into the ether!
Wednesday 17 November 2010
Bionix SB
There is a new service bulletin out for the BioniX wing. Please see http://www.aircreation.fr/anglais/Technical/Servicebulletins/tabid/155/language/en-US/Default.aspx for the English language version.
Tuesday 9 November 2010
Fuel guages
Now that Aircreation has the Skypper, complete with dashboard mounted fuel gauge, I thought it would be a good idea to investigate the chances of fitting the same to a Tanarg.
Many of the Top end Tanargs come with the Enigma EFIS dashboards these days, which come with a fuel contents display. This means that they must have a fuel sender in the tank. The sender that the Skypper uses will probably be no use on the Tanarg due to the different fuel tank shape. The gauge will fit though.
It is a pain to look down under the passengers leg to see the fuel tank contents. A gauge on the dash would be a good backup indicator of fuel contents.
I will report further when I get an answer to my email to the factory.
Many of the Top end Tanargs come with the Enigma EFIS dashboards these days, which come with a fuel contents display. This means that they must have a fuel sender in the tank. The sender that the Skypper uses will probably be no use on the Tanarg due to the different fuel tank shape. The gauge will fit though.
It is a pain to look down under the passengers leg to see the fuel tank contents. A gauge on the dash would be a good backup indicator of fuel contents.
I will report further when I get an answer to my email to the factory.
Wednesday 6 October 2010
The Skypper
Ok so you have seen the pictures, but what is it really like?
Well it is a similar sized trike to the P&M offering. The design is very light and strong with a modern looking welded steel structure. It is superbly configurable with the choice of 3 engines and many different wings. An option for a detachable full pod may be available in the future, making it suitable for climates like the UK. The small pod as fitted to the ones in the pictures on my last post is, in fact, very good. With the windscreen design there is very little buffeting or wind noise for the pilot at least.
Flying it seems very similar to the Tanarg with the same wing, but you can feel that there is less weight in the machine, and the 80hp rather then the 100hp of the Tanarg is not noticeable.
Production will start in November this year, there are still some minor modifications being made in comparison to the trikes in the pictures, Aircreation will not release anything until it is as perfect as they can get it!
The fuel tank has a sight tube on the side to easily read the fuel contents, but a fuel gauge on the dashboard is a factory option. The seating is not cramped at all, in fact I would say that it is less cramped than a P&M GT450, but it will be a better machine for flying instruction than the Tanarg due to the controls being in easier reach for the instructor. All the trikes at Blois had the dual controls fitted, and I assume that this is a factory option for the Skypper.
Prices have not yet been released, but I would expect that it will be about €10,000 less than the equivalent engined/wing Tanarg. If you want the prices then contact the factory or your local Aircreation dealer.
Well it is a similar sized trike to the P&M offering. The design is very light and strong with a modern looking welded steel structure. It is superbly configurable with the choice of 3 engines and many different wings. An option for a detachable full pod may be available in the future, making it suitable for climates like the UK. The small pod as fitted to the ones in the pictures on my last post is, in fact, very good. With the windscreen design there is very little buffeting or wind noise for the pilot at least.
Flying it seems very similar to the Tanarg with the same wing, but you can feel that there is less weight in the machine, and the 80hp rather then the 100hp of the Tanarg is not noticeable.
Production will start in November this year, there are still some minor modifications being made in comparison to the trikes in the pictures, Aircreation will not release anything until it is as perfect as they can get it!
The fuel tank has a sight tube on the side to easily read the fuel contents, but a fuel gauge on the dashboard is a factory option. The seating is not cramped at all, in fact I would say that it is less cramped than a P&M GT450, but it will be a better machine for flying instruction than the Tanarg due to the controls being in easier reach for the instructor. All the trikes at Blois had the dual controls fitted, and I assume that this is a factory option for the Skypper.
Prices have not yet been released, but I would expect that it will be about €10,000 less than the equivalent engined/wing Tanarg. If you want the prices then contact the factory or your local Aircreation dealer.
Monday 4 October 2010
The new Aircreation Skypper
The Skypper 582 fitted with the iXess wing.
The 582 again showing the sleek lines of the trike.
Rotax 582 engine fitted.
The 912 engine and Bionix wing version.
The same one again.
The Skypper and its big brother, the Tanarg.
The Skypper folded ready to fit a wing.
Very modern design of the Skypper front end.
HKS engine version.
Neat and tidy side view showing strong suspension.
BioniX wing showing the Kevlar band in the wing.
Brothers, both with BioniX wings.
Skypper 912/BioniX take off.
The design of the Skypper is very clean and modern looking. It is a bit smaller, and lighter, than the Tanarg, about the same trike size as the P&M range of flexwings.
It comes with a choice of three engines, the 65hp Rotax 582 two stroke, the 60hp HKS four stroke or the 80hp Rotax 912 four cylinder four stoke. Any of Aircreations current range of wings can be fitted, as seen in the pictures above.
More to follow!
Sunday 3 October 2010
BioniX and things
What has been happening over the past year or so?
Aircreation launched the new trike called the Skypper at Blois this year, more about that later.
The Bionix is now a year old since the first sightings at Blois last year. The first service bulletin was issued at the end of July this year.
The problem stems from the plastic fairings that cover the A frame and kingpost. The velcro on the trailing edges of these fairings is not strong enough and can part. This leads to a very severe vibration trough the control bar at certain speeds.
The factory may have designed new fairings, and they are available for existing owners with the old fairings fitted.
I have had a few conversations with Tanarg pilots in the USA asking why Aircreation do not answer emails. The response is that I do not know! I don't work for Aircreation, but happen to know that they are having problems with the email at their end, a solution may be in the pipeline - watch this space.
If you need to contact the factory then phone them on a weekday morning and you should speak to Gabriel, who speaks English. Another option is to send a fax. Their numbers are on their website at http://www.aircreation.com/anglais.
Aircreation launched the new trike called the Skypper at Blois this year, more about that later.
The Bionix is now a year old since the first sightings at Blois last year. The first service bulletin was issued at the end of July this year.
The problem stems from the plastic fairings that cover the A frame and kingpost. The velcro on the trailing edges of these fairings is not strong enough and can part. This leads to a very severe vibration trough the control bar at certain speeds.
The factory may have designed new fairings, and they are available for existing owners with the old fairings fitted.
I have had a few conversations with Tanarg pilots in the USA asking why Aircreation do not answer emails. The response is that I do not know! I don't work for Aircreation, but happen to know that they are having problems with the email at their end, a solution may be in the pipeline - watch this space.
If you need to contact the factory then phone them on a weekday morning and you should speak to Gabriel, who speaks English. Another option is to send a fax. Their numbers are on their website at http://www.aircreation.com/anglais.
Friday 1 October 2010
The blog is back
Thanks to those people who sent requests to view the blog. It was closed for personal reasons, but it is now back!
Thursday 15 April 2010
Still playing
While the BioniX is very easy to fly and land, I have found that it needs some practice to get the best out of it. The slow speed handling is fantastic, but on my short strip it needs some thought. I found that on a couple of landings, I was coming in too high. The natural thing to do is to pull the bar in a little, but what happens is that the speed increases and so does the lift. The trick is to push the bar out further. It will not stall in the same way as a normal wing, but will lose height and come down like a helicopter, with very little forward speed.
I have played a bit with the higher speeds, and have flown hands off at 80 mph (130kph). Even with the bigger windscreen this gets quite noisy and find that about 70 to 75 is more comfortable.
We flew back from Domme last Sunday afternoon. It was a hot afternoon after a very cool night. There was plenty of moisture in the ground and the cumulus clouds were building. Flying back at between 2000 and 5000 feet was very turbulent, but I can say that the BioniX is much better behaved than the iXess 15 was. Had we been flying the iXess then I suspect that my wife would have had me land at Gallinat halfway home as she does not like the bumpy air!
Tuesday 16 March 2010
My very own BioniX
Flew the BioniX again today and I am blown away with the capabilities of the wing. It was a thermic day, but was not difficult flying, the wing handles the thermals much better than any wing I have ever flown before. The only other wing that I remember was better than most in these conditions, was the old Raven wing.
After racing around the sky at decent speeds, I set it up into the slow position for landing. I would think that the touchdown speed was not much more than 30 mph (50 kmh) and did not have the slightest hint of a stall. After touchdown I applied the three hydraulic disk brakes that my Tanarg is fitted with and stopped in about 20 metres. That was with 2 people and around 30 litres of fuel aboard - amazing.
Those who can see this blog are the chosen few at the moment, it will be open for all again in a couple of months.
After racing around the sky at decent speeds, I set it up into the slow position for landing. I would think that the touchdown speed was not much more than 30 mph (50 kmh) and did not have the slightest hint of a stall. After touchdown I applied the three hydraulic disk brakes that my Tanarg is fitted with and stopped in about 20 metres. That was with 2 people and around 30 litres of fuel aboard - amazing.
Those who can see this blog are the chosen few at the moment, it will be open for all again in a couple of months.
Thursday 11 February 2010
The blog is back!
Sorry if you have tried to see what is going on in my Tanarg world, but for reasons that I am not going to divulge, the blog has been locked for a while.
It will now be visible to selected people for a while and will be opened up for the world to read at a later date.
I should be taking delivery of the BioniX wing next week and will report further when I have it.
It will now be visible to selected people for a while and will be opened up for the world to read at a later date.
I should be taking delivery of the BioniX wing next week and will report further when I have it.
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